Odori Park
The Snow Festival began as a one-day event in 1950, when six local high school students built six snow statues in Odori Park. In 1955 the Japan Self-Defense Forces from the nearby Makomanai base joined in and built the first massive snow sculptures, for which the Snow Festival has now become famous. Several snow festivals existed in Sapporo prior to the Sapporo Snow Festival, however, all of these were suspended during World War II.