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“This is a specialty of the Hokkaido region”. A repeated phrase used by my dear friend Yoshie as she introduced me to the delectable cuisine of the island of Hokkaido, the northern most region of Japan. But I had come to Hokkaido, not for the food, as delicious as it was, or the beautiful rural landscape, as scenic as this is, but for the annual extravaganza that is the Sapporo Snow and Ice Festival.

For just on 20 years, each February this busy Japanese city takes on a north pole appearance as artisans and designers mould snow and ice into extraordinary show pieces.

The main boulevards of the city are taken over with this spectacular show where grand buildings, palaces, historical figures and a few familiar cartoon characters are sculptured in mammoth propositions out of snow and ice.

In daylight these are impressive for there intricacy and attention to detail (just how do you make a pair of glasses out of snow for a icy sculpture of the famous English wizard, Harry Potter?). But at night, with strategically placed lighting affects playing on the surfaces, these amazing wintry displays are positively breathtaking, both up close or from the viewing platform of the nearby radio tower.

Ice and snow sculptors from around the world contribute to this impressive display, with over 20 countries competing in the annual competition. One of the featured displays at this year’s festival, a grand reproduction of the British Museum, took an impressive 150 tonnes of ice and 250 people to create, such is the grandeur and scale of these displays.

For those who are inspired to get creative and contribute to the gallery of snow and ice, all hands are welcomed to build the 10,000plus snowmen that are needed to break the proceeding years world record for the most snowmen. However, If the idea of plunging your hands into freezing snow to sculpt the regulation size snowmen is not tempting, you may prefer to make a wax globe. These nifty little bowls made with melted wax and inflated balloons come to life when decorated with paper flowers and fitted with candles.

But if Sapporo is the official, professional ice festival, the people’s festival appears to be in full swing at the nearby coastal town of Otaru. Forty minutes by train from the city of Sapporo, this town appears to be touch of old Bavaria with its European style buildings housing displays of music boxes and elegant glass and crystal. Here the Japanese love of arts and crafts is well satisfied with stores welcoming you to either build your own music box, blow your own glass bowl or carefully twirl your own delicate glass bauble. But if you can drag yourself away from admiring the skill of the professional glass-blowing artisans and purchasing the odd glass creation or two, the snow festival of Otaru awaits.

While the Sapporo festival is presented on the sweeping boulevards, the Otaru snow festival is featured on the banks of the town’s quaint canal. Visitors stroll day and night along the walkway bordering the canal, admiring the heritage stores and facades on the far bank and the community built snow sculptures along the path. Here snow shaped symbols of Hokkaido and Japan sit alongside beloved Japanese cartoon characters courtesy of the local sporting clubs, senior citizen groups and business associations. At night these they are lit simply with strategically placed candles that lend a romantic glow to the canal pathway (Where’s a tall dark handsome man when you need one!).

But I digress, the gourmet delicacies of Hokkaido proved to be the ultimate compliment to the beautiful wintry surroundings. From giant crabs that tourists have couriered back to waiting families in Tokyo (& eat before you get home, but that’s another story!), to lavender flavored ice-cream and creamy smooth butter that demands to be lavished on locally produced corn and the famous Hokkaido potatoes. In Tokyo, newspaper competitions offer as regular prizes, kilos of “Hokkaido potatoes” such is the glorious taste and texture of this humble vegetable.

But the absolute joy of Sapporo, food wise, is the amazing Royce chocolate. This can be picked up at most food stores in the region, but it is best to hit the Royce chocolate store in Sapporo to fully enjoy the experience. This chocolate lovers paradise is generous with its samples and has an adjoining chocolate themed café. Visitors must face the dilemma of choosing between the chocolate-coated potato chips, the dark or white chocolate dipped dried strawberries or the simple blocks of the smoothest chocolate you are ever going to taste. Having overdosed slightly on the samples, (purely in the spirit of research), the joy of the Royce chocolate experience is best captured by my friend Yoshie’s comment as we finally dragged ourselves out the store, “I feel so happy now”.

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