2 Incredible things that happened today when it snowed in Tokyo and the magic it created
Lulu gracefully getting a snowball thrown at her head!
Over the past 24 hours, about twenty centimetres of snow descended on Tokyo, the biggest snowfall in four years. Schools were cancelled, an emergency warning issued and the booming metropolis came to a screaming halt.
Our children were sent home from school in anticipation of the snowfall – before a flake had dropped. Warnings were issued throughout companies in the city to work form home if possible. If you must come into the office, leave early. Authorities urged people to stay indoors.
As the snow began to fall around two o’clock and continued throughout the evening, the situation worsened. Six thousand passengers were left stranded at Narita Airport, at least fifty cars marooned on the Rainbow Bridge, commuters trapped in tunnels for ten or more hours. Electricity usage spiked to ninety-five per cent of the capacity as more and more people dialled up the heating with the lowering temperatures.
Coming from Switzerland, we are very used to snow. Everyone drives four-wheel drive automobiles, the trains and trams leave and arrive on time all winter long and families own multiple shovels. I cannot remember school ever being cancelled in the years we were in Zürich.
The beautiful Arisugawa Park, covered in snow the morning after the big snow fall. Can you believe this is in the middle of Tokyo?
On the contrary, I remember showing up late to a meeting at work (because we had a blizzard and I couldn’t find parking, due to all of the snow) and my colleagues looked at me like I had five heads. Snowfall in Switzerland is not a big event. In fact, you could say that a snowy day is just another day in the winter life.
That is why the past twenty-four hours have felt like a magical holiday for us.
First of all, the city shuts down!
On a day-to-day basis, Tokyo and its thirty-five-million-some-odd-people run like a well-oiled machine. It is a city like I have never seen – everything clean, on-time and super efficient. Not a hair out of place.
When snow falls and the town shuts down, the fairy-tale begins. That same fast-paced Tokyo slows and comes alive. It is short-lived, as the temperature rises back to normal and the snow slowly drips away.
But in that short window, you see a Tokyo that is a bit out of joint and totally charming.
I have always thought that a fresh snowfall, especially the first of the season, brings out the child in everyone. Even as a self-professed beach girl, I do love the romance of freshly fallen snow.
Now imagine millions of people seeing snow once in four years - if ever! It was as if the city came together, celebrating across all boundaries in this glistening, shiny village.
Snow cats carefully being assembled in the parks with loads of laughter and giggles, sledges zipping down questionable paths and even a set of skis and poles on an adorable toddler kitted-out in celebration.
Neighbours digging one another out – using brooms, mops, boards and boxes – cars slipping all over the streets and the salary-men with their families, all together.
We will take a snow-day in Tokyo, with all of its glory, any time. The magic is palatable, while it lasts. And then, like any delicious holiday, poof!
