Yuki Matsuri 2010: Snow Sculptures

On Saturday, I went around to see the snow sculptures in Odori Park.


The 7th block of the Odori Park is always dedicated to some international display.
This year's highlight comes from Dresden, Germany, the Frauenkirche Church.
The church did not survive the bombings during WWII, but as far as possible, the church has been rebuilt using the original stones.

The Baekje Royal Palace of South Korea
This model is taken after the Empress' Palace.

My nephew, Kale, loves trains of all sorts so this made me think of him.

Chibi Maruko-chan and Friends
Chibi Maruko-chan is a TV show.
2 things are super cool about this show.
1) It takes place in Shimizu, the city where I live.
2) The creator, Sakura Momoko, graduated from the high school where I teach: Shimizu West!

Goings On: Too Much

Perhaps I bit off more than I can chew.

There has been so much on my plate that since arriving back from Christmas vacation, I have had little time to sit down and type out anything unrelated to work, Shizuoka AJET, or sumo.

This past weekend, I thought to take a time out for myself and go skiing in Nagano. It was an eventful trip with many "memory moments" when you have to be optimistic and just chill, reminding yourself "We'll get home, when we get home". After a small accident, lots of snow on the roads, many missed turns and detours, and a dead car battery, I finally got home at 1:30 am this morning.

Recently, I have stepped in as an officer for Shizuoka AJET, an organization that plans events for all the JETs (and any accompanying friends) in Shizuoka. My job has been to finalize all Sapporo Snow Festival payments, rooming, the charter bus, and money. I've already dealt with people who are making changes to their plans, want refunds, drop-outs, a hotel change, charter bus meeting points and leaders and overall BAAAAAAHHHH!!!
On Friday, I am meeting with our travel agent to make the final payment for everything. I am counting on everyone to send in their money to the joint AJET account so that I can pay the travel agent. I hope people do not procrastinate too long. The actual trip is February 5-8.

This Saturday, I am going to the sumo tournament with 4 friends, 3 of whom need to pay me back for the tickets that I bought for everyone. Usually, I am not a stickler on payback times, but as I see these friends rarely, I'd rather get that money back sooner rather than later. And since I hold all the tickets, I hope they show up on time at the designated place so that we do not miss any of the action.

An elementary school sent letters from the students to answer questions about Japan. While there hasn't been a deadline mentioned, I have become stressed that I need to get this done in a timely manner. Preferably, I'd like to wait until March to send my replies, but as a fellow teacher, I know what it is like waiting and depending upon someone else.

Class starts in 10 minutes. Maybe I won't lose my head.

Back from the Grave - Yuki Matsuri Part 5

So what would a vacation be without a sweet photo of the view from my Sapporo Sheraton room?

There is a family-fun area on the outskirts of Sapporo called Tsudome. I tubed down the second-from-the-right slot. I think I squealed the entire way down too.

I think James, Rae, and I waited a good 1 hour for 10 seconds of fun.

Totally worth it says I.

And the famous Ramen Street in Japan.


Butter-corn Ramen. Why are the Japanese obsessed with corn?

Back from the Grave - Yuki Matsuri Part 4

The Snow Festival is the IT winter event in Japan. Here I am standing in front of the Tokyo Disney Castle (not quite to scale). The kanji to the left of me is yume which means "dream".

And accompanying Disney characters. Sorry, Donald got cut off a bit.

Honoring Kousuke Kitajima, gold medal winner of the breast stroke and thus Japanese hero.

Half-snow and half-ice sculpture with interior lights. SUGOI!!!!

Back from the Grave - Yuki Matsuri Part 3

Rae and I toured Sapporo Tower after our meat coma.

And here is the view by night. Sweet huh?

View of Odori Park, place of the snow sculptures.

Back from the Grave - Yuki Matsuri Part 2

So what does it mean "Genghis Khan Feast"? It means 2.5 hours of all you can eat grilled lamb and veggies and drink bar. Seriously, it was A-MA-ZING!!!

It's so beautiful!!! *shiny anime eyes*

This is HALF the group that went to the Yuki Matsuri.

The other half is sitting behind me. I am such a cheese... Oh, and the bib is a must. And I did NOT drink beer. Ew. Gross. I drank Coca-cola.

Back from the Grave - Yuki Matsuri Part 1

Hokkaido is known for its white chocolate so my friends and I went to the factory. Outside there was a tube snow slide. Rae is having a good time.

Inside, I definitely felt like I should be singing songs from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Thankfully, neither myself or my friends came close to temptation by our greed.

At the top of the factory was a cafe. We had hot chocolate and dessert during afternoon tea while a blizzard stormed outside. It was totally white!!

My strawberry tart was even tastier than it looks in this photo. Be jealous.

Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival) Preview

Because I really need to update...


This was taken in Sapporo, on the northern island of Japan, Hokkaido. Every year, they have a snow festival. There is a lot to do there, but this is just the "appetizer course" before I get more pictures loaded up.

The snow sculpture behind me is a replica of the Namdaemun Gate in South Korea that was burned down last year by a crazy arsonist.