December 21, 2014

Heavy Snowfalls Last Week/先週の大雪

Here in the Uonuma region of Niigata, it snowed a lot last Sunday (December 14), as well as on other days last week, particularly on Wednesday and Thursday. Here are some of the photos I took on Friday (Dec. 19). I have lost two kilograms due to the hard work of clearing the snow. Basically photos only; I'm in no mood to give a detailed description of each photo.
新潟県の魚沼地域では、先週の日曜日(12/14)、また他の日(特に水曜と木曜)に大雪となりました。金曜日(12/19)に撮った写真の一部です。除雪という重労働のため、2キロ痩せました。
基本的に写真だけです。それぞれの写真の詳細な説明を書く気にもなれないので。

My house:
我が家:  
  
I inserted a piece of bamboo into the tool so I could reach the snow on the roof. Clever idea, huh?
屋根の雪に届くよう、道具に竹を差し込みました。いいアイディアでしょ?


Photos taken from a window of the house:
家の窓から撮った写真:

Shiozawa Station on JR Joetsu Line:
JR上越線の塩沢駅:




Bokushi Dori (Street):
牧之通り:








Last week's heavy snowfalls exceeded the capacity of all the systems and equipment for clearing and melting snow.
先週の大雪は、除雪、融雪のあらゆるシステム、装置のキャパを超えていました。

According to this page, the snow accumulation as of today here in Minami Uonuma is 144 cm.
このページによれば、南魚沼の今日の積雪量は144 cmです。

Edited to add some photos, taken on December 24:
12/24に撮った写真を追加:

Snow clearance has not progressed as much as I had expected it to.
除雪は思った程には進んでいません。

Bokushi Dori (Street):
牧之通り:

JR Shiozawa Station:
JR塩沢駅:



But, anyway, snow has been cleared from the bicycle parking area.
でも、ともかく、駐輪場の除雪はできていました。

10 comments:

Fräulein Trude said...

I could not manage with this. Usually all traffic systems will break down at a snow hight of 20 cm or so. We call it the panic flakes. Stay safe and be careful. We have heavy storms but that is ok. Rain at 12 Degree Celsius, I am fine with this. And now I have to buy some more presents - I wish Christmas would be over right now.

Hiroyuki said...

Kiki: But you'd have to manage all this snow, because otherwise all your property would be gone!
30 cm deep snow a day is nothing to the people here in this snowy region, but more than 100 cm deep snow on several days is kind of hard to handle.
We are going to have a very white Christmas! (laugh)

Yubun said...

WOW!!!! That's quite a bit of snow that you got! Hope nothing got damage from all the weight of the snow and wish you and your family a Merry White Christmas!

Hiroyuki said...

Yubun: No damage to my house, but it makes me sad to hear that at least 11 people have died due to the heavy snow.

Despite the heavy snow, I roasted 500 g of coffee last Friday, when the snow let up.

Yangsze said...

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family! Here in California, there is no snow though it's a bit chilly and sunny. The snow looks so impressive!

Hiroyuki said...

Yangsze: I did have a wonderful Christmas eve dinner. In Japan, Christmas is simply a one-night event for many. The New Year's Eve and the first three days of the New Year are like Christmas time in Japan.

okasan said...

I'm glad to hear that everyone is fine and no damage to your house. I guess your area is named 雪国for a reason. At least you had yourself a merry White Christmas! Is it popular in your area to have Kentucky Fried Chicken over the Christmas holidays?
I look forward to read more of your blog next year!

よいお年をお迎えくださいね!

Hiroyuki said...

okasan: Thank you for your kind words! Yes, our area is the Snow Country, with the capital S, although other snowy areas like Tohoku and Hokkaido can also be called snow countries.
Kentucky Fried Chicken is popular throughout Japan on Christmas Eve and during the New Year!

oksanさんも、よいお年を!

9895039531 seeandoh said...

Lovely pictures of snow covered countryside. I love snow so much. I have never seen snowfall though.

Hiroyuki said...

seeandoh: Lovely?! I can understand how you feel about snow, because I'm not native here, but for those who were born here, "lovely" is not the right word! (laugh)