The annual Sapporo Snow Festival kicked off in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido in Japan, today Sunday, after all COVID-19 restrictions were lifted for the first time in 4 years.

The 74th edition of the festival, one of the largest winter events in the country, is scheduled to be held at 3 locations in the city until February 11, according to the Japanese news agency Kyodo.

The sites are expected to include about 190 ice and snow sculptures, including statues carved by local residents.

The main site, Odori Park located in the city center, features a 12-meter-high snow sculpture of characters from the popular anime "Golden Kamuy," which depicts the Ainu indigenous people from northern Japan.

Food stalls have returned in the current edition following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

The festival used to attract more than two million people annually before the coronavirus pandemic, which forced organizers to hold the festival virtually in 2021 and 2022, and it was held on a limited scale last year.