Snowpocalypse 2014

Snowpocalypse 2014

Over the weekend Tokyo got 10 inches of snow, with Fussa City collecting closer to a foot of snow! I’ve experienced snow like this when I lived in Rhode Island, but 12 inches in 24 hours didn’t happen very often. It was an unusually high amount of snow for Tokyo – the highest in 20 years!

It started with about 2 inches of snow on Tuesday February 4th. But it wasn’t much and it melted by Friday night.

Entrance to the Tokyo facility
Entrance to the Tokyo facility
After three hours
After three hours

The heaviest snowfall came early Saturday morning and throughout the day. When I woke up, I found a few inches on the ground.

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Doubtful that the snow was that bad, I dusted off my bike and rode about a half mile to a bagel shop near the air force base. It took much longer than usual and the traction on my tires wasn’t the best, but I managed to get there without crashing.

However, the waitress didn’t speak very good english. I ordered 2 blueberry bagels and a hot chocolate. What I received was 4 regular bagels and hot chocolate bagel. Clearly she thought I could eat 5 bagels because she didn’t hesitate at all.

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I managed to eat three of them and took the other two home with me.

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View from my window seat

With the snow picking up, I dropped my bike off and went to a small neighborhood park 100 yards from my apartment.

Hard to see, but I made a snow angel!
Hard to see, but I made a snow angel!

I did my best to make a snowman. Growing up in Florida didn’t really prepare me for this, so my first one accidentally looked mean.

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My second one was much better though – it’s all in the eyes.

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I’m pretty sure I put the buttons in the wrong place. Also my snowmen don’t have noses.

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While in the park, a girl came up to me and said hello in english. She was taking her black shiba for a jump in the snow.

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I headed to Fussa Station to grab a bite at a local curry shop as the snow started to pick up.

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It seemed like everyone had an umbrella except for me.

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Here's the same scene on January 19th, four week earlier.
Here’s the same scene on January 19th, four weeks earlier.
There wasn't a snow plow in sight
There wasn’t a snow plow in sight

I went back to my apartment and ended up staying in for the rest of the day – that was enough for one day.

Sunday morning I was greeted with this scene outside of my apartment door:

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From the column in the background, we ended up getting about a foot of snow. Even the bicycle baskets were filled.
Neighborhood street adjacent to the park
Neighborhood street adjacent to the park
In the open area of the park, the snow came up to mid-calf on me
In the open area of the park, the snow came up to mid-calf on me
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My snowman did not survive the snowpocalypse of 2014
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View of the park. My apartment is just to the left behind the transmission tower
View of the main street in Fussa
View of the main street in Fussa

Overall, the snow wasn’t too much of an inconvenience; I just had to walk instead of riding my bike. The temperature got into the 40s today, so I expect a lot of it will melt. I had a great time though.

Tomorrow I’m going on a business trip to Osaka which is about 4 hours away by train. I’ll be staying there until Thursday when I return to Tokyo.



1 thought on “Snowpocalypse 2014”

  • Who would have thought you had to travel to Tokyo to get a foot of snow! Life is full of surprises. Thanks for keeping us updated – Your shots and descriptions of your trip to visit the snow monkeys definitely triggered the travel bug. Keep up the great blogging and enjoy!

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