Taking place from the first to the second week in February, the festival is one of Japan’s largest and most distinctive winter events. In 2010 (the 60th Festival), about two million people visited Sapporo to see the hundreds of snow statues and ice sculptures at the Odori Park and Susukino sites, in central Sapporo, and at the Tsudome site. The festival is thought to be an opportunity for promoting international relations. An International Snow Sculpture Contest has been held at the west 11 block of Odori Park since 1974, and teams from various countries around the world participate. The Snow Festival began in 1950, when 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. Currently, Odori Park, Susukino, and Tsudome are the main sites of the festival. Hotel bookings should be made well in advance as this is by far the busiest tourism period of the year and all central area hotels are booked solid throughout the festival period. - See more at: http://gosapporo.com/arts-entertainment/festivals/snow-festival/#sthash.VgCDwJXa.dpuf