February took us to Sapporo for the 68th annual winter festival. This world-famous event attracts 2 million attendees each year.
A ski jump was erected in the center of the city…
… for ski and snowboard stunts.
Everything you’re about to see is made of snow.
We saw multiple stages with performers.
It took 3 decades to build the Arc de Triomphe in Paris…
… it took a total of 4,000 people 30 days to create this 1/3 scale model from snow in Sapporo.
Corporate sponsors participated…
… which included a slide for the kids.
Star Wars was impressive…
… which featured the main characters…
… all in snow.
Look at the detail.
What you see here is 3000 tons of finely-carved snow, delivered in raw form by 600 trucks.
Sculpture sizes ranged from humongous to small…
… with an international competition.
This popular sculpture was created by artists from Latvia.
Gandhi made an appearance.
Of course, no Japanese festival is complete without Godzilla…
… he is the standard.
Sapporo is sister cities with Portland, Oregon (where “weird people from around the world come together” stated the plaque.).
But without a doubt, PPAP was the most popular theme.
This is Pikotaro, from Aomori Prefecture…
… who created the pop-sensation “Pen Pine Apple Pen” song.(see YouTube for the video).
These impressive sculptures came alive at night…
… as projection screens…
… for lighting effects and videos.
It was a whale of an event.
The next day, we visited a second location which included snow balls…
… a jumbo slide…
… golf…
… a maze…
… and demonstrations of Honda snow blowers (you may recall that Sapporo hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics… snow is a way of life in winter).
We enjoyed the event knowing full well that warmer temperatures would eliminate this art… until next year when new sculptures will be created again from snow.
Closer to Tokyo, early March is Plum season…
… the pre-cursor to the more famous cherry blossom season.
Photographers are everywhere.
There is always plenty of food at these festivals, typically served on a stick.
If it comes from the ocean…
… it is edible.
Even bananas participated…
… in style.
This man was promoting cherry blossom travel at the Plum Festival.
And sure enough, late-March / early April is typically prime cherry blossom season in Tokyo…
… drawing busloads of tourists from around the world.
But due to unseasonably cold temperatures this year, the blossoms were delayed.
The moat around Imperial Garden is a famous spot for Sakura (cherry blossoms), but early April was too early this year.
None-the-less, people photographed…
… and queued for the boat rides.
Ceremonies could be found throughout the city.
This slow procession involved a wide sweeping arc of the legs.
Note the size of the shoes.
One week later, the blossoms had popped…
… which brought out droves of people…
… with big lenses…
… selfie-sticks…
… and pets…
… but not the sun.
However, the blossoms are lit at night for extended viewing time.
This gray, overcast weekend…
… turned to rain.
However, the blossoms won’t wait.
So rain or shine, Hanami continues (cherry blossom viewing / picnicking under cherry trees).
Sparkling wine is common.
It’s a Rosé for color (not cherry flavor).
The swans at Kichijoji were not deterred by the rain…
Swans enjoy water after all.
At this charming temple in Kichijoji…
… amazake was served (a traditional sweet Japanese drink made from rice).
The “brewery” was next to the temple.
One week later, I returned to Nakameguro to find the cherry blossoms (and the people) nearly gone.
However, a bit southwest from Tokyo and at a higher elevation, the search continued.
Finally, we found the perfect combination of sunshine and cherry blossoms…
… with a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji in the background.
Our college friend, Nina, gets credit for bringing the postcard-perfect weather.
Now for the bonus story about a rally. The first week of May is the Golden Week Holiday in Japan, which brought me to the U.S. where I flew into the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania airport. Less than 24 hours later, President Trump flew into the same airport to hold a rally at the Farm Show Arena on Saturday, April 29.
As a naturally curious person, I had to see the President. My father and brother John also joined.
This blog is apolitical. It is not a forum for opinion. I merely report what I see and let the viewer decide. April 29 was the President’s 100th day in office. This is a milestone which is commonly discussed in political circles and the media.
Vice President Mike Pence spoke first, and recapped the administration’s accomplishments during the first 100 days.
After 20 minutes, he then introduced President Trump who spoke for about an hour.
During his speech, John and I moved down to the floor (standing only) for a closer look.
Trump reinforced all the common themes and messages heard during the campaign…
… which were greeted enthusiastically by the crowd.
Trump skipped the annual White House Correspondents Dinner to attend this rally…
… but there were still plenty of media in attendance.
Police and security officials managed the crowd safely and efficiently after the event. That’s all for now… I’m headed back to Tokyo. Enjoy. ts
Ukrainian Tom 