Heavy Snowfall Hits Northern, Western Japan, Tokyo Also Blanketed By Snow

TOKYO, Feb 8 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Heavy snowfall hit a wide swath of Japan along the Sea of Japan coast on Sunday, while the capital city centre was also lightly blanketed by snow, according to Kyodo News.

Japan's weather agency warned of heavy snow that is expected to severely disrupt traffic in areas adjacent to Kyoto, as well as the southwestern area of Fukui Prefecture and the eastern area of Tottori Prefecture, with some cities in the two prefectures recording around 30 centimetres of snowfall during six hours in the morning.

In the central area of Tokyo, 3 cm of snow was observed as of 5 am.

A strong winter weather pattern is likely to continue across the country on Sunday, with the Japan Meteorological Agency expecting extremely unstable atmospheric conditions and urging caution against traffic disruptions resulting from heavy snow, blizzards and high waves.

Due to the snow, the Tokaido and Sanyo shinkansen bullet train lines operated at reduced speed from the start of Sunday's service between Shinagawa in Tokyo and Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture and between Hiroshima and Asa in Yamaguchi Prefecture, respectively, according to railway operators.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO