The train journey was lovely, with the freezing snowy scene unfolding whilst I sat in my reclining seat, effortlessly enjoying the vistas.
Once in Asahikawa I strolled around the town, if you can use the word stroll when walking in thick shifting icy snow one minute and then stepping down inches onto a clear pavement another. By the way, I discovered the reason for this. There is under-pavement heating but of course it is expensive so either not every shop has installed it or if they have, they do not necessarily use it.
The main street was full of ice blocks with signs declaiming interesting sounding themes, and here and there was a sculptor with a saw but as yet there weren’t any actual sculptures! This section is a competition between artists, presumably to be carved tomorrow. Oh well, you can’t see everything.
As you will see on the attached video, I did discover a street lined with snow-men, everyone an individual which (who?) seemed to be entrants in a snow-man competition.
One ambitious shopkeeper was fashioning an igloo as I passed, presumably to be inhabited when completed by snowmen.
I decided that it was time to seek out the Ice Festival Grounds where the ice sculptures were, and after following street signs for some time and getting no nearer to my destination, I got out my phone for Google maps.
I feel I could just cut and paste the next part. “Walked miles, went round in circles. Finally asked a friendly local. Said local then turned round, walked a long way with me until my destination was in clear sight, and then returned from whence he came.”
And so I found the Asahikawa Winter Festival which seemed to me to have more sculptures than the Sapporo one, but that may be because they are all together in an otherwise empty patch of land, so obviously I saw them all, whilst I may well be missing some of Sapporo’s.
I noticed there was actually a shuttle bus back to the station but now that I had my bearings I decided to walk as it was only about a km and a half away and I was in no hurry.
Spotted a permanent statue or two half hidden in the snow, had a very pleasant walk back, wandered round a shop at the station, picked up some snacks, and returned from whence I came.
Join me in a trip to the Asahikawa Winter Festival
AloJapan.com