Arriving Sapporo, the Odori Park is the definitely the first stop of the Snow Festival because it is right in the city centre, only 10 minutes walk from Sapporo JR station.
Since 1950, Sapporo has been holding a week long snow festival every year. There are three main sites in Sapporo: Odori Park, Susukino Site and Tsu Dome Site. The Odori Park is the largest in scale, stretching 12 city blocks over 1.5 kilometres long. The snow festival in Hokkaido is a big event in Japan, attracting over 2 million visitors every year, many of them locals. I have been to the Snow Festival in Hokkaido a couple of times. I really enjoyed it. In 2016, the event will be held from February 5 to 11.
Be prepared for a few hours walk in an open space. So keep warm. The ground may be slippery.
The snow festival features about 12 large blocks of snow sculptures in the centre that are the main attraction in the park. 每年，大通公園都有約十二個大型的雪雕在中間，每座都有主題。One Piece, the Japanese manga series has been a popular set in the past few years. 過去幾年，日本流行漫畫系列 One Piece 都一直是受歡迎的雪雕主題。Worldwide collaboration to protect the environment. 以保護地球為主題的大型雪雕。In addition to the dozen large snow sculptures, there are over a hundred of smaller snow and ice sculptures. 除了十多座大型雪雕，大通公園每年都有百多件大大小小的雪雕、冰雕作品。Many of the snow sculptures are cartoon characters, attracting the whole families including young children to visit. 很多雪雕作品的主題都是卡通公仔，吸引一家大小前來欣賞和拍照。A cute big bear. 一隻可愛的大熊。The Anpanman is a popular character for children. 麵包超人是小朋友的至愛。During the snow festival, there is an International Snow Sculpture Contest held in Odori Park every year. Hong Kong Team was named the champion in 2012. This dancing dragon is the winning snow sculpture. 每年的札幌雪祭都同時進行國際雪雕比賽，香港冰雕隊於2012年獲得冠軍，這座龍的主題是得獎作品。
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Other than snow sculptures, there are also some ice sculptures in the venue. 除了雪雕，場內也有冰雕。Ice sculptures are usually more delicate. 冰雕和雪雕有不同的看法，造型可以較細致。
Sharp edges are possible on ice sculptures. 冰雕可以有較尖銳的造型。Be prepared for a few hours walk through the park. If you are hungry or thirsty, there are many food stalls in the park that offers a wide variety of food and drinks. This stall sells crabs and wine! Very festive. 大通公園很大，可以行好幾個小時，慢慢看和拍照。如果肚餓，到處都有小吃、飲料賣。吃、喝、玩、樂都有，節日氣氛濃厚。這家就有北海道的蟹和紅酒賣！There are all kinds of cute snacks that you would try even though you may not be hungry. 還有很多可愛的小吃，你不餓也會買來吃的東西。The snow festival is opened for public all day till 10pm every day. The sculptures look very different at night with the lighting. 雪祭每天開放到晚上十點（亮燈時間），晚上看和白天很不一樣。
The scop sculptures look very nice at night because you won’t see the urban backdrop. 由於晚上週邊的高樓大廈不會看得很清楚，加上燈光，令雪雕很突出。Ice sculptures are even more interesting at night, with colorful lighting from the inside. 晚上看冰雕是最好看的，色彩繽紛，燈光從冰雕內發光，透明的冰雕像冰燈。This one is a musical ice sculpture which only performs at night. 這座是燈光配合音樂而轉顏色的冰雕，白天是沒有效果的。This snow slide is built for some performance. 這座斜坡是表演場地。Some romantic lighting decorations for visitors to take photos. Lovely! 還有一些讓情侶拍照的裝飾。很浪漫！
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