Joining the ranks of artificial winter experiences is this snowy re-creation of a Japanese village in hot, humid Bangkok, Thailand. On the fifth floor of a mall, Snow Town is reportedly built to resemble a miniature version of Otaru, a port city on the island Hokkaido. Quaint storefronts holding shops and restaurants line a central square filled with artificial snow. Apparently there's demand for a cool alternative to the area's tropical climate, as Bangkok English daily The Nation reports that more than 3,000 people have visited since it opened this month. With any luck that kind of foot traffic will be enough to offset the more than $2.8 million that went into building an ice box in the equivalent of a steam shower.
Both the mall and the company that owns Snow Town are Japanese in origin, helping to explain why it's a replica of a small foreign city. And while Snow Town's owners want to bill it as the "first snow theme park and restaurant in Thailand," they may only be correct in the most technical of senses. Bangkok theme park Dream World has an attraction called — you guessed it — Snow Town, but we're pretty sure there's no restaurant inside it.
· Snow Town [Official site]
· Wrapping up and chilling out [The Nation]
· Yes, Sunny Orlando Could Get a $309 Million Ski Complex [Curbed Ski]
· $215M Hard Rock Hotel & Indoor Ski Resort Planned for Dallas [Curbed Ski]
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