These were the poetic words of Ukichiro Nakaya (1900-1962), the inventor of artificially created snow. He gave us these famous words when he visited the Teine Transmitting Station in 1959, not long after HBC had begun television broadcasting.
Snow has a unique natural beauty that contributes to the lives of many creatures.
It is thanks to the long snow winters that the rest of the seasons can be so vibrant and colorful.
Longer than anyone else, HBC has watched, participated, and contributed to the people and communities here in Hokkaido.
The rich soils and bountiful seas provide us with wonderful ingredients and raw materials.
One example of these magnificent natural resources is the Shiretoko World Natural Heritage Site.
Another example is the Sapporo Snow Festival which also makes use of natural resources.
This is why HBC loves Hokkaido and is moving into the future along with the people who live here.
The Sapporo Snow Festival began in 1950 and now attracts over 2 million visitors from all over the world.
HBC has been creating large snow sculptures at the Sapporo Snow Festival since 1962, but it was our first creation that became known as the first masterpiece since the Snow Festival started. Our first snow sculpture, "Olympus", was created in the image of the Greek Parthenon lined with ancient Greek sculptures.
The HBC snow sculptures with their wide variety of themes have since secured their place as one of the main attractions at the Sapporo Snow Festival.
Starting in 1974, we have organized an "International Goodwill Square" where a major international structure is recreated as a large snow sculpture
At our 1984 "London Square", the ambassador from the United Kingdom stood in front of the large snow sculpture of Buckingham Palace and declared the following: "On behalf of the United Kingdom, I express how honored we are by your excellent planning and execution".
At our 1988 "Spain Square", we created sculptures of the Castle of Xavier and the Cervantes Monument. The Spanish Ambassador to Japan at the time expressed his surprise at the sculptures saying: "I never thought it would be possible to recreate a Don Quixote themed display of these famous monuments out of snow".
Thus, the scale and craftsmanship of the HBC snow sculptures have become an irreplaceable part of the Sapporo Snow Festival.
