04:24'Cold outside but warm inside!' - Japanese igloo restaurant serves cosy dinners at magical winter village
The Iiyama Kamakura Village restaurant gives visitors a unique opportunity to feast on their favourite dishes inside igloos.
Footage recorded on Sunday shows the magical winter landscape in Iiyama, in the Nagano Prefecture. The village restaurant consists of approximately 25 snow igloos, and it is open for a limited time from late January to late February each year.
The restaurant offers Noroshi Nabe, a local speciality stew made with Shinshu miso, mushrooms and locally grown vegetables. At night, the lanterns illuminating the Kamakura create a beautiful fairytale atmosphere perfect for family, friends and loved ones.
"It's great because it's warm with no wind coming in, and it's cold outside but warm inside", said Manae, a visitor.
Hideto Hattori, Public Relations officer of the Kamakura Support Team, explained the process of creating the unique Iiyama Kamakura Village restaurant.
"We use balloons. The dome is formed by building a high wall around the balloon by stepping on snow. Then, a hole is dug to let the air out of the balloon. When you pull out a balloon that has been deflated, the inside of the snow will have a space like a dome," explained Hattori.
As Hattori explained, the organising team consists mostly of elderly people. "We call ourselves the 'Kamakura Ouen-tai', which means Kamakura Support Team, and we are a group of twenty-six elderly people, including the captain, who are all retired and just keeping ourselves busy", he said.
The Nagano region experiences heavy snowfall every year and is reportedly a popular destination for winter sports enthusiasts.
04:24The Iiyama Kamakura Village restaurant gives visitors a unique opportunity to feast on their favourite dishes inside igloos.
Footage recorded on Sunday shows the magical winter landscape in Iiyama, in the Nagano Prefecture. The village restaurant consists of approximately 25 snow igloos, and it is open for a limited time from late January to late February each year.
The restaurant offers Noroshi Nabe, a local speciality stew made with Shinshu miso, mushrooms and locally grown vegetables. At night, the lanterns illuminating the Kamakura create a beautiful fairytale atmosphere perfect for family, friends and loved ones.
"It's great because it's warm with no wind coming in, and it's cold outside but warm inside", said Manae, a visitor.
Hideto Hattori, Public Relations officer of the Kamakura Support Team, explained the process of creating the unique Iiyama Kamakura Village restaurant.
"We use balloons. The dome is formed by building a high wall around the balloon by stepping on snow. Then, a hole is dug to let the air out of the balloon. When you pull out a balloon that has been deflated, the inside of the snow will have a space like a dome," explained Hattori.
As Hattori explained, the organising team consists mostly of elderly people. "We call ourselves the 'Kamakura Ouen-tai', which means Kamakura Support Team, and we are a group of twenty-six elderly people, including the captain, who are all retired and just keeping ourselves busy", he said.
The Nagano region experiences heavy snowfall every year and is reportedly a popular destination for winter sports enthusiasts.