Snowstorm in Tokyo

Hello everyone and welcome back to Tiro Finale. This time, for a little something out of the ordinary. By now, you would have probably heard or read about the snowstorm that hit Tokyo and much of the Kanto region which is indeed a peculiar incident indeed. It is not to say that it never ever snows in Tokyo during the winter but, rarely would it occur at such a magnitude. Having experienced the white-out personally, here is a little detour from our usual content for a little recollection of the incident.

Having experienced record cold winters for the 2017/2018 winter season in Japan, it was only a matter of time before it started snowing in Tokyo too. Traditionally, it would snow at least once or twice in Tokyo. But, these incidents would be sparse and brief with the snowfall usually not affecting daily lives. 

That was until this particularly heavy snowstorm hit both Tokyo and its resident's by surprise. Not only was there continuous snowfall throughout the day, the weather eventually got so bad that rail services had to be terminated. Not too far outside my apartment lies a main road which usually sees heavy traffic but, not this time as the roads were mostly devoid of traffic.

 

What started as a gradual snowfall in the morning eventually piled in many centimeters, leaving roads and houses covered in a beautiful albeit, chilly, layer of fresh powder snow. Even in the evening, where the sun usually sets at 4:30 pm, was still notably brighter thanks to the reflective nature of snow. With the temperature well below zero at this point, I decided it was best to just stay in for the day and wait for the storm to pass. 

By the next morning, the snowstorm had fortunately passed leaving with it a thick layer of snow in its wake. For many people in Tokyo this meant either one of two things, either extreme joy or annoyance. Joy came to those who did not have much chance to experience snowfall. While, annoyance came in the form of the slippery ice that had formed on the sidewalks together with various other nuisances. 

With the snowstorm complete, the skies now cleared up revealing lovely blue skies. This was probably the most beautiful sky Tokyo has seen in a long time over the course of winter. The clear blue skies were certainly a very welcome change over the usual dreary clouds. 

But one step outside and you are immediately reminded of the events that befall the day before. Not only was the ambient temperature much cooler, the roads were also considerably more slick. Every step had to be taken with caution unless you wanted to fall flat on your bottom!

Come midday, the effects of the previous day's snowfall were still very much apparent. The thick layer of snow were hardly affected by the afternoon sun rays which pierced straight through thanks to the clear skies. 

Fortunately, train services had been resumed to their usual operations albeit moving at slower speeds. With all the heat and friction developed by the trains over the tracks, you would assume that the snow would have melted off quickly. But, it actually took quite a while before the tracks were devoid of any snow and ice. 

Of course, with an abundance of snow, many people took the opportunity to make lovely snow sculptures of all sorts. Leave it to the creative Japanese to make something other than your usual snowman. 

With that, we come to an end of this unscheduled snowstorm. I must admit my time in Tokyo is certainly shaping up to be an interesting one indeed. Until the next surprise, thank you so much for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!