Sapporo Snow Festival (Image Two)
This photo was taken from the top of a hill inside a graveyard located no more than 100 yards past the Mt. Moiwa ropeway station. At the time my group arrived at Mt. Moiwa, we had half an hour before the ropeway was to open. At that point, we decided to go a little further to see what was just a little ways up the slope. Who knew that we would have found an old Japanese graveyard with a two tier pagoda as the centerpiece.
This photo gives you some idea of just how much snow there was on the ground during our visit. A pathway had been cut out of the snow on both sides of what I imagine was the grand staircase leading from the road to the pagoda. In most places, the snow only came up to my knees. Occasionally, however, it would come up to my hips. I wouldn’t have had it any other way, though.
There must be something different about Sapporo snow, something unique. I know people from different coastal regions in the US will boast about the quality of the sand on their beaches. Maybe Hokkaido natives do something similar for their snow. If I had to make up a term for it, I would say it was the most “welcoming” snow I’ve ever experienced. But maybe that was because I was on vacation.
