The risotto function is probably congee. For some reason Japanese risotto is the farthest thing I've had from real risotto -- a thin soup with rice. Tasty but surprising if ordered.

I'm not sure where you live, but in the Chinatown near where I live (Nagasaki) there's a guy who will hand engrave whatever you want onto whatever you want. My friend had his cellphone touched up with discreet bamboo.

I'm not sure if you could find such cellphone-centric artists outside of Japan, but it's probably just a step away from the 'your name written in fantasy creatures' people you see on the streets in New York or San Francisco. Of course, laser etching would be a safer bet for quality, but what that man can do in 5 minutes while you wait angrily outside of his stall is amazing.

Great pictures, but this is actually last year's festival. The 2008 festival just opened two weeks ago. The main snow sculptures were 'The differences between French and Chinese Customs' themed this year, not Canada.

The main snow sculpture was still probably 30 meters tall and longer than I could accurately guess. Plus an entire snow village.

The ice part was again a neon-encrusted playland of slippery ice with unsupervised children sliding underfoot.