Sunday in Sapporo was blanketed by heavy snow that drifted across the city in frigid waves, delivering welcome sunny moments every now and again, but which became fewer and fewer as the day wore on. As a result, the snow sculptures looked a tad bedraggled, covered in fresh powder snow so mostly losing definition (and the battle).Help was on hand from an army of workers, armed with shovels and brushes in an attempt to regain their original form and character, but by mid-afternoon it was clearly a losing game and it seems they gave up for the day. The festival ends on Tuesday, so perhaps that’s a wrap for this year. Battle lost? But no! Despite the driving snow and frequent white-out, the crowds continued to be strong and, in many places, quite dense. There were large queues for the snow slides, freebie snack stands, the steaming food stands and the photo opportunity stands – regardless of the stinging blizzard that blasted through the site.

The International Snow Sculpture Competition for 2025 was won by Mongolia with Thailand in second place and Lithuania third. We’ve been watching the teams create their sculptures over the last few days, some doing a better job than others, but I guess in the end it was a race against time, what with the relentless heavy snow. 

The snow was so relentless and heavy on Sunday afternoon that we, along with seemingly the entire population of Sapporo, headed underground to the network of shopping streets that connect the city beneath the surface. I mean, it was packed – warm and dry, and a shopping and eating heaven, so no wonder everyone was down here. 

We’re now on our way back to Tokyo, first the 4-hour JR train journey from Sapporo to Hakodate-Hokuto through snow-blanketed Hokkaido forests and wild coastal runs right next to the sea . A brief stop to connect with the Shinkansen down to Tokyo and another 4 hours via the 53.85km undersea Seikan Tunnel down through Honshu and into Tokyo. We have another 2 nights in Shinjuku staying at the sister Onsen Ryokan of our one in Sapporo, so looking forward to a soak when we finally arrive around 6pm. A long but fantastic day of travelling on Japan Railways.

Homeward bound to the extremely wet FNQ tropics on Wednesday night, a complete contrast to our experience in Japan. Travelling is exhilarating but ultimately tiring so I think we’re ready for home.