Tokyo Blizzard!

     On Saturday we had a snow event in Nagareyama, 27 cm of an event!  I know that it did not qualify as a blizzard, but the disruption was in the same league.  Up until this storm the only snow we had was less than an inch and it easily melted within a day.  I was working in Tokyo (Ueno) and they canceled my last lessons so that I could catch the train home.  Yuta and I tried to make an American style snowman, but the snow was too cold to pack.  You may ask yourself why I had to specify an "American" snowman, and it is a fair question.  In Japan a snowman has only two spheres of snow comprising his/her body, whereas a real American snowman has three (like an insects abdomen, thorax and head?).  I hope that satisfies your curiosity and you will stop taking me off topic with these distractions.  Who do you think you are anyway?
     In New York this would have been a no sweat event, they have the infrastructure and the experience to deal.  In the Tokyo area this is not the case.  I saw no plows or salt spreaders around, and the side street near the farm was not even cleared.  Nature melted the last of the snow on the road this morning.  A lot of vehicles had chains on, but that did not prevent the bus I took home from crashing into the guard rail at one of the stops (it had chains on).  Luckily the only damage was to the directional light housing and we were still able to drive on.  Many of the drivers were going too fast and many were tailgating.  I was much more worried about the inexperienced drivers than anything else.  
     I took a video of the precipitation for you to enjoy. . .

     The good news is that this weather has severely damped my homesickness.  I missed shoveling (no, really, I did!) and the driveway here is roughly the same size as the one in New York.  I had to use a smaller shovel though, so it took me and Yuta a longer time to get the job done.  Ryoko shoveled again on Sunday, doing even more area than we had.  I do not think she welcomed this storm as much as Yuta and I.  The lad even said that the snow in New York tastes better.  I am glad that I was there to make sure it was the proper color. . .