Cute characters from Studio Ghibli, Pokémon and even viral videos have been emerging from the Japanese snow this winter.

One of the most famous winter events in Japan is the annual Sapporo Snow Festival, which features a collection of enormous snow sculptures so impressive that it draws thousands of visitors to the northern island of Hokkaido every year. This weekend’s heavy snowfall proves you don’t have to be up north to see some amazing sculptures though, as creative hands all around the country used the fresh snow to bring some of Japan’s best-known characters to life. Let’s take a look at some of the adorable creatures we’ve found!

Totoro from the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro is one of the simplest yet most adorable snow creations, especially when he’s big enough to hold on to his own umbrella!

This Totoro takes up position next to a bus stop, just like the character from the movie.

Another Studio Ghibli creature creation was spotted, in the form of an enormous larva known as an Ohmu from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

No Face from Spirited Away was also seen emerging from the snow, this time in a pure white robe, as opposed to his usual jet-black garb.

The spirit’s sudden appearance outside a window would be enough to shock any fan of the animated film!

More friendly faces appeared in the form of characters like Winnie the Pooh…

…Pikachu…

…and a couple of Minions.

Everyone was blown away by the details in this likeness of Blastoise from Pokémon…

Baymax was another character perfectly suited to being turned into a snow creation.

Some of the more giant formations included this enormous figure of popular children’s character Anpanman…

…and the Colossal Titan from Attack on Titan.

There was also a mini version of Godzilla that had everyone talking.

https://twitter.com/gezerun/status/820474690053414912

Surprisingly, Piko Taro didn’t make an appearance on social media this weekend, despite this creation made just two weeks ago. We have a feeling we’ll be seeing plenty of these at ski resorts around the country in the near future, though!

With the world’s best snow comes some of the world’s best sculptures. Given that these types of wintry creations were also seen during Tokyo’s blizzard of 2014, we can only hope that snow sculptors around the country will soon be blessed with even more fresh natural materials to work with!

Source: Net Lab
Featured image: Instagram/xiakea