A snow statue of professional baseball player Shohei Otani is currently installed at the entrance of the atelier of Hiroshi Takano, a traditional Tsugaru pottery craftsman, in the residential area of Shimizumori, Hirosaki.

The size of the snow sculpture is about 3 meters high and 2 meters wide. It is said that Mr. Takano made it because he wanted the local people to be happy. According to Mr. Takano, he has been making snow sculptures every year since around 2000, with motifs such as Osamu Dazai and Kirin Kiki.

Regarding the reason why he chose Otani this year, Takano said, "Ohtani's success was called 'Ohtani-san' not only in Japan, but also in the United States, and it attracted attention day after day as bright news."

The snow sculptures are shaped with a snow shovel, and the shape is adjusted by attaching saws and snowballs. According to Mr. Takano, it was completed once in early January, but then the temperature rose and it broke. “It started to snow due to the cold wave, but it was difficult to mold because of the light snow quality, so I had a hard time,” says Takano. ``I'm still not satisfied with the mouth.

Influenced by Mr. Takano's snow sculptures, local residents are currently trying to make snow sculptures in the vicinity of the studio. Takano said with a smile, "It might be interesting if it became a residential area with snow sculptures here and there."