Hokkaido. Yuki Matsuri

Everyone says that Japan is the country of four seasons.

Summer, Winter, Spring and Autumn are four distinct times in Japan where each season brings not only different food, weather and a changing landscape but also mentality. To some extent this is true in any country. Cold and harsh weather makes it more difficult to go and do sport, socialise and enjoy a walk in town whereas a glimmer of sun, warmth on the commute to work and a bit of light when you leave work can only encourage the growth of positive feelings.

However, while I sit at work today with the heater still on as the sun shines into my face through the wide window which faces onto the school gardens, I find it difficult to believe that at the beginning of this month in fact this time three weeks ago, I was running to catch a plane to fly to Hokkiado (a Northern island in Japan). For three days I had volunteered to subject myself to extreme winter conditions, snow and cold while looking at the beauty of handmade snow and ice sculptures.

Yuki Matsuri (yuki meaning snow and matsuri festival) was truely an amazing sight and a short but fun trip which I am glad to have organised and went on.  After a 2 hour plane journey, hotel confusion, taxi confusion (following a man who we believed to be a cab driver only to see him look more scared than Jayne and I) we dropped our bags off at the hotel, sneaked Felicity into our two person room and went into town to see some of the ice sculptures lit up at night.

Arriving at our destination I saw snow sculptures bigger and more beautiful I had expected. The wide streets and bright, clean town had been cast under a magic spell as it turned Sapporo into a winter wonderland. With snow piled up high against the roads and the pavements higher than usual as at least 10cm of packed snow raised the floor height we walked into town to eat and drink food from the numerous characteristic Japanese stalls which beckon you with bright lights, shouts of いらしゃいませ　and nice smelling food. After 30 minutes standing in the cold, unprepared for the cold which was about to attack my fingers and toes I watched my friends slide down an ice slide before we entered igloos, posed by ice sculpted penguins and seals and saw the leaning tower of Pisa, the statue of liberty, Disney characters and snow art.

On Saturday, an early start, a group of JETs assembled at the train station to partake on a ski-ing, snowboarding trip at Niseko. Confusion ensued with train tickets, meeting points, reserved seats and non reserved seats, buses which arrived and buses.. However, after hours of travelling, i in line to hire clothing, boards and boots and journey to the top of the black runs of Niseko it all seemed worth it for a good few hours boarding and throwing myself on the ground to experience the fact that it really didn’t hurt at all. The powder at Niseko was so soft and comparable only to the idea of throwing yourself into a room covered in cotton wool.

Finally, on Sunday, our last day at Hokkaido, we went to a children’s snow park. What initially sounded to be an odd place to visit only showed us the beauty and ingenuity of the organisers of this festival. Superb snow and sensational sculptures filled the park. An ice haven for children, the park was filled with slides, a maze, thousands of miniature snowmen, ice cream, sleds which parents pulled their warmly wrapped bundles of joy in and the chance to ski on old fashioned bamboo sticks. More impressively however, and the best 500 yen spent (around two pounds fifty) was jumping on a rubber dingy and being pulled around an ice course by a snow mobile.

Walking away from the extreme cold of Hokkaido and into the warmth of a sunny day in Osaka this little adventure seems so far away. An amazing and unforgettable trip, Japan and its seasons are rife with exciting events waiting to be explored and  thus my time here  will fly by as I divide the year into four blocks in which each one respectively offers different sights, fun and memories.