When the Tokyo area got 11 inches (27 cm) of snow last week, the most seen in Japan's capital in 20 years, we were all amazed and a little inconvenienced. Then over the weekend we got another snowstorm which was much worse, dumping an unbelievable 31 inches (81 cm) of snow on J-List's home prefecture of Gunma, and 44 inches (114 cm) on Yamanashi Prefecture near Mt. Fuji, the highest levels seen in 120 years. Winters on the Kanto plain are usually cold and windy, and snow is rare thanks to the Japan Alps, which act as a barrier between us and the weather blowing in from Siberia. Virtually everything in this corner of Japan ground to a halt with the new snow, with all major roads and train lines closing. The timing of the storm was especially bad because Saturday was Entrance Exam day for several of Japan's most famous universities, which added to the stress of the poor students taking the most important tests of their lives. Unfortunately the snow is going to slow J-List up a little, since we're still digging our parking lot out so the post office can get to our door and pick up outgoing packages. Thanks for your understanding!
Some days there's nothing to do but make a giant snow Totoro.
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