So cold！By the roadside in Yokote City, Japan, the messaging app character James froze into a snowman

▲James and Korilakkuma got so cold they turned into snowmen！

Reported and photographed by You T-Ru / Yokote

Yesterday (15th), heavy snow fell across Japan, with blizzards hitting the Tohoku region in the evening and the Shinkansen temporarily suspended. However, in Yokote City, Akita Prefecture, people braved the snow and wind to hold the annual "Yokote Kamakura Festival" in the evening. Hundreds of snow huts spread throughout the city, and the event even featured the messaging app characters James and Korilakkuma, sculpted in the snow looking cold and shivering on the street, attracting many excited tourists for photos.

See more Yokote Kamakura Festival photos here


▲%The popular “Yokote Snow Festival” event is back!


Located in Yokote, Akita Prefecture in the Tohoku region, it is the birthplace of kamakura (snow huts). According to Yohei Sato of the Yokote Prefecture Tourism and Products Division, visitors to the region in winter can easily spot kamakura across the area. These snow huts often feature the symbol for the "water deity," as the Tohoku region has historically suffered from frequent floods. To pray for safety, locals created kamakura and enshrined deities inside to seek protection.

The 400-year-old "Yokote Kamakura Festival" is held annually in mid-February. This year (103rd edition), the event took place from February 14th to 16th, from 6 PM to 9 PM, with four main venues across the city. There were about 100 snow huts in total, including mini kamakura handcrafted by children, displayed in the plaza creating a spectacular sight. Along the roads, various large kamakura housed local families, who roasted sweet potatoes or performed traditional performances and served Hokkaido coffee inside. Though held in the midst of winter, the festival radiated warmth and liveliness, attracting around 100,000 domestic and international tourists to Yokote to join the celebration.


▲% Various large and small snow huts lined the streets, with locals roasting sweet potatoes or performing, interacting with visitors.


On the 14th, the first day of this year’s Yokote Kamakura Festival, heavy snow began to fall in the city. Visiting Yokote amid the snowfall, the reporter found the city just as lively as a carnival. From Yokote Nanko Elementary School to Bukeyashiki (samurai residences), Yokote Park, and the Yokote Regional Bureau Park, everywhere you looked there were snow huts of all sizes and shapes. Candles and small fires were lit in the centers of the huts, and both visitors and locals alike wore serene and peaceful expressions, making it a truly healing winter festival.

One of the most eye-catching features of this year's Yokote Kamakura Festival was the collaboration with a popular messaging app, which helped create large snow huts. Next to the huts, snow sculptures of the app’s characters James and Korilakkuma were on display. Korilakkuma looked like he was shivering from the cold, drawing a light laugh from the usually narcissistic James. The playful and relatable character designs attracted many visitors and became a new highlight of the Yokote Kamakura Festival.

See more Yokote Kamakura Festival photos here


▲%In addition, the messaging app characters were also displayed, including this one of James.