Snow problem for Japanese skiers

Japan's top skiers and snowboarders perform freestyle tricks at a metropolitan snow festival in Tokyo.

Japan's top skiers and snowboarders show off their moves in the most unlikely of settings.

A warm winter and lack of snow proved only a minor inconvenience for ski enthusiasts in Tokyo.

With high-rise skyscrapers as the backdrop, a large snow slope was built using hundreds of tons of shaved ice.

More than ten thousand spectators turned up and many were thrilled to see snow boarders and skiers doing mid-air somersaults in the middle of the city.

SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) WOMAN WATCHING THE SHOW SAYING:

"It's really amazing!"

(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MAN WATCHING THE SHOW SAYING:

"It's really cool too!"

(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) WOMAN WATCHING THE SHOW SAYING:

"I've never seen a live half-pipe show. So it's great!"

Organisers took days to create the 15 metre (49 feet) snow slope by shaving ice and piling it up in the pouring rain.

Unseasonably high temperatures have forced many ski resorts in northern Japan to shut down.

But Tokyo is keen to bring various sports into the city as part of its drive to host the 2016 Olympic Summer Games.

And going by the warm reception from the crowd, towering ski slopes could become a regular feature of the Tokyo skyline.

Matthew Stock, Reuters.