Here in Tokyo it doesn't snow very often at all....one day it was in
the mid 50s and very nice, the next day when we got up it was cold snow
was coming down. As the day went on it keep coming down and really
didn't stop until later that night. We tried to enjoy it because it
might be the only time we see it here.
By
the time snow was done we had a lot on the ground and everything was
white. They are not used to snow like this here. Even though we only got
3-4 inches it pretty much shut everything down. There are no plows to
clear the roads and they had to close the main highways running through
and around Tokyo. The airports were closed as well as the bullet
trains. Not sure if the trains were shut down because they didnt know
if they would be able to stop or not, or what the reason was, but they were out of commission for a while too.
We
had to go for a run to the store as we needed a few things and it was
also evident that people aren't used to driving very often in snow. We
followed a cab driver, who you would think would be a good driver as he probably has a lot of experience as driving is his job, but the cabby was
having a really hard time. He was spinning his wheels and swerving
every time he pushed the gas. There weren't that many people on the
roads and I think it was probably a good thing as there would have been
many more accidents than there were.
The next day I had to go out again and the roads were a little better as the sun was out melting some of what was left on the roads. As I was driving I saw a few people shoveling their sidewalks. Here it must be okay to throw the snow in the street as pretty much everyone I saw shoveling was doing just that. They would wait for a break in the traffic, if one was needed, and then dump the snow so the cars could run it over. (a little different than back home where they try to clear the streets). And when I say shoveling, I guess I am using that term lightly. I did see some people out with shovels, but I guess the more correct way to say it would be to say people were out dust panning. I saw a number of people with a handheld dust pan clearing their sidewalks, bending way over to scoop the snow off their walks and then flinging it onto the road. This is a little different than Germany where a lot of the people were brooming the snow off the sidewalk, but I happened to find it still just as interesting.....and effective?
Next time you get a big snow where you are, try the Japan-style-dust-pan method and leave me a comment letting me know how it goes
The next day I had to go out again and the roads were a little better as the sun was out melting some of what was left on the roads. As I was driving I saw a few people shoveling their sidewalks. Here it must be okay to throw the snow in the street as pretty much everyone I saw shoveling was doing just that. They would wait for a break in the traffic, if one was needed, and then dump the snow so the cars could run it over. (a little different than back home where they try to clear the streets). And when I say shoveling, I guess I am using that term lightly. I did see some people out with shovels, but I guess the more correct way to say it would be to say people were out dust panning. I saw a number of people with a handheld dust pan clearing their sidewalks, bending way over to scoop the snow off their walks and then flinging it onto the road. This is a little different than Germany where a lot of the people were brooming the snow off the sidewalk, but I happened to find it still just as interesting.....and effective?
Next time you get a big snow where you are, try the Japan-style-dust-pan method and leave me a comment letting me know how it goes
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