さっぽろ雪まつりと北海道のイノベーションハブ
The biggest event in Saporro’s winter calendar is the snow festival where millions of visitors from across the globe come to see hundreds of incredible sculptures crafted out of snow. I’m here in January ahead of February’s week-long snow festival, now in its 75th year.
Hi Reena.
Hi. Nice to meet you. Welcome to Hokkaido.
Thank you. This looks incredible. I had no idea they were so big. So this behind us is what this is going to become.
Yes, it’s like the most exciting festival that happens in this region. Mina Tsushida works in AI and chairs startup Hokkaido. She’s been coming to the snow festival with her family for many years. The events become incredibly high tech with apps that bring the sculptures to life and projections that illuminate them by night. Mina’s startup is creating AI videos to help with planning, making the festival greener.
So, this is like the simulation right now,
and I can see everyone moving around on here in real time.
This helps festival organizers reduce waste by showing them where resources are most needed.
So, the heating is one problem or maybe transportation and all the light ups and stuff. So, we can control the electricity amount to keep this event sustainable. Over a thousand volunteers help behind the scenes and I’m setting to work as a snowmason. You can put the snow in and then I will uh I will bash. Feel like I’m taking more snow out than I’m putting in. But keeps you warm in this cold weather though. I like it.
One brick down out of 80 being made here today.
It’s the moment of truth. Yeah, there it is.
My son. I mean, it’s imperfect, but you know, hopefully it won’t cause the whole building to collapse. As festival sculptures get their finishing touches, I’m left with an impression of a city that not only survives the snow, but celebrates it. Adaptation is key in this climate, which I’m seeing as we go underground. This is absolutely incredible down here. It’s like a city beneath the city. Several kilometers of underground streets make it easier to navigate the city during the harsh winter months. The startups here are also shaped by the elements. And we’re heading to Saporro’s newest innovation hub. First thing that strikes me in here is there’s a there’s a lot of wood.
Yes. Actually, this is the largest wooden architecture in this city. This architecture exemplifies the city’s green credentials with Japan naming Saporro a special zone for green projects. It’s a place for researchers and businesses to forge environmental projects across Hokkaido.
We have these like varieties of climate.
Yeah.
And also the huge land to experiment. So academia and the real field is just there. The land and the ocean and the wind. This is the key.
さっぽろ雪まつりとイベントを支える環境にやさしいテクノロジーをBBCのポール・カーター記者が取材。
北海道の多様な気候や広大な土地を生かし、持続可能な未来を目指す、企業や大学を横断したイノベーションハブを訪れる。
生活を変える未来の技術と、革新の最前線にいる人々を紹介するBBC番組シリーズ 『TechXplore（テック・エクスプローラー）』。
2025年3月15日放送に放送された日本特集『テック・エクスプローラー 日本：パート4 北から南へ』から、番組内容の一部を紹介する。
#さっぽろ雪まつり2025 #サステイナビリティ
『テック・エクスプローラー 日本：パート１～３』 は、Amazon Prime VideoのBBCニュースチャンネルで視聴可能。
【BBCのポール・カーター記者について】
生まれつき両手足の関節から下がない障害がありながら、長年の夢だったBBCの記者となり、
BBC Radio 5、Newsnightやテクノロジー番組「Click」など、数々のBBC看板番組を担当。2019年Travel Media Awards最優秀番組賞、2023年国際放送協会（AIB）推薦番組賞、2025年TravMedia Award年間最優秀番組賞など数々の受賞番組の制作に携わる。