For the first time in a quarter of a century, Tokyo residents got to see their cherry blossoms in the snow.
According to the Meteorological Agency, unseasonally cold weather hit much of the Japanese archipelago on Saturday and rain in downtown Tokyo turned into snow, falling on cherry trees that only three days earlier had been declared to be in full bloom.
Agency officials said it was the first time since 1976 that snow had been recorded in central Tokyo after the cherry blossoms had reached their peak.
The mercury dropped to 2 degrees in Tokyo at 2 p.m. Saturday -- comparable to temperatures in early February. In the cities of Chiba and Yokohama, temperatures sank to lows of 1.9.
In addition to the colder regions of Hokkaido and Tohoku, snow was also reported in cities over much of the country.
Agency officials were more upbeat for the forecast for today, however, predicting that a high pressure system will move in over much of the nation except northern regions, leading to perfect cherry blossom-viewing weather.