European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 6, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Food fishing for a one pot Winter meal by Sharon Hudgins  to stripes Magazine Tim weather was cold and Clear when the train pulled out o Misawa station Early one february morning. Winter had been unusually mild in Northern Japan thai year with very Little Snow. As we approached Aomori on the far North coast of Japan s Honshu Island we were cheered somewhat by the sight of Snow capped mountains. But there were still Only vague patches of White on the ground. Four hours later after an unsettling boat trip across the rough Waters of the Tsu Garu Straits we arrived at the port of Hakodate on the lower tip of hokkaido Japan s northernmost Island. The Snow was t much deeper on lha Side of the Straits and we began to wonder if he weather would undermine our Winter vacation. Our destination was the world famous Sapporo Snow festival in hokkaido s capital City hut around Hakodate at least there was t enough Snow to justify even a Small local Celebration. The train from Hakodate to Sapporo took us through some of the most pleasant Countryside we had seen during our five months in Japan. Rocky Bays and sea inlets. Mountains outlined sharply against the Clear Blue sky. A dramatically smoking Volcano. Dairy farms with houses and barns that looked As if they d been imported directly from Wisconsin. Fishing villages so clean and neat that we were reminded of Norway not Asia. Although hokkaido is the second largest of Japan s four main islands it is by far the least densely populated and our eyes feasted upon open expanses of undeveloped land unlike any other regions of Japan that we had visited. Twelve hours after leaving Misawa we arrived in Sapporo. Founded in the mid-1800s, Sapporo is now the largest japanese City North of Tokyo. Its population of 1.5 million lives in a clean modern Metropolis designed in a Grid pattern like Many american cities with wide boulevards contemporary buildings and spacious underground shopping malls. Because Sapporo is spread out Over the largest land area occupied by any single japanese City it does t seem As Claustrophobic As other major Urban areas in Japan. And the people we met and observed in Sapporo were far More outgoing and Friendly than their counterparts in Tokyo. A City tourist association Booklet advises visitors to Wear a smile and feel free to be Frion Lyl which is certainly easy to do in a City whose warmth is apparent even on the coldest Winter Day. Although Sapporo is the site of several festivals throughout the year its annual Snow festival during the first week in february is the largest and Best known attracting 2 million visitors to the City. First held in 1950 As a Small local event designed to Brig in up the Long Winter season the Sapporo Snow festival has grown into a major International festival famous for its giant Snow and ice sculptures constructed by teams of artists from All Over the world. Admission to the festival is free and it s such a popular event that tourists must make hotel reservations in Sapporo several months in Advance. The festival was originally held in Todori Park in the Middle of the City but As the number of Snow sculptures increased each year it was necessary to add a second site at Mako Manai a Short ride on the Ultra modern subway from Todori station. Today the smaller ice sculptures can be seen in Todori Park whereas the huge Snow sculptures some As child slides through one of the ice sculptures at the Sapporo Japan annual display. Tall As two Story buildings Are located at Mako Manai site of the 1972 Winter olympic games. More than 200 Snow and ice sculptures Are on display each year at the Sapporo Snow festival. Some of them Are huge constructions with Interior wooden frameworks supporting the ions of Snow out of which they Are fashioned. During those rare Winters when there in t enough Snow in the City truckloads of additional Snow arc brought Down from the mountains to provide the necessary material for those local and foreign artists and architects who pile shape and carve Winter s White gift into a variety of Beautiful and often amusing shapes. Most of the sculptures depicting human and animal forms Are larger than life size. Others trains Parade floats temples Are constructed according to the exact dimensions of the objects and buildings they represent. In some cases famous buildings such As the White House the Taj mahal Hirosaku Castle the Parthenon Are reconstructed in Large scale models As much As 20 feet tall with every architectural detail As accurate As possible. Some of the most amusing Snow sculptures we saw were of real and mythological animals dragons unicorns kangaroos powerful eagles Graceful cranes haughty swans a Bear with a fish in his Mouth a family of penguins an indonesian Garda Bird the ubiquitous japanese cat with his right Paw raised thought to bring Good Luck to any business establishment at which his image is displayed. Because it was the year of the ram there were several sculptures of sheep rams and shepherds with their flocks. Entire scenes from both Western and Oriental fairy tales had been constructed out of Snow like giant pages from children s pop up books. At another location Don Quixote prepared to attack an icy Windmill. A Mermaid sat seductively on a pile of rocks an american Cowboy Rode an angry Bull fat cherubs smiled beatific ally rotund sumo wrestlers glared at their opponents and fierce Samurai warriors brandished their swords. Cartoon characters were especially popular the 4 stripes Magazine Leb Nury 6,19s6