From Kyoto to Tokyo: Heavy snow snarls traffic across Japan
Heavy snowfall hit a wide swath of Japan along the Sea of Japan coast on Sunday, while the capital city center was also lightly blanketed by snow, Kyodo reports.
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 centimeters of snowfall during a six-hour period in the morning.
In the central area of Tokyo, 3 cm of snow was observed as of 5 a.m.
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.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that more than 100 vehicle pile-up left US motorists stranded in snowstorm.
