When a heavy snowfall hit the Tokyo area in January 2018, many people did not just build a snowman: they made Totoro, Godzilla, Snoopy, Mario, Minions and even a Moai head. Photos shared on Twitter and Instagram showed how far Japan's home snow sculptors go, from tiny cats on garden stools to life-size characters in parks. Here are thirty of those creations, most of them credited to the person who shared them, with a note on what it shows and why it stands out.
When Tokyo got its heavy snow
Tokyo does not get much snow, so a big fall makes news. On 22 and 23 January 2018, heavy snow hit the Tokyo metropolitan area, and Wikipedia's record of the year in Japan lists 956 people injured. Reports at the time described disrupted trains, roads and flights. Most of the posts below date from those days, while a few credited images were shared in earlier winters, so the gallery is best read as a collection of Japanese snow art rather than a record of one storm.
Snow in a mostly snowless city is a novelty, especially for children, and the photos show families working together on their doorsteps, balconies and pavements.
Yukidaruma: Japan's two-ball snowman
In Japan a snowman is called a yukidaruma, literally a "snow daruma". The name links it to the daruma doll, a round good-luck figure, which is why Japanese snowmen traditionally have two snowballs rather than the three common in Europe and North America. Japan also has a long tradition of yukiusagi, small snow rabbits with leaf ears and berry eyes; a woodblock print by Isoda Koryūsai from around 1780 already shows one.
Snowmen in general are an old tradition. Author Bob Eckstein, who researched their history, traced the earliest picture he could find to a European manuscript from 1380. What stands out in modern Japan is how often builders swap the classic snowman for a character from anime, film or games, as this gallery shows.
Anime, film and game favourites
A boy in rain boots stands beside a near life-size Totoro holding a clear umbrella, built in front of a closed shop shutter. Totoro is the forest spirit from Hayao Miyazaki's 1988 Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro, and the umbrella recalls the film's famous bus-stop scene.
A long-legged animal figure lies sprawled on a patch of grass and snow, as if it had flopped down to rest. Its stretched-out pose makes it look more like a cartoon character than a classic snowman.
Snoopy lies on the roof of his doghouse, complete with a curved roof and doorway, while a little girl in a pink coat stands next to it. Charles Schulz's beagle is especially popular in Japan.
A detailed Godzilla rears up against a wall, with jagged dorsal spines and an open mouth full of teeth. Godzilla first appeared in Toho's 1954 film and remains Japan's most famous movie monster.
Three Minions from the Despicable Me films stand on a blue porch step, one holding what looks like a guitar. The goggles and overalls are carved into the snow rather than added.
Two photos show Baymax, the round inflatable robot from Disney's Big Hero 6, next to Olaf, the snowman from Frozen. Olaf is one of the few characters in this set that was a snowman to begin with.
A snow Eevee sits beside a plush Eevee toy, with leaves used to darken the ears. Eevee is a popular Pokémon, and the side-by-side comparison shows how closely the builder matched the shape.
Several small kodama, the pale tree spirits from Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke, gather on the steps of a porch. Their simple round heads and dark eyes are easy to shape from snow, which makes them a favourite.
A huge Jabba the Hutt from Star Wars sprawls along a narrow alley between houses. Its great size suggests that several people shovelled together to gather enough snow.
A panda with black ears, eye patches and a dark covering over its shoulders sits by a doorway. The black parts appear to be made from fabric or another dark material rather than snow.
dovio88
A large maneki-neko, the Japanese beckoning cat, raises one paw beside a fence. The figure is a traditional good-luck charm often seen at the entrances of shops and restaurants.
A sculpted bust of a girl with long twin tails, very like the virtual singer Hatsune Miku, appears among snow-covered bushes. The hair and facial features show an advanced level of carving.
A tall, egg-shaped Totoro has a hollow in its belly where two small Totoros sit. The builder added button eyes, whiskers and a nose to finish the character.
A dog or fox lies stretched out on a balcony floor, its legs tucked under and its ears raised. The shading of the slushy floor makes the white figure stand out sharply.
Mario, Nintendo's plumber, pops out of a green warp pipe, cap and moustache included. The pipe is a neat touch that turns a simple bust into a scene from the game.
Animals, cars and a few jokes
A long, thin character lies back across tiled steps with one leg in the air, decorated with snowflake graphics added to the photo. It is a fun example of a pose that would be impossible for a traditional rolled snowman.
The grinning Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro fills a narrow side passage, its body spread wide like a sofa. Its broad smile is carved directly into the face.
A small white cat curls up on a round wooden stool, with green eyes and pink ears painted or added. Small sculptures like this one take minutes rather than hours.
Miffy, the rabbit created by Dutch artist Dick Bruna, wears a black scarf next to a much smaller figure. Her simple cross-shaped mouth makes her easy to recognise in snow.
A car with a big smiling face, like Lightning McQueen from Pixar's Cars, is shaped on a snowy lot in front of a shop sign. It is roughly the size of a real car.
A tiny hamster-like figure holds a real sunflower seed, with twig whiskers and black eyes. Adding one real object is a common trick that makes snow sculptures instantly readable.
A rounded white cat face with whiskers drawn in thin lines peeks over the edge of a step. Japanese snow cats like this one often borrow the simple style of kawaii character goods.
Three more Minions stand in front of a bakery, glowing blue in the evening light. Clearly the yellow henchmen were a popular choice that winter.
Popuko and Pipimi from the manga Pop Team Epic appear with snow hands raising middle fingers, the series' signature rude gag. The anime adaptation had premiered on Japanese television on 7 January 2018, just weeks before the snowfall.
A tall penguin with a pointed beak stands against a wall at night. Its upright posture and smooth body make it one of the more realistic animal sculptures here.
A Moai head, modelled on the giant stone statues of Easter Island, stands in a car park. The long nose and heavy brow are the details that make it recognisable.
Mike Wazowski, the one-eyed green monster from Pixar's Monsters, Inc., is built with a coloured eye made from a separate material. Even without the green body, the single giant eye gives it away.
Two night-time photos show a Godzilla in a snowy park, its spiky back lit by street lamps. Parks gave builders more space and more snow than front steps or driveways.
An anime-style girl sits on a park bench, her legs crossed and her hair sculpted in spikes. Building a seated figure on a real bench is an inventive use of the setting.
Perhaps the cheekiest piece: a full-size urinal made entirely of snow, complete with a drain at the bottom. Its builder clearly enjoyed the joke of making something deliberately unglamorous.
From doorsteps to the Sapporo Snow Festival
These doorstep sculptures belong to a broader Japanese love of snow art. The best-known showcase is the Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido, which began in 1950 when local high school students built six snow statues in Odori Park. Japan's Self-Defense Forces started building giant sculptures there in 1955, and the event now shows hundreds of snow and ice works each February, drawing about two million visitors in 2007 alone.
Many of the subjects in this gallery would fit right in at Sapporo, which often features anime characters, film heroes and famous buildings. The difference is scale: these Tokyo creations were made by ordinary people with shovels, buckets and kitchen tools in a few hours.
Tips for making your own snow sculpture
- Use packing snow. Slightly wet snow, often found just above freezing, sticks together best. Dry, powdery snow can be misted with water to help it bind.
- Build a solid block first. Pile and pack snow into a rough mass larger than your figure, let it firm up, then carve away rather than adding on.
- Carve with simple tools. Spoons, spatulas, plastic knives and small trowels are enough for most details.
- Add one real object. A seed, a leaf, an umbrella or a scarf, as several builders here did, makes a character instantly recognisable.
- Pick a shape that suits snow. Round, chunky characters such as Totoro, Baymax or Minions are easier than thin limbs, which tend to break.
- Stay safe. Keep sculptures off roads and footpaths, and dress for the cold.
Above all, take a photo quickly. As every builder in this gallery knew, the sun will have the last word.
Sources: Photos by the Twitter and Instagram users credited under each image; Wikipedia: 2018 in Japan; Wikipedia: Snowman; Wikipedia: Sapporo Snow Festival; Wikipedia: My Neighbor Totoro; Wikipedia: Pop Team Epic.
COMMENTS