Sapporo Yuki Matsuri

February 5-11 was the famous-throughout-Japan Sapporo Yuki Matsuri (snow festival). People (and especially foreigners) from all over the country come to Hokkaido to check out the amazing snow and ice sculptures, eat copious amounts of festival good, and do fun things (like snow mazes, slides, clubbing in Susukino). Last year I wanted to go but was in nowhere near the financial situation to do so. The year, since I am a 45 minute train ride from the big event, I wanted to go for sure. On the Saturday (Feb 8), Samantha (the couch surfer I stayed with in Fukushima on my way up here) came by ferry to Tomakomai and we took the train together to Sapporo.

We wandered around the snow sculptures of Oodori and the ice sculptures of Susukino in the freezing cold of the treacherous streets among infuriating crowds. (I will never get used to the Japanese idea of winter road maintenance.) ALL of the ice sculptures were just giant advertisements, most of the time having actual billboards imbedded in the ice and the really big, amazing snow sculptures were mostly movie promos. We didn’t have enough time to hit Satoland (sugarland), which was the part of the festival with children’s activities (mazes, slides, etc.) and is located a good ways out of the centre of the city.

We also marvelled at the vulgar Hokkaido souvenirs and giant crabs, two things for which Hokkaido is renowned. Hokkaido’s most famous omiyage (souvenir) character is a little green called Marimokkori. I have since learned that he is called this because he has a marimo on his mokkori. Marimos are living organisms; big balls of green algae or seaweed (depending on who you ask) that exist in only three places in the world. One of these places, of course, is Hokkaido. You can also buy cell phone straps and key chains with a tiny, living marimo inside suspended in water. “Mokkori” is Japanese slang for the genital region of a man (I think it’s just men but it’s not in my dictionary so I can’t say for sure). I considered getting something here for my nephew (despite his ludeness, marimokkori is actually intended for children) but decided to wait. Samantha got herself a pimpin’ marimokkori with a removable afro that reveals a mohawk underneath.

We then met up with a pothead foreigner who was getting ready to leave Japanand had advertised a phone she no longer needed. She wanted someone to take over the plan and phone payments. This is a pretty good deal since she has already paid off most of the phone. The plan is called the White Plan. It’s only 980 yen a month and you get free calls and texts to other Softbank users. I can now send and receive emails (kelsey_apple@softbank.ne.jp) anytime to and from anyone in the world. This has proved very handy since I don’t have the internet at home anymore and don’t plan on getting it again. The ordeal of meeting up with this girl not once, but twice (she forgot the phone’s charger at home) was almost too much to bear. There is a very good reason marijuana is not legal and I would encourage everyone to seek out this particular pothead if any proof of its damaging effects is desired.

We then had some delicious Indian food (a luxury not available in the industrial Japanese homogeny of Tomakomai). I took the train back at 10pm and Samantha met up with her dubious couch surfing hosts for that night.

It was a really fun day but that was not due in large part to the festival itself and I was more than a little disappointed at the commercialization of it all. I think a lot of the fun for visiting foreigners is just in the fact that it is an excuse to go on a trip and get drunk. After all, it’s always more fun getting drunk in the cold, isn’t it? It was good to see it once but I think if I had come from farther away than 66 km, I would have felt jipped. I don’t think I will go again next year (maybe just to check out satoland) but it was free and something to do and I’m certainly glad I went.