The Aquarium Trapped in Ice

Miko! So today I went to Susukino~

…Ice sculptures, nya?

Whoa, you’re actually interested!

…I told you before, nya. Ice is Miko’s domain. Snow is whatever, but ice, Miko knows ice, nya.

You were SO indifferent when I talked about snow sculptures for three straight days…!

When I got there, it was snowing lightly. The ice sculptures had this thin layer of snow on them, like someone dusted white powder over something transparent.

…Same as dusting powdered sugar over clear jelly, nya. It makes the shape pop, nya.

Exactly! On their own they kinda blend into the background since they’re see-through, but with snow on top the outlines get super crisp. Total accident, but SO pretty.

…Not an accident, nya. It’s Sapporo in February. Of course it snows, nya. If the sculptor designed it to look good with snow on it, that’s a craftsman, nya.

OK check this out! (>=\=)

…Beer, nya.

A giant Sapporo Classic mug carved from ice! They put lights inside, so it glowed this warm amber color, just like real beer.

Y’know how the snow sculptures at Odori had projection mapping on the surface? Ice sculptures are the opposite. Light goes through them. Because they’re transparent.

…I see, nya. Snow is like plating food on a dish. Ice is the dish itself glowing, nya.

And since it’s Susukino, there are bar signs and neon everywhere behind it. That light passes through the ice, bends, and shimmers inside the mug like…

…A piece that borrows the city’s light to finish itself, nya. The location is part of the design, nya.

OK so Miko, THIS was the wildest thing today.

…Nya!? There are fish inside the ice, nya!

It’s called the ice aquarium. Real crabs, scallops, all kinds of fish, frozen inside clear blocks of ice. Lit up from behind, just floating there like specimens.

…

…Ingredients, nya.

Huh!?

Crab, scallops, fish…all ingredients, nya. To Miko, that’s a menu, nya.

It’s called an AQUARIUM!

…Freezing them in ice preserves freshness, nya. Sound technique, nya.

This! Is! Art!

…Fine, it’s pretty, nya. With light passing through clear ice, you can really see the shape of each fish, nya.

…Miko, that’s kinda a deep observation?

…Miko is talking about ingredients, nya.

And THEN! Look! (>=\=)

…One of your relatives, nya?

Oh stop! (>_<) It’s called “Urban Ice Fox.” An ice carving competition piece, super detailed. Up close you can see every single strand of fur. Even the tip of the tail.

The snow sculptures at Odori are all about overwhelming size, right? 6,000 truckloads of snow, tall as buildings. But ice sculptures are only about as tall as a person, and yet they’re so detailed it takes your breath away.

…Snow is built up, piled on, shaped bigger, nya. Ice is carved down from a single block, bit by bit, nya.

…Oh. Remember when we looked at the back of a snow sculpture? You said it was “subtraction,” nya. Cutting away the back to make the front the best it could be.

…I said that, nya. That was about snow, nya.

That subtraction was about sacrificing one part to perfect another. But ice sculptures are entirely subtraction. You carve away everything that isn’t the art, and what’s left IS the art.

…The beauty of addition, and the beauty of subtraction, nya. Both start as water, but the methods are opposite, nya.

…!

Miko. You said my three days at Odori were a full course meal, remember?

…Miko said that, nya.

Right, right, you did (>_<) So y’know what Susukino felt like? …The tea that comes after.

After a rich, heavy meal, a quiet cup of tea just appears. Fewer people, snow drifting down, wandering past ice sculptures in silence. It kinda… settled everything.

…Tea is part of the course, nya. It cleanses the palate and completes the memory of the whole meal, nya.

The three days at Odori would’ve been enough on their own. But seeing Susukino made the whole Snow Festival feel like one complete experience.

…By the way.

Hm?

You started at “like 5 minutes,” went to “an hour,” then “three hours,” nya. Today?

…About 30 minutes (>_<)

…That’s short, nya.

Wait, what?

…You just gave a whole speech about the beauty of subtraction, and then you subtracted your own viewing time, nya.

It was cold, OK…! (>_<)

…Tea tastes better warm, nya. The aftertaste lingers longer, nya.