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A highlight of Matsumoto’s winter, the annual Matsumoto Castle Ice Sculpture Festival usually takes place in late January or early February (in 2020: February 1st and 2nd). With the stately castle in the background, teams of sculptors from all across Japan and from overseas as well gather to compete for the top prize.
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Carving begins with a pre-party Friday evening and continues through the weekend. The finished sculptures are brilliantly illuminated in a kaleidoscope of colors at dawn on Sunday morning, and they remain on display until Sunday afternoon. There is live music as well as food stalls, making for a festive event that the whole family can enjoy.
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Nagano’s winters can be brutally cold which is the perfect condition for ice carving. And Matsumoto Castle is the perfect picturesque setting for these ephemeral masterpieces, with a backdrop of the majestic Northern Japanese Alps in the distance.
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