Tag - snow

 
 

SNOW

Residents remove snow from rooftops together with workers from a snow removal company in Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, in January 2021. In fiscal 2022, 49 people in Japan died during activities related to the clearing of snow. Of these, 39 people — or roughly 80% — were age 65 or older.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 15, 2024
Land ministry goes digital to prevent snow-clearing accidents
The system is aimed at assessing the risks associated with snow removal at individual houses to avert mishaps, particularly ones involving the elderly.
According to the Sapporo District Meteorological Observatory, no avalanche warning was issued for the Mount Yotei area, nor was it snowing heavily around the time of the incident. The police and fire department are investigating the details of the accident.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2024
Two dead, one injured in avalanche at Hokkaido ski town
The victims were part of a group of six who were backcountry skiing on Mount Yotei.
The Meteorological Agency has predicted that up to 5 centimeters of snow will fall across Kanto, with mountainous areas throughout the region expected to see up to 8 cm.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2024
Forecast calls for snow in Tokyo through Friday as temperatures drop
The weather agency is warning of traffic disruption and icy roads, with the Kanto region likely to experience heavy snowfall.
The Mount Kazafuki Ooike Pond in the village of Otari, Nagano Prefecture
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2024
Two taken to hospital after Nagano avalanche rescue
The two who were rescued after the avalanche on the 1,888-meter Mount Kazafuki, near the village of Otari in Nagano Prefecture, were conscious.
Director of the Akan International Crane Center, Miyuki Kawase, says tourism is incredibly helpful for the birds, but the people who come to take pictures of the birds have to remember they are still wild animals.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 24, 2024
Miyuki Kawase: ‘Experience, whether happy, sad or painful, makes you grow’
The director of the Akan International Crane Center in Hokkaido tells us how she found herself in a career centered around the symbolic white birds.
Blue sheets cover snow huts to protect them from the rain during an annual festival in Yokote, Akita Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2024
Unusually warm weather in northern Japan puts damper on winter events
The Meteorological Agency has also forecast temperatures in early March to likely be higher than usual.
Visitors at the Sapporo Snow Festival on Feb. 4
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2024
Sapporo Snow Festival crowds recover to pre-COVID levels in 2024
The recovery of visitor numbers has been helped by inbound travelers to Japan, according to the festival's executive committee.
Kazuyuki and Yuki Shimamoto are the executive chef and head patissier chef at Mimi’s Restaurant and Bar in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 10, 2024
Kazuyuki and Yuki Shimamoto: 'When you make things you love, you naturally just get better at it'
A culinary couple share their thoughts on a career in the kitchen and how they approach life in one of Japan's major tourist towns.
Snow falls over the Shibuya scramble crossing in Tokyo on Monday evening.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2024
Heavy snow in Tokyo area impacts morning commute, injures 120
Some train lines in the Tokyo area were suspended as of Tuesday morning, with many others facing delays.
Snow falls outside Sensoji Temple in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2024
Heavy snow falls in Tokyo and wider region, impacting transport networks
While the snowfall may peak overnight, those commuting on Tuesday morning are likely to encounter icy roads and impacts on trains or roadways.
It doesn't snow everywhere in Japan, but when it does, it falls in blankets that must be cleared away, sometimes through unexpected means.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 4, 2024
Rural Japan’s snow removal solutions range from cute to curious
Outside of Tokyo, cities that get a significant volume of snow tend to have better ways of dealing with it than the capital.
The annual snow festival opened in Sapporo on Sunday. The event, set to run through Feb. 11, features a total of 196 snow and ice sculptures at three venues, with food and drink areas set up for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2024
Sapporo Snow Festival opens with food areas coming back
Set to run until Feb. 11, this year's festival features a total of 196 snow and ice sculptures at three venues.
Australian Tayler Paulsen and her Kiwi husband Neil managed to purchase a fully-equipped lodge in Myoko, Niigata Prefecture, for only AU$110,000 (about ¥10 million).
COMMUNITY / The Foreign Element
Jan 29, 2024
In Niigata, a winter (and real estate) wonderland
For Australians and New Zealanders facing expensive prices back home, Japan’s snow country is a hotbed for cheap real estate.
Ground Self-Defense Force members remove snow on a section of the Meishin Expressway in Gifu Prefecture on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2024
Japan weather agency warns of more heavy snow
The warning comes a day after heavy snowfall caused nearly 800 vehicles to become stuck on the Meishin Expressway in Gifu Prefecture.
The streets of disaster-hit Suzu in Ishikawa Prefecture on Wednesday
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2024
Quake-hit Noto and Sea of Japan coast face heavy snowfall
Authorities have warned of possible road closures and the suspension of public transportation due to icy roads and snow.
People visit the Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, China, on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 7, 2024
Fairy-tale ice sculptures lure droves of tourists into China's Harbin
This year the ice park spans 810,000 square meters with 250,000 cubic meters of sculptured ice, harvested from the nearby frozen Songhua River.
The Sapporo Snow Festival offers outdoor dining, markets, sports, ice sculptures and more across three event sites.
LIFE / Travel
Jan 6, 2024
Asia's winter festivals: Snow, fire and spectacle galore
The ancient city of Nara wards off the wintertime darkness with an unusual tradition: lighting a local mountain on fire.
China's heating supplies are facing their biggest test of the winter so far as snow and frigid air descend on northern parts of the country, putting the electricity grid under huge pressure.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 17, 2023
Parts of China gripped by record-low temperatures as icy snap intensifies
President Xi Jinping called for an "all-out" emergency response to the cold snap that began at the start of the week.
The site in Furano, Hokkaido, where a tractor trailer hit a bus on Friday. Twelve people were injured.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2023
Foreign tourists among 12 injured in Hokkaido bus accident
The driver of the bus and nine foreign nationals were sent to a hospital, but their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
The first snow of the season is spotted on the peak of Mount Fuji on Thursday.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2023
Mount Fuji gets first winter snowcap, five days later than in '22
The local observatory said snowfall was brought by clouds hovering over the peak due to a low-pressure system from late Tuesday night.

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A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world