Hokkaido Day 9
Learning about Park-Based Festival Goodness
Day 9 of Hokkaido and I’m feeling bittersweet. Filming wrapped up, so I had to say goodbye to the crew for now - but I’m sure I’ll see them again. I have rarely been shown such kindness and professionalism, and I look forward to any other opportunities to work with them in the future.
The highlight, beyond and away today was going to the Obihiro Ice Festival. I got to see and experience so many fun things - including this rotating ice sled that they invited me down into the circle to push. Seeing the kids’ happy, smiling faces is now burned into my memory in the best way. I got the opportunity to interview one of the organizers of this part of the event, as well as interview a local member of the chamber of commerce to learn about how they contributed to an event of this size.
This event seemed to be sponsored by two main sponsors - the local Chamber of Commerce and the Japanese Self-Defense Force (JSDF/Jieitai). This brings to my mind some similarities with one of Seattle’s biggest events - Seafair, which includes demonstrations and presence from the US Military in the form of the Blue Angels.
This event is very similar in scope to what we might see in Seattle at Big Day of Play, but is a 3-day event instead of 1-day (More similar to Seafair in this regard). I learned a LOT about how to build excitement from the wonderful folks at the @obihiro_jc and the people with @obihiroyeg , and will take these lessons with me moving forward. Obihiro is a fantastic city, and their winter festival can’t be beat - if you’re ever in Hokkaido at this time of year, this is a certain must-see for the smiling faces and good vibes.
I also hopped on the train out west. It feels a bit sad to say goodbye to eastern Hokkaido, but I know some day I’ll be back. In the west, I’ve landed at Lake Toya, where I’ll spend a night before going to the big city - Sapporo.
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