Sapporo Clock Tower and Hokkaido foods

As I wrote in the previous two posts, on 11th and 12th February hubby and I had been to Sapporo to see the annual snow festival. On 12th February, we visited Sapporo Clock Tower before going to the snow festival site at Odori Park. The tower is located just north of Odori Park.

Sapporo Clock Tower is a wooden building, which is a major tourist attraction and is a symbol of Sapporo. The tower building has an American design and is one of the few surviving western-style buildings in Sapporo. The tower was built in 1878 and was the drill hall of the former Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University). The clock was installed later in July 1881 by a Boston based watch company. The clock still continues to run and keep time, and the bell rings every hour. We took several photos of the tower building and the clock for the sake of memory. Presently, the building has a museum that introduces the history of Sapporo and the Agricultural College. We skipped entering inside the tower building. Later we visited the snow festival site at Odori Park about which I have written in the previous post.

Clock at the tower building

Sapporo Clock Tower as seen from an angle

Front view of Sapporo Clock Tower

Clock at the tower building

Hubby and I in front of Sapporo Clock Tower

At Sapporo we had various kinds of Hokkaido foods. On the night of 11th February, hubby and I had a bowl of miso-butter-corn ramen, a Sapporo specialty, which was delicious. We also enjoyed having a side dish of gyoza.

Bowl of miso-butter-corn ramen

Gyoza

Hubby having ramen

Hokkaido is a leading producer of potatoes in Japan. On both days of our stay in Sapporo, we had potatoes cooked in various ways like baked, grilled, boiled, and fried. All these ways of cooked potatoes tasted wonderful.

Hubby having fried potatoes at Odori Park snow festival site

On 12th morning at Odori Park snow festival site, I had an experience of eating fresh grilled crab meat in a delightfully unique way. Kani kourayaki of Monbetsu City in Hokkaido is a crab specialty where crab meat is grilled and served in the crab shell. While the lady at the food stall grilled the crab, the mouth-watering aroma wafted through the air. I ate the grilled crab meat out of the shell itself. It tasted rich and heavenly.

A lady grilling crab at a food stall

Kani kourayaki

I am relishing grilled crab

At another food stall hubby and I enjoyed having grilled beef on a stick. The meat was flavorful and juicy but for me it was a bit tough and hard to chew.

Hubby having grilled beef on a stick

At yet another food stall we saw the stall owner grill various kinds of seafood. We had grilled squid at this stall. We ate too much food at the snow festival site but it was worth it as everything tasted wonderful.

Stall owner grilling various kinds of seafood

Grilled seafood

During our return to Akita on 12th evening, we reached about an hour early to Shin Chitose airport at Sapporo. So we had an early dinner at a restaurant inside the airport terminal building. Fake plastic food samples were displayed in front of the restaurant. They looked so real and tempting. I ordered a set menu of kaisen donburi and hubby ordered a set menu of uni donburi. Kaisen donburi is a rice bowl dish with different kinds of fresh seafood toppings already prearranged beautifully. Kaisen means seafood and this dish had ebi (shrimp), kani (crab), ikura (salmon roe), hotate (scallop), uni (sea urchin), salmon, kyuri (cucumber), and shiso (perilla) leaf as toppings. Uni donburi had only fresh uni topping on a bowl of rice. Both the set menus consisted of miso soup and a salad of shredded cabbage, fresh cucumber, and tomatoes. We tasted each other’s food. Hokkaido is famous for seafood and we enjoyed our dinner of various kinds of seafood very much.

Plastic food samples displayed in front of the restaurant

Set menu of kaisen donburi

Various kinds of fresh seafood toppings in kaisen donburi

Set menu of uni donburi

Hubby having dinner

Hubby eating shrimp

I am having dinner

Hubby and I had a nice time in Sapporo on 11th and 12th February. We visited Sapporo Clock Tower as well as the snow festival site at Odori Park. We also enjoyed eating various kinds of Hokkaido delicacies on both days.

Sapporo snow festival - part 2

As I wrote in the previous post, on 11th and 12th February hubby and I had been to Sapporo to see the annual snow festival. Sapporo snow festival is one of Japan's largest winter events which attracts about two million people from Japan and abroad every year. The festival is held for seven days in February and visitors can see hundreds of beautiful snow statues and ice sculptures at the three main festival sites, namely, Odori Park, Tsudome, and Susukino. On 11th February we enjoyed seeing the Odori Park snow festival at nighttime. The large snow and ice sculptures dazzled with colored illumination and we really enjoyed the festival.

On 12th February, we again visited Sapporo snow festival site at Odori Park to enjoy the sculptures and the festival mood at daytime. We left the hotel at Chitose by 9.30 am and reached Odori Park site by 11.15 am. First we visited Sapporo Clock Tower which is one of the major sightseeing spots in Sapporo. I will write about it in the next post. In this post I will write about the snow and ice statues sculpted at Odori Park festival site. I have already written about most of these sculptures in details in the previous post. Please click here for the details of most of the large and medium sized snow and ice statues sculpted at 2 to 10 Chome of Odori Park.

Just in front of the entrance of the snow festival site, there was Sapporo Television Tower which looked wonderful but so different than the nighttime illumination. Near the entrance there was an ice sculpture of the Emperor and the Empress hina dolls as hinamatsuri festival was just around the corner. As we walked further, we saw a smoking area that was completely made out of ice. The ice walls looked so nice.

Sapporo Television Tower

Entrance of the snow festival site at Odori Park

Ice hina dolls

Ice walls of smoking area

Smoking area made of ice

Doshin Ice Square at 2-Chome had many medium sized ice sculptures of dinosaurs. There was also a large ice sculpture named Ice Museum - World of Dinosaurs. It was nice to see various ice sculptures of extinct dinosaurs in daylight.

Several medium sized ice sculptures of extinct species

Large ice sculpture named Ice Museum - World of Dinosaurs

HTB Park Air Square at 3-Chome had a snowboard jumping platform with a giant 60-meter jump ramp at a height of 24 meters and a maximum slope angle of 39 degrees. We enjoyed watching part of a splendid snowboard jumping competition performed by professionals. I have compiled a video of the show. Around this area there were several medium sized snow sculptures also.

Snowboard jumping platform

A compiled video of snowboard jumping competition

I am standing next to a medium sized sculpture of polar bears

A medium sized cute sculpture

STV Yomiuri Square at 4-Chome had a large snow sculpture named Hokkaido - a Tourist Wonderland. The display of sculptures of Blakiston’s fish owl as well as Ezo red fox and her young kits looked pure white in daylight. Sculptures of the former Hokkaido Government Office Building and the Forbidden City of China looked elegant and grand.

Large snow sculpture named Hokkaido - a Tourist Wonderland

Blakiston’s fish owl

Former Hokkaido Government Office Building and the Forbidden City

Ezo red fox

Environment Square at 5-Chome had a large snow sculpture named The Lion King. Snow sculptures of the characters from this famous musical such as Timon - the meerkat, Pumbaa - the warthog, Zazu - the hornbill, and the symbol of the Lion King looked marvelous.

Large snow sculpture named The Lion King

Symbol of the Lion King

Snow sculpture of Timon

Snow sculpture of Pumbaa

At 5-Chome, we saw a medium sized snow statue of Yuki Saito, a popular rookie of the local professional baseball team Nippon Ham Fighters. The statue seemed to have a slightly different facial expression in the daylight. Probably it is just my imagination.

Medium sized snow statue of Yuki Saito

Snow statue of Yuki Saito from another angle

Mainichi Newspapers Ice Square at 5-Chome had a large ice sculpture named Daejeon Metropolitan City. The sculpted statue of the fifth largest region within Republic of Korea looked so exquisite in daylight. The sunlight gave a bluish tinge to the sculpture, which seemed to have a mystic aura.

Large ice sculpture named Daejeon Metropolitan City

I am in front of the sculpture of Daejeon Metropolitan City

At 6-Chome, we saw a medium sized snow sculpture named School Education Characters of Sapporo. The three characters of this sculpture are Chikkyun (environment), Yupporo (snow), and Ohhon (literature) which have been introduced as unique themes for school education in Sapporo. There were a few more cute medium sized snow sculptures at this area. Hokkaido Food Fair was also held at 6-Chome. Many food stalls sold various kinds of local delicacies.

Medium sized snow sculpture named School Education Characters of Sapporo

Cute medium sized snow sculpture

Food stalls at Hokkaido Food Fair

Food stalls at Hokkaido Food Fair

At the end of 6-Chome and the beginning of 7-Chome, there were several medium and small sized snow statues of various animation characters.

Medium and small sized snow statues of several animation characters

HBC Beijing Square at 7-Chome had a large snow sculpture named The Temple of Heaven - The Hall of Prayers for Good Harvests. The snow structure looked superb and pure white in daylight. Hubby and I took a professional photo of us in front of the structure for keepsake, which was taken from afar. Afterwards we walked up to the sculpture and took a few photos from very near which showed the details and intricate designs on the building wall.

Large snow sculpture named The Temple of Heaven - The Hall of Prayers for Good Harvests

The Hall of Prayers for Good Harvests

Hubby and I standing in front of the sculpture

Sculpture showing intricate designs on the walls

Hubby standing in front of the sculpture

As we walked further, we saw several food stalls that sold various kinds of Hokkaido delicacies. HTB Snow Square at 8-Chome had a large snow sculpture named National Treasure - Hiunkaku of Hongwanji. The snow structure of the National Treasure had a mysterious beauty and shone brightly in daylight.

Food stalls selling Hokkaido delicacies

Large snow sculpture named National Treasure - Hiunkaku of Hongwanji

I am standing in front of the sculpture

Citizens’ Square at 9-Chome had many medium sized snow sculptures like Snowman Festival, a statue of mother comforting her crying child, a statue with many snow hearts around, a medieval castle, elephants, and several more cute statues.

Several medium sized snow sculptures

As we walked further, we saw children as well as adults enjoying riding a mini-train that ran on the snow.

Ride on a mini-train

Ride on a mini-train

UHB Family Land at 10-Chome had a large snow sculpture named Sazae-san which is a very popular animation aired on Fuji Television Network. The huge sculptures of Sazae-san and her family members looked pure white and so expressive.

Large snow sculpture named Sazae-san

I am standing in front of the sculpture of Sazae-san and her family

Sazae-san along with little sister Wakame, family’s pet cat Tama, little brother Katsuo, son Tara-chan, and mother Fune

Husband Masuo and Sazae-san

Sister Wakame, cat Tama, brother Katsuo, and son Tara-chan

Father Namihei and mother Fune

International Square at 11-Chome was the site for the 38th International Snow Sculpture Contest. We had missed seeing this square the previous night as it was not illuminated. Sixteen teams from all over the world competed in the contest. The site was filled with a variety of snow sculptures and statues.

The contestants from Lithuania sculpted a statue named ‘The world is our hive, be responsible’. Bees are considered to be the symbol of hope, energy, social organization, diligence, and intelligence. Hexagonal honeycomb of bee is the symbol of the heart and represents the sweetness of life. Honey is made without destroying any form of life. The sculpture denoted that in any community as in a beehive only aware social members can create a better environment and future. This statue was the winner of the contest.

Statue sculpted by the contestants from Lithuania

The contestants from People’s Republic of China made a statue named ‘Girl’s Smile’. It was a statue of a smiling girl of a Chinese minority Miao wearing an ethnic headdress. The statue won third prize.

Statue sculpted by the contestants from People’s Republic of China

The contestants from Korea sculpted a statue named ‘Silla-Seokguram’. It is a masterpiece in Silla in Korea History that unites construction, geometry, mathematical principle, religion, and arts. It was registered as a World Cultural Heritage in 1995. The snow statue was sculpted beautifully.

Statue sculpted by the contestants from Korea

The contestants from Indonesia sculpted a statue named ‘Bimasena’, a protagonist in the epic Mahabharata. He was a disciple of Resi Durna and was given the task to look for water as a source of life at the bottom of the vast south sea. Bimasena encountered many challenges during his journey through the deep ocean. One of them was the attack by the dragon Nemburnawa. He eliminated the dragon by slashing the enemy’s stomach with his finger nail. This scene was sculpted at the festival site and the statue won fifth prize.

Statue sculpted by the contestants from Indonesia

The contestants from Thailand sculpted a statue named ‘Paradise Island’. The concept was inspired from one episode of Phra Abhai Mani, a classical Thai literature composed by the poet Sunthorn Phu in 1821-1823. The story is about Phra Abhai Mani, who escaped giantess Pisua Samudr and fled to ‘Koh Kaew Pissadam Island’ with a mermaid. The snow sculpture signified that people in present day life are in a rush but they need to relax by going to beaches and islands.

Statue sculpted by the contestants from Thailand

The contestants from Finland sculpted a statue named ‘Imprint’. The theme suggested that we leave imprints which can be real like our steps on a ground or snow. They can also be invisible like memories in our heart and mind. Some imprints can have an impact through generations and some melt away. This statue was the runner-up of the contest.

Statue sculpted by the contestants from Finland

The contestants from Malaysia sculpted a statue named ‘Wau Bulan’. Wau Bulan or moon kite is a popular traditional game in east Malaysia and flown throughout the year especially after the full moon harvest. It is named from the crescent moon-like shape of its lower section, resembling a rising crescent moon when flown. The sculpted kite looked so real. The sculpted hornbill, the state bird of Sarawak in Borneo symbolizes purity, courage and strength of the Iban people in east Malaysia.

Statue sculpted by the contestants from Malaysia

The contestants from Hawaii sculpted a statue named ‘The legend of the sacred owl’. The legend relates the story of an Oafu man who robbed an owl's nest. The owl-parent shrieked with grief, so the man felt sorry and returned the eggs unharmed to the nest. He also took the owl as his god and built a temple in its honor. The ruling king thought it to be an act of rebellion and ordered the man's execution. When the soldiers poised their weapons, the owls gathered and darkened the skies with their wings so that the man could not be killed. The sculpted snow statue was so graceful.

Statue sculpted by the contestants from Hawaii

The contestants from Hong Kong sculpted a statue named ‘Lion Dance’. Lion Dance dates back over a thousand years and the ritual combines the elements of Chinese Kung Fu and art. Lion is considered to be an auspicious character for guarding gates and for exorcising evil spirits. Two men wear a costume of lion head and tail, and mimic a lion’s movement along with the rhythm of drums and gongs during festivals. This statue won fourth prize.

Statue sculpted by the contestants from Hong Kong

Citizens’ Square at 12-Chome had many unique small snow sculptures crafted by the people of Sapporo. We enjoyed watching those sculptures.

Citizens’ Square

I am standing in front of a small sculpture

It was really nice to see Sapporo snow festival during daytime as well as nighttime. Both were unique experiences. In the next post I will write about Sapporo Clock Tower and various foods we had at Sapporo.