Hokkaido hot spring resort holds annual ice festival

HOKKAIDO, Jan 30 (NHK) - A winter festival featuring about 30 ice sculptures has been drawing many tourists to a hot spring resort in Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido.

The annual Ice Fall Festival got underway on Saturday in Sounkyo hot spring resort in the town of Kamikawa.

Visitors posed for photos in front of the colorfully-illuminated ice sculptures on the Ishikari River bed.

A bar and a booth serving food and drinks have been set up for the first time in three years after a hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The bar is inside of an ice sculpture, where people can enjoy cups of hot sake or cocoa at tables made of ice. ...continue reading

Jan 30 (Kyodo) - 北海道上川町で28日、巨大な氷像を7色のライトで照らす「層雲峡温泉氷瀑まつり」が始まった。氷点下10度以下に冷え込む中、訪れた人らはカメラで撮影するなどして鮮やかな光と造形の共演を楽しんだ。3月12日まで。