We got back from Sapporo on Saturday, February 8th, luckily the storm rolling in didn't hit til after we'd driven home from the Aomori airport. By late Sunday night we had 15.7 inches of new snow. Bringing our season total to 96.9 inches! That put us above average (81 inches)...and that was just the beginning...
The following Friday the Misawa Weather Flight started predicting another snowstorm that would roll through over the weekend, initial predictions called for 15-18 inches over the weekend. The Blizzard Watch and Damaging Wind Watch turned into a Blizzard Warning, Damaging Wind Warning (58+ mph) and Heavy Snowfall Warning and the predicted snowfall just kept climbing. By mid-morning on Sunday the sky had cleared and we were left with a brand new 27.6 inches of snow. A new 24 hour snowfall record for the month of February. It still hasn't been very cold (unless you were out during the heavy winds), we were able to scoop snow in just long-sleeved shirts, no jackets required, it was in the upper 30's and sunny when the sky cleared. We are fortunate that a lot of the snow melts between storms!
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| View out of our kitchen window. |
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| We have no where to push/pile the snow except for right in front of our building. That means even the snow behind our cars has to be carried and then tossed on the pile. Not so bad when it's a light dry snow, awful when it's a heavy wet snow, especially when the top of the pile is above my head! |
After we finished scooping the snow that had fallen PLUS the dreaded drift that the snowplows leave behind our cars, we headed off toward Lake Towada to their snow festival....the Lake Towada Winter Story. The getting there was definitely slow, the roads off base don't get plowed unless they are a major route/toll road. On most of the city streets and highways the snow just gets packed down by vehicle traffic and the pavement doesn't resurface until the snow melts. The roads to Lake Towada had not been plowed on our way there. The roads were rough...like driving over a pothole about every 2 seconds. It usually takes us just under an hour and a half to get to the lake, I think it was closer to 2 1/2 hours going there and about an hour and 45 minutes coming home (some of the roads had been cleared a bit by then). Lake Towada is 64km (40 miles) from base.
Festival Coordinates: 40.428912, 140.894420
This year the festival ran from February 7-March 2. The fireworks are every night.
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| This is to show the depth of the snow along the road on base. |
Lake Towada Winter Story
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| The main stage of the festival, there were a couple performances while we were there. |
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| Foot onsen (hot spring bath). Still regret not soaking my feet for a few minutes! |
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| Me and our friend Ezgi. |
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| The Kamakura (Japanese snow igloo) bar! |
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| Inside the bar... |
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| Glasses made of ice! |
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| Had to wear their non-skid gloves to hold onto it! |
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| Not so sure about the Lamb&Tonic Water or Lamb&Coke...meaning RUM perhaps? |
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| The bar tenders were not wearing gloves...brrrr! |
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| You can barely see him, but Keenan is on top of this giant pile of snow. His face looks like a little speck. |
First and only time I've ever seen fireworks while it's snowing! It was actually kind of hard to watch since the snow was pelting us in the face...but it was a pretty good show.
Stopped into another kamakura for a little drink before heading home. This time we had some warm sake which was served in traditional wooden sake cups and came with an interesting stick...I mean...snack...
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| Pickled burdock root. |
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| This is the table we sat at in the igloo. I was back in the corner and was getting a little wet as the ceiling dripped on my head... We had to take our boots off of course, but the blanket draped over the table was heated! Very comforting seeing electrical cords all over in a structure made of water... |
The next day was President's Day so Keenan had the day off. We spent a little time checking out the sledding hill on base at the Ski Lodge (not really big enough to ski, unless you're just looking for a little bunny slope)...they let you borrow sleds and tubes for free! I crashed 2 seconds into my first attempt down the hill, scraped up my chin and kinked my neck...haha
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| This was the view out of our kitchen window after we had scooped all the 27" of new snow. |
Up next: Snowshoeing in the Hakkoda's...one of the snowiest places on Earth!
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