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RIGHT: A snowman atAsahiyama Snow Village.QUICKFACTS Asahikawa is Hokkaido’s secondmajor city about 152km or two-hourdrive north of Sapporo. Hourly rapid trains from Sapporo’sNew Chitose Airport continue on asSuper Kamui trains to Asahikawa,with no transfer necessary in Sapporo.The journey takes two hours. Asahikawa is the terminus of theJR Hakodate Main Line to Sapporo.The station houses a touristinformation centre. Chuo Bus Service offers frequent(about every 20 minutes) bus servicefrom the Sapporo JR Station for¥2000. It takes just under 2 hours. JR Hokkaido has a Asahiyama ZooTicket from either Chitose Airport orfrom Sapporo valid for 4 days, costing¥7,500 from Chitose (stop over atSapporo) and ¥5,500 from Sapporo.This pack includes train and busfrom Asahikawa. Asahiyama Zoo is in the suburbs ofAsahikawa. The zoo is closed betweenseasons usually from October 22 toNovember 2 and from April 8 to 27.Penguin walk can be viewed dailyfrom mid December to March. Visitasahiyamazoomiyage.com/penguin-walk.htmlfor details.All prices and times are correct at time of publishing.For more information on Hokkaido andAsahikawa, visit http://en.visit-hokkaido.jpand www.asahikawa-tourism.com96 TRAVEL 3SIXTY˚nursery slopes, I admitted reluctantly that Iwas a no ‘snow-it-all’. I was grateful, however,that Kamui was mainly used by locals whowork during the week and were well out ofharm’s way when I ran amok on the slopes!Promised a high quality snow adventure, wehad some glorious runs almost to ourselves.Sheltered by hills and cushioned by foamsoftsnow, I felt feather-light as I honed myfl edgling skills on the beginners’ slope. Aboveme, skiers gracefully descended, carving neatparallel designs onto the powder, with thelong, wide cruisers allowing plenty of marginfor error. Snowboarders glided laconically pastbefore sinking into cotton-wool softness andcompleting the fairyland postcard. Nearby, adeer’s hoof prints ran through a stand of fi rtrees, their boughs garlanded with snow.WINTER WONDERLANDIn downtown Asahikawa, a giant snowmanholding a glass heart between his handsseemed a fi tting welcome to a chilly city thateach February, gleams with dazzling icesculptures that stretch down Kaimon Koen –the city’s pedestrian-friendly shopping stripwith both sides heated during winter for easy,non-slip walking. Nearby Tokiwa Park addsto the fun and excitement when it becomesthe location for the Asahikawa Winter Festival,one of Japan’s best known, a sparkling fi veday spectacle of snow, ice, lasers and dazzlingfi reworks designed to light up cold nights.The beauty of these sensational sculpturesbelies the chain-sawing, chiselling, cutting,drilling and polishing employed by an army ofinternational competitors. During the festival,razor sharp edges, sinuous curves, gossamerice wings and intricately carved scales adorncrystalline beauties lushly lit in pink, yellowand blue.ATTRACTIONS GALORETour guide Saito-san couldn’t wait to show mea ‘100 Yen’ shop where I bought packets ofkairo – little pouches that when shaken andslipped into pockets or shoes, keep fi ngersand toes snuggly warm.Youngsters, on the contrary, never seem tofeel the cold when having fun at AsahiyamaSnow Village, an icy fun park near town. Littleones shrieked excitedly as they hurtled paston snow rafts while others hit the ski trailslike professionals. Snow-going quad bikes,snowmobiles and tubing courses were fi lledwith ruddy-cheeked children, leaving the timidones for the sedate snowshoe course.