I've wanted to see the Yuki Matsuri since I was about four years old. This year I finally got to Sapporo at the right time! I also visited Tokyo and Yamagata.


Fujisan Sunset by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Daruma Robot by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


H5 and E2 Shinkansen by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Goryokaku by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Hakodate Castle by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Final Fantasy by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Star Wars at the Yuki Matsuri by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


PPAP by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Tokyo Government Towers by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Shining Dragon by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Playland Happy by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Pikachu by RobGeraghty, on Flickr


Snow Miku by RobGeraghty, on Flickr

Great shots, Rob (as always).

Thank you! I was really happy with the performance of the K3 at night. On this trip I took a lot of shots in low light. I still have to edit some of the photos from Yamagata and Zao onsen.

I brought back a bunch of unusually flavoured kitkats, but the most unusual one was the "butter cookie" which you're supposed to grill. The kanji on the front says yaki or grill.


Grilled Butter Cookie Kitkat by RobGeraghty, on Flickr

Katakana: kitto katto bataa kukkii

Yes! Interestingly, at the bottom left side it also says that it contains alcohol.

You can't go to Sapporo for the Yuki Matsuri and not take a picture of Miku Hatsune.

I was curious to see the person they presumably used for a "live" performance, but we weren't there at the right time. I actually hoped that they might have the 3D projection I've seen on Youtube, but the "live" performances were during the day, so they must have used someone doing cosplay.

Generally, the 3D projection is all they have used for Miku"s "live" shows. In everything I have seen, no cosplayers in sight.


I really didn't pay any attention this year as to if there was going to be any Miku concerts in Sapporo or how much Snow Miku was going to be used. I know in the past they have decorated trolley cars and I believe a train. I would need to go back and look. I also know that in the past they have released PVC figures of Snow Miku but again, I didn't remember seeing anything about one being released this year.

Miku was on every sign, and I'm pretty sure that there were figurines for sale, but I didn't look too carefully at the stalls. I don't know how they would have used the 3D projection of Miku during the day out in the open? That's why I guessed that they might have had a cosplayer. They certainly had some stage shows with Idols. But then, Idols aren't digital characters.

I am fairly certain that between the time the first "live" video that I saw and the last "live" video I watched, a lot of changes have occurred. The last concert video I saw, the colors where a lot brighter and the movements more fluid. The last one I watched was from 2 or 3 years ago so by now they have done enough that it could be used in the daytime.

Fair enough! In that case, I'm sorry I wasn't there at the right time of day. It's a piece of technology which fascinates me. No, I'm not a Miku otaku.