Odori Site

This season, the “Sapporo Curling Festival at the Sapporo Snow Festival” will be held with cooperation from the Sapporo Curling Association. Curling Stones used at official games will be available for public trials at the site. Staff will be on site to support visitors, so anyone with or without experience can play. Furthermore, a curling exhibition by the curling top-teams is to be held on February 10th (Sat) and 11th (Sun, holiday).

The first time the Idol Masters will be made into a snow sculpture! "Idolmasters Cinderella Girls" will appear at the Sapporo Snow Festival. Idles Aikawa Chinatsu, Anastasia, Umeki Otoha, Kurokawa Chiaki, Shirayuki Chiyo, Futaba Anzu, and Yanase Miyuki, all of who are from Hokkaido will share the appeal and charm of Hokkaido in this local site! The snow sculpture is scheduled to be a snowy castle with Pinyakorata, Ringoro and other mascot characters having a lively party! Be sure to stop by and join the celebration!

Sapporo International Art Festival 2024 (SIAF2024) is a special and major event that takes place once every 3 years, and is a venue where you can encounter art from all over the world. This year the SIAF2024 takes place during the winter for the first time, setting up its venue, the "Snow City in the Future" at the Sapporo Snow Festival Odori 2-chome site. This exhibition conducts a social experiment in which we envision the future of transportation and lifestyles together.

• Sapporo International Art Festival 2024

This year’s large snow sculpture features TV anime 『GOLDEN KAMUY』! The original is a hit manga series by Satoru Noda, serialized in SHUEISHA’s Weekly Young Jump magazine. Set in Hokkaido, this supreme entertainment masterpiece centers around action and suspense over buried treasure and is brimming with a variety of elements sure to stimulate all your senses, including hunting, cuisine, and history. Witness this masterpiece come to life at the Odori Park 4-chome venue! Don’t miss this impressive large snow sculpture, a collaborative fusion of the Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park and 『GOLDEN KAMUY』. Also, the Snow Park in Upopoy event will be held at Upopoy during the Sapporo Snow Festival. Filled with fun attractions for children and adults alike, including a small snow sculpture of TureppoN, the Upopoy mascot, this event will no doubt liven up winter in Upopoy! The creators of the giant sculpture are veterans from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s 11th Brigade, 11th Artillery Unit, 11th Antiaircraft Artillery Unit, and 11th Reconnaissance Unit , known for the impactful contributions they have made to previous Sapporo Snow Festivals. Their years of experience and artisanal skills will brilliantly bring to life the world of this creation in an impressive large snow sculpture. Prepare to experience the sculpture’s overwhelming scale and presence while immersing yourself in the world of 『GOLDEN KAMUY』!

Hokkaido has been a major producer of thoroughbred racehorses since the Meiji period (late 19th century), boasting a long history. Approximately 98 percent of the thoroughbreds produced in Japan are born in Hokkaido, totaling over 7,000 foals annually. These horses are nurtured from birth with affection akin to that for one’s own children by breeders, owners, trainers, and stable keepers, leading to the emergence of many celebrated racehorses over the years. This large snow sculpture depicts a thoroughbred galloping at Sapporo Racecourse in pursuit of victory in the race. We hope you can envision the horse fiercely competing on this prestigious stage of a lifetime, carrying the expectations of many. The projection mapping portrays a thoroughbred experiencing the four seasons and galloping across the vast landscapes of Hokkaido. What kind of race might this mature racehorse run at Sapporo Racecourse, a popular tourist destination in Sapporo? The projection mapping is rendered with a sense of speed and three-dimensionality. Enjoy this portrayal of the thoroughbred resolutely striving for glory until the very last moment.

Every year, the Hokkaido Broadcasting Corporation (HBC) , organises a large snow sculpture at 7th Street as a symbol of international exchange at the Snow Festival. This year, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the German Tourist Office's Japan Branch, the statue will represent Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, located in the southern part of the Federal Republic of Germany. The castle, which is said to have been the model for castles in animated fairy tales, was built in the 19th century by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The beautiful castle, also known as the Swan Castle, is being recreated with the cooperation of the German National Tourist Office and the Bavarian State Delegation to Japan, the skills of the Third Snow Sculpture Production Committee of the Sapporo Snow Festival Snow Sculpture Production Committee, and the enthusiasm of citizen volunteers.

The Odori 8-chome HTB Snow Square at the 2024 Sapporo Snow Festival will feature a large snow sculpture of the Old Sapporo Station. The large snow sculpture of the Old Sapporo Station is a reproduction of the third Sapporo Station building, which was completed in 1908 and used until 1952. The Old Sapporo Station, the symbol of the entrance to the Historic Village of Hokkaido, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in April 2023, will be recreated at the 8-chome HTB Snow Square at the Odori site. The current JR Sapporo Station is now the fifth station building. The Sapporo Ekimae-dori street leading from the station is in a redevelopment phase, and Sapporo is currently undergoing a major transformation. This sculpture is intended to give visitors an idea of the changing times. The large snow sculpture of the Old Sapporo Station will be accurately reproduced down to the finest details by using the Self-Defense Forces' original technique known as the "ice block construction method" which involves assembling small parts made of snow. The production will be jointly conducted by Hokkaido Television Broadcasting and the JGSDF 18th Infantry Regiment, and a total of 3,600 Self-Defense Force personnel will work on making the sculpture over a span of 28 days from January 7 (Sun) to February 3 (Sat).

In August of 2023 baby elephant "Tao" was born at the Sapporo Maruyama Zoo. We will design a snow sculpture that represents both the 101 People's Circle who have been building snow sculptures since the group was formed in 1974, and the birth of Tao. Anyone can join the 101 People's Circle and help build the snow sculpture. Join us next year and build a snow sculpture with us!

In March 2023, HOKKAIDO BALLPARK F VILLAGE, an area that includes the new ballpark of Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters, was born. F VILLAGE, which aims to realize a ballpark the world has never seen before, has attracted more than 3 million visitors, far exceeding the initial target, not only from Hokkaido but also from all over Japan and the world. To express our gratitude for the many visitors in the first year of its opening, and to show our determination to continue to evolve, we created a large snow sculpture of ES CON FIELD HOKKAIDO and manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo of the Fighters, as we did last year. Manager Shinjo, is shown enjoying winter sports in Hokkaido, expressing the attraction of F VILLAGE, which is more than just watching baseball games. In addition, this year, a slide was installed for anyone to participate, evolving the snow sculpture into a snow sculpture that can be "played" as well as "watched". We hope you will enjoy the snow sculpture created by the Nippon Ham Group and Sapporo Snow Festival Big Snow Sculpture Production Committee 2nd Snow Sculpture Production Subcommittee in your own style.