KAMUYKOTAN

  Image: Sapporo Snow Festival, Makomanai - February 1981 When my brother was little, before I was born, his uncle and cousin took him to the Sapporo Snow Festival in the late 1970s. Ironically, even though he was the one who got lost, he told the staff at the Lost Children Centre that his uncle and cousin must be lost and that he was trying to find them. Eventually, an announcement was made over the loudspeakers at the venue asking them to come to the centre. That cousin recently told me the story and laughed, saying she still thinks it was unfair, while also admitting it was impressive that he could give his personal information to the staff despite his young age.  Unlike the current venues, the main site was at a military base in Makomanai as the ice statues were built by soldiers stationed there at the time. Ice sliders were constructed alongside each large ice statue, and young children enjoyed sliding down them on their bottoms while service members assisted the...