Interest
Sapporo Snow Festival turns to Snow Demolitian festival
posted on by Bamboo Dong
The Sapporo Snow Festival is a time-honored tradition, beloved by people of all ages, tourists and locals alike. Where else can you see a giant Star Wars display carved out of snow (it was the largest snow sculpture in Snow Festival history, clocking in at 15 m high, 22 m wide, and 20 m deep), Evangelion girls chilling on a snow "beach" with Unit-01, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Sn-Ohmus, Love Live snow reliefs, Kyubeys, and, of course, Snow Miku?
Or a massive Candy Crush display with projection images?
And even sporting events, ice sculptures, sledding hills, ice rinks, architectural marvels, and seemingly everything in between. (This video and its followup have a rundown of every snow sculpture at this year's festival.)
But all good things must come to an end, which is why after the Snow Festival's week-long run, everything has to get knocked down. Hence, the Snow Demolitian Festival. If you like knocking down Jenga towers and kicking sand castles, this is for you.
Whee!
Good-bye, Sazae-san.
波平さんが壊されるのをみて、サザエさんとマスオさんが笑っているシュールな光景。 pic.twitter.com/pPxU4cDv48
— こうへい@ちばの人 (@kouhei1288) February 12, 2015
Once mighty buildings, reduced to a snow bank.
雪像の取り壊し始まってた pic.twitter.com/7DDj8wxRnF
— こうへい@ちばの人 (@kouhei1288) February 12, 2015
See you next year, Snow Miku.
西11エリア、雪ミクから雪像解体が始まりました。使用重機は日立 ZAXIS135USです。 pic.twitter.com/gTmzGIMHzc
— TZ@札幌まどオケ・雪祭り (@sayakawa3838) February 12, 2015
雪ミク雪像解体の様子をgifアニメにしました。実際はもっと繊細です #snowmiku #雪ミク pic.twitter.com/GpJRpJiZuL
— terebi(ブリックP) (@ChaosBrick) February 12, 2015
さよなら雪ミク雪像2015! 雪ミク雪像の解体が終わり雪山となりました。土台には木の板、葉の部分には骨組みがあり、スタッフが回収していました。この状態なら雪ミク雪像に触り放題なのでみっぱい揉んできました #snowmiku #雪ミク pic.twitter.com/GbGPflJGEC
— terebi(ブリックP) (@ChaosBrick) February 12, 2015
Before the demolitian, a bottle of sake is passed around and poured in turn. This holy liquor, miki, is used to bless the demolitian site, not only to wish for good luck and safety for the crew, but also to make an offering to the image which is about to be destroyed. Although the statues are just snow, they bear a face, and are said to have a soul. You can see the whole process in this video from 2011, once again with Sazae-san:
Here's some more pictures from this year's demolitian:
雪まつり終わって雪像の解体…うぉ~ pic.twitter.com/FD1jiwOT7T
— maipon ♡ ☆暇人☆ (@ponponhasepon) February 12, 2015
大雪像の取り壊し作業の前、製作に関わった人たちは雪像に酒をまいたり、キャラクターの雪像に雪で目隠ししたりして、別れを告げます。 pic.twitter.com/sMSY9bowPs
— HBC北海道放送公式アカウント (@HBChokkaido) February 12, 2015
As one might expect, the spectacle tends to draw crowds.
This year, because of increased temperatures and rain, some of the snow sculptures were already crumbling and melting by the end of the festival. Workers scrambled to repair parts of the Star Wars sculpture before it created larger issues.
さっぽろ雪まつり、スターウォーズ大雪像で、帝国軍vs.自衛隊が勃発?
タイファイターを破壊にかかる自衛隊の皆さん。 pic.twitter.com/RhszH8PJuY
— なかけん (@naka_kane) February 8, 2015
However, it'll probably be pretty satisfying once they set the excavators on it.
[Via RocketNews24; additoinal images from Yahoo! Japan]