Aomori: Message of support carved into snow for 3rd-year students in northern Japan

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:25 JST, February 15, 2022

INAKADATE, Aomori — A message of support was dug into the snow-covered grounds of Inakadate Middle School in Aomori Prefecture in January. The message was for the third-year students, who were preparing for their high school entrance exams and were close to graduating.

The third-year students saw the artwork, which was completed on Jan. 29, from their classrooms on Jan. 31.

About 10 members of “It’s OK,” a local group that creates snow art, spent about 2½ hours digging out snow using shoes made especially to create this type of art. Pieces such as this have been carved into the snow every year since 2016.

The members drew geometric patterns and wrote a message that reads, “Show your strength, Inakadate Middle School!”

The original plan was to have the first and second-year students also help with the project, but they were unable to do so because of the spread of the coronavirus.