3d • General discussion
🇯🇵✨ Japan Fact Friday — さっぽろ雪まつり
Today’s fact takes us to Japan’s winter capital: Sapporo.
❄️ Japan Fact Friday — The Sapporo Snow Festival
On this day in 1950, local high school students in Sapporo built a few large snow statues in Odori Park.
They weren’t planning to start a national event — they were just playing in the snow.
But people loved it.
That small community activity grew into the Sapporo Snow Festival (さっぽろ雪まつり) — now one of Japan’s most famous winter events.
Every February, millions of visitors come to see:
⛄ giant snow sculptures
🏯 detailed ice castles and famous landmarks
💡 nighttime illuminations
🍜 hot winter food stalls
Some sculptures are over 15 metres tall and require teams working for weeks.
Today, the festival is known around the world — but it began with students, creativity, and community spirit.
🧠 Why This Matters
This reflects something important in Japanese culture:
small local traditions can grow into something meaningful through consistency, craftsmanship, and community participation.
It’s also very “Japanese” that something temporary — snow — can become something beautiful and memorable.
🫵 Your Turn
Would you rather visit Japan in:
❄️ winter for the snow festivals
🌸 spring for cherry blossoms
🍁 autumn for the leaves
🏖️ summer for festivals and fireworks?
Answer in English or Japanese 😊
4
3 comments
🇯🇵✨ Japan Fact Friday — さっぽろ雪まつり
skool.com/japanese
A community of Japanese language learners!
Master hiragana and speak your first 50 sentences in just 10 lessons with fun, support and encouragement!
Leaderboard (30-day)
1
+52
2
+37
3
+33
4
+21
5
+19
Powered by