People doing strange things in the street

While passing the Susukino Ice Festival yesterday (it is close to my home), I saw a woman doing this. She was doing this hand stand for quite some time (in a skirt, no less!) while her friends took a photo of her in front of an ice dragon.

I also snapped a few photos of her doing this. Then they asked me to take a photo of all three of them together, with one of their cell phones. That cell phone turned out to be out of battery, so in the end the woman gave me her phone to use instead.

Susukino Ice Festival

At the time of the Snow Festival, we also have the Susukino Ice Festival. This is also nice. This year there seemed to be more sculptures that were not exactly the same as last year (it has been my experience that in Susukino they make exactly the same things every year, up till now).

The musical Cats is in town now, and had an ice sculpture

There is always a few exhibits with actual fish in them

Dragons usually look nice

Two hands forming a heart

Curling

A car you can sit in (if you are ready to wait long enough for all the other tourists to stop sitting in it)

I sat in this one last year

I was there alone, so I had to take the photos of me myself

Some sculptures were not finished yet.

Day four of the Susukino festival 2014

The last day of the Susukino festival the weather was actually good, and we had quite a lot of people at our place. Some of my friends showed up, though not wearing yukata this time. Some people that I used to meet a lot in the magic bar but that I have not seen recently also showed up, which was a lot of fun.

Me in the middle of some magic trick

I did a lot of magic for kids passing by, and for the people stopping by at our tables. I even did magic for a father and his son where we could not communicate at all. They spoke neither English nor Japanese, and I don't speak Chinese. They seemed to like the magic anyway. I chose tricks that would probably be understandable even without understanding the explanation.

Magician colleague being stabbed with a very colorful sword

The last day also had yosakoi. There were also omikoshi, mobile shrines. Japanese festivals often mean that the people from the shrines or temples take a mobile part of the shrine and run around with it. This is apparently to give the gods a tour of the city, so they do not get bored by just staying in the shrine or temple itself.

Omikoshi floating in a sea of people

Cat with a hat

This year a fight broke out between a guy who had left one temple or shrine for another and that possibly tried to get in the way of the old group's omikoshi (or maybe he wanted to join them and help them). It ended with some people holding one guy and another guy then elbowing him in the face, which looked pretty painful. Religious people are the only people i have seen being violent in Japan. I am told this kind of thing happens a lot with the omikoshi.

Yosakoi

Day three of the Susukino festival

On Friday, the weather was better. It rained a little, but not that much.

Apart from the food stalls, there was also a Yosakoi compentition. They were right next to where our magic bar had its food stall, so it was very noisy for us. Lots of fun people showed up, including my Greek colleague and his sister, so I had a good time.

After the festival itself ended, I helped out at one of our magic bars which was super busy until 4:30 a.m.

Day two of the 2014 Susukino festival: some magic, a lot more rain

When just arriving

When leaving

The second day of the Susukino festival I had to work very late at the university, so I showed up with only two hours left of the festival. It was raining like crazy more or less the whole time, so there was not so much to do, though. I did some magic for three groups of customers, and I got really wet in the rain.

Some people determined enough to eat and drink outside despite the rain

Giving up in the Oiran parade

Oiran after taking off the shoes

At the Susukino festival there is always an "Oiran parade", where two women dressed as oiran (to Westerners: "geisha") walk down the street. The have kimono belts that way 20 kg or so, and they have shoes that are 40 cm high or so. They also have to walk in a very difficult way, and they have huge entourages of servants.

Oiran with very heavy belt

Oiran in the rain

This year, it was raining very heavily. In fact, it rained so heavily that the oiran gave up, took off their shoes and walked normally.

Parts of the oiran entourage

Oiran and servants

First day of Susukino Matsuri 2014: some magic, lots of rain

The "Million" "girls bar" had all their staff dressed as Playboy bunnies walking in the streets.

This year it is the 50-year anniversary of the Susukino festival. This means that the festival is one day longer than normal. This year, our magic bar is participating. We have some tables where you can drink the most basic types of alcohol and where you can have spicy chicken (very good!), yakisoba (good, since it uses better noodles than standard festival food), "samosa" (filled with something that is completely different from samosa fillings (which is normally potato based curry taste stuff; ours have tomato sauce, cheese, and pizza flavorings), and wrapped in something completely different from samosa covers; more accurately described as pizza flavored spring rolls), and small sausages.

Magician doing magic

Magician not doing magic

We also offer the very special service of magic, that probably no other place in the whole festival has. There are usually four or five magicians running around, and when not serving drinks or food, they can show you magic.

Doing magic with a small plunger

Not doing magic with a small plunger

Explaining how many the original two rabbits may have become (four) with gestures

I have a job, so I showed up much later than everyone else (when I had finished my job and my overtime). The weather was uncertain, but not that bad. I did some magic for some people there, but then the rain started. And it rained very very much. So much that the festival was cancelled for the night.

Rain, and people hiding from the rain

Susukino Ice Festival 2014

At the same time as the Sapporo Snow Festival, there is also a Susukino Ice Festival. In the middle of the main street of the Susukino Red Light/Entertainment district they put up lots of ice sculptures. These are usually very beautiful, but they are also usually the same shapes as last year.

There are also some illuminated tunnels and other things where you can take photos of yourself and your girlfriend in romantic settings. I was asked by several Japanese couples if I could take a picture of them (with their camera, of course). During the festivals when lots of tourists come to Sapporo people always speak (broken) English to me, which is a bit confusing at first, haha.

Photo Opportunity Spots

Ice animals and ice car to sit on

Me sitting on the ice car

Me sitting on an ice animal

Heart and Cinderella carriage to take romantic photos in

Not that romantic photo of me in the Cinderella thing

Sculptures