The recent media coverage of the snowstorm hitting a large chunk of Japan is a little bit 'loose;.
There certainly is a lot of snow blanketing much of the country. But, not all areas are being hit with the same amount of ferocity.
The confusion arises because the media refers to Tokyo as a central hub, and then notes other areas as thought they are close by - "north of Tokyo". Sure... but how far north of Tokyo?
The big storm that swept Japan this past weekend dropped a whole eight centimeters (3.1 inches) of snow onto central Tokyo. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the city averages about four inches of snow per year.
Fuji TV says this was central Tokyo's heaviest snowfall in seven years.
Okay... so bad for Tokyo... but not really, right?
Yokohama, which is 29 kilometers (18 miles) southwest of Tokyo got 12.7 centimeters (five inches) of snow - its largest accumulation in 12 years.
Okay... so bad for Yokohama... but not really, right?
Sendai in the northern part of Japan, but still on the main island, it got 20.3 centimeters (eight inches) of snow.
The mountains of Yamanashi, west of Tokyo, got 40.6 centimeters (16 inches). Okay... how far west of Tokyo? The news stories never tell. Regardless, it's 100 kilometers between the capital of Kofu in Yamanashi and Tokyo. As well, one expects more snow in the mountains, what with the higher elevations and all.
Some 3,400 travelers spent the night at Tokyo's Narita International Airport after 71 flights were cancelled, though by Tuesday, January 15, 2013, operations returned to normal with a few delays.
One man died due to a motorcycle accident in Ibaraki Prefecture - if there was snow on the ground and he was riding his motorcycle, that's just god thinning the herd.
One person died while clearing snow in Nagano Prefecture - heart attack, I presume. So weather-related, not caused by the weather.
As well, NHK, a Japanese television network says that 1,569 people were injured in car accidents and falls on slick pavement.
Does anyone wonder how NHK has such results? There were more people hurt than reported.
"Uh.... yeah, NHK... I was walking down the street and I slipped and I fell on my hip-pu (ass)... who can I sue?"
Does everyone who falls call up the media to brag?
Seriously...why provide an 'exact number'? It's just a bloody estimate!
Anyhow... so... yes... big bad storm blew across parts of Japan.
Yes... Tokyo got snow. Yes, other areas got hit worse, but are probably better equipped to handle such inclement weather.
Yes... media coverage has been spotty, offering half-baked coverage - which is strange considering the number of people in Tokyo who could actually provide news or information via Twitter or text messaging et al.
So... I guess I was right to rail on Tokyo a bit with my previous blog. It's just a little bit of snow. It's nothing. Sorry the holiday was a bit wet - but what the hell do you expect when you have the holiday in January?! Though... I suppose the young adults in Okinawa didn't have much of a problem with snow. Mmmmm, tropics...
Cheers
Andrew Joseph
There certainly is a lot of snow blanketing much of the country. But, not all areas are being hit with the same amount of ferocity.
The confusion arises because the media refers to Tokyo as a central hub, and then notes other areas as thought they are close by - "north of Tokyo". Sure... but how far north of Tokyo?
The big storm that swept Japan this past weekend dropped a whole eight centimeters (3.1 inches) of snow onto central Tokyo. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the city averages about four inches of snow per year.
Fuji TV says this was central Tokyo's heaviest snowfall in seven years.
Okay... so bad for Tokyo... but not really, right?
Yokohama, which is 29 kilometers (18 miles) southwest of Tokyo got 12.7 centimeters (five inches) of snow - its largest accumulation in 12 years.
Okay... so bad for Yokohama... but not really, right?
Sendai in the northern part of Japan, but still on the main island, it got 20.3 centimeters (eight inches) of snow.
The mountains of Yamanashi, west of Tokyo, got 40.6 centimeters (16 inches). Okay... how far west of Tokyo? The news stories never tell. Regardless, it's 100 kilometers between the capital of Kofu in Yamanashi and Tokyo. As well, one expects more snow in the mountains, what with the higher elevations and all.
Some 3,400 travelers spent the night at Tokyo's Narita International Airport after 71 flights were cancelled, though by Tuesday, January 15, 2013, operations returned to normal with a few delays.
One man died due to a motorcycle accident in Ibaraki Prefecture - if there was snow on the ground and he was riding his motorcycle, that's just god thinning the herd.
One person died while clearing snow in Nagano Prefecture - heart attack, I presume. So weather-related, not caused by the weather.
As well, NHK, a Japanese television network says that 1,569 people were injured in car accidents and falls on slick pavement.
Does anyone wonder how NHK has such results? There were more people hurt than reported.
"Uh.... yeah, NHK... I was walking down the street and I slipped and I fell on my hip-pu (ass)... who can I sue?"
Does everyone who falls call up the media to brag?
Seriously...why provide an 'exact number'? It's just a bloody estimate!
Anyhow... so... yes... big bad storm blew across parts of Japan.
Yes... Tokyo got snow. Yes, other areas got hit worse, but are probably better equipped to handle such inclement weather.
Yes... media coverage has been spotty, offering half-baked coverage - which is strange considering the number of people in Tokyo who could actually provide news or information via Twitter or text messaging et al.
So... I guess I was right to rail on Tokyo a bit with my previous blog. It's just a little bit of snow. It's nothing. Sorry the holiday was a bit wet - but what the hell do you expect when you have the holiday in January?! Though... I suppose the young adults in Okinawa didn't have much of a problem with snow. Mmmmm, tropics...
Cheers
Andrew Joseph
0 comments:
Post a Comment