Snow in Tokyo

Someone recently asked me if we get snow in Tokyo. I replied that each year we get snow once or twice but it never lasts longer than 24 hours. During the twenty winters in Tokyo, I have seen a couple of heavy snowfalls but they always vanished quickly.

Last Monday was a national holiday in Japan and the forecast suggested some rain and a high of 9C. On that day I had promised to take Yoshiko to see Skyfall at a local theater in central Tokyo. Around 10 AM we noticed that the rain had changed to snow but figured the forecasted high would change it back to rain later in the day. As we left by car to the theater, it became obvious the snow was not going to subside. Yoshiko worried that maybe we shouldn't drive but I thought to myself that the snow will keep most people off the road and (yeah!) I am a Canadian. What's a little snow to a guy like me?

We emerged from the theater around 3PM and found an almost complete whiteout. The conditions were very slippery and the roads growing increasingly congested with the slow moving traffic. I was developing a real sense of anxiety as I knew the tires on the car were not suitable for these conditions. We made a couple of course corrections along the way, all of which turned out to be good for us. I knew we had to avoid any hills where traction would be an issue. Finally we were a few blocks from home and the main intersection was blocked with traffic. Fearing that the small back streets to our home would be impassible, I pulled the car over into the last remaining space by the side of the street. At that point we were finished and the car was not going any further. Fortunately it was out of traffic and more of less in a parking space.

I worried about leaving the car there but figured there is nothing I can do about it now. Tow trucks would be useless (and hours away) and certainly many people would need to abandon their cars in these blizzard conditions. We were just thankful to be able to walk the remaining three blocks home.

By the middle of the next day the traffic was getting back to normal, the snow was starting to melt and I was able to retrieve my car. What is unusual is the fact that five days later some of the snow is still on the ground here.