Super Bowl Monday

For the record, when I booked our trip to Sapporo, I never in my wildest dreams thought the Green Bay Packers to be in the Super Bowl. (Bad Packers fan, I know.) I watched the conference game on the edge of my seat. I wanted the Packers to win, but I also wanted to watch the game and I wasn't completely sure if the game would be playing in northern Japan. In the end, I packed my Packers scarf, and told myself that playing in the snow would be the perfect way to celebrate the Packer's Super Bowl game.

On Monday morning, we dressed in layers with snowpants and wool socks. It was the official kickoff to the Sapporo Snow Festival and we wanted to be prepared for the outdoor elements-- no snow flurries or football would keep us inside. The Super Bowl started at 8:30 a.m. local time and it was televised in Japan. Our tour bus left at 9 a.m. I didn't see one bit of the game.

After a one-hour bus ride and many game highlights/updates from my friend's iPhone, we explored Tsu-Dome. Tsu-Dome is one of the festival's sites and a bit of winter wonderland playground with several different sized slides that look more like luges than sledding hills. You can build a snowman or wait in line for more than 30 minutes to go sledding. We didn't wait in line. We will sled in Maryland without any line time. We paid 500 yen (approximately $6) and went snow rafting as a group.

Snow rafting: being pulled by a snowmobile while in a raft. Blue dork helmet required.



Olivia didn't complain, but she wasn't thrilled. Next, she went down a toddler snow slide about five times. On the sixth time, she started crying, so we went inside the dome to warm up. After a snack and drink, Olivia was checking out the indoor train. She had to ride on it.

While we were cozy inside the dome, a winter storm blew in, so we jumped on the bus to ride back to the snow sculptures. By that point, I knew the Packers won the game so I celebrated with a nap. It was a wonderful nap.

We explored the remaining 10 city blocks of snow sculptures before going out for dinner.

Olivia's first snow angel.

We celebrated the Packers' win cheese fondue and beer. Ah the Wisconsinite in me was overjoyed.

Benny and Olivia "cheers" their glasses at the restaurant.

Snowmen, chocolate and Sapporo beer

After flying all day from the southern most island of Japan to the northern most island of Japan (Hakkaido), we were ready to explore, but the Snow Festival doesn't start until Monday.

Sunday, February 6
Our first stop was Otaru, a sleepy fishing town that reminded me of towns in Colorado or northeast Iowa. The sun was out and the snow was soft and fluffy. There were snowmen around every corner. Olivia experienced snow for the first time. She walked around, deep in thought.

We walked through a music box museum (AKA Japanese for shop with a few old things, but mostly it's a store.) The museum had all kinds of music boxes for sale, including ones that looked like sushi and others that were moving Ferris wheels.

After lunch at a Sushi-Go-Round (delicious!), we went to a chocolate factory. Here again we walked around, and saw the chocolate cookies being made, but that was about it. We didn't have enough time to make our own chocolate at the factory. Boo.

Dinner was at the Sapporo Beer Garden, here we had all we could eat and drink in 90 minutes. Too bad we had to cook the food ourselves on a table grill. Benny was in charge of making the lamb, beef and seafood along with some veggies. He also kept a steady stream of beer glasses coming for the group. Olivia preferred the rice and ate an entire dish of it.

After dinner, our tour guide said the festival wasn't started yet, but they were testing the lights. So we headed to the festival and got our first look at the snow sculptures. Breathtaking.

Sapporo Snow Festival

Five years ago, my sister Rachel gave me the book "1,000 Places to See Before You Die," and I put it on the shelf and didn't think about it again until we moved to Japan. As I was planning our travels in Asia, I immediately opened this book and read the eight must-see places in Japan. Immediately I worked to check things off the list.

Cherry Blossoms. Check.
Climb Fuji. Check.
Kyoto. Check.
Tsukiji Fish Market. Check.

When we got news that we would be moving to Maryland in March, I soon realized that I wouldn't be able to do everything that I want to do in Japan, but there was one last must-do thing I had to do: the Sapporo Snow Festival.

According to the book, the festival started in 1950 after some high school students sculpted six snow statues. Today, two million people visit the festival and 38,000 tons of snow are trucked into the city of Sapporo for this one-week festival in February. The sculptures are as large as buildings and have impressive details. At night, they use lights to accent the snow.

Sapporo Snow Festival. Check.