A popular park in Kagawa Prefecture recently offered visitors the chance to enjoy a winter wonderland experience using artificial snow at an annual event in mid-summer.

“Snow in Summer” took place at Unpenji Summit Park in Kanonji, a venue known for attractions such as Sky Swings.

The park is located on a hilltop at an altitude of 920 metres and offers a cool retreat for children who enjoy the festival in the snow amidst beautiful scenery.

During “Snow in Summer,” artificial snow falls on visitors at Unpenji Summit Park in Kanonji, Kagawa Prefecture.

Thanks to the high altitude, temperatures remained pleasantly below 30 degrees Celsius even during the day.

This year, the event was held for the third time since its launch in 2022 and was initiated by Shikoku Cable, the transportation company that operates the Unpenji Ropeway.

The same snowmaking system that created an artificial ski area in the park between 2019 and 2020 produced around 10 tons of snow every day.

Snow was pumped out every five minutes, sometimes piling up in meter-high heaps.

A family visiting with a small child was happily playing in the falling snow, building snowmen and snowballs.

Although the snow quickly melted when it hit the ground, some determined children even tried to build igloos.

“I love cats, so I built a cat house out of snow. It was a lot of fun,” said Shieri Ito, a four-year-old visitor from Ayagawa, Kagawa Prefecture, expressing her joy.

The event ran daily until August 15 and continued on weekends until August 25; admission was free.

Snowmaking began at 10:00 a.m. and ended at 3:00 p.m., although the time could vary depending on the weather conditions.

The Shikoku Shimbun

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