14th of January, 2013. When I woke up and looked out of my window, I was stunned to see this scenery.
![View from my room](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sJLnnfQw6QLUd1aZK6u8qRj250LAZSJGlAoi9lwPLRybVo1nMAfXyyJ1vla3mpdiY_2PHpiM0I4GRp_0vPULu7D6902p1GR24-DRvb5Pfx64TtUuvcniwwqLYWl7-I=s0-d)
![Wakeijuku courtyard covered in snow](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_udB30yBQ0UvM3l_gzJ-2b5Va3x2S-3a-W-eLAxgmrzn89x_SuhM9rhEMziIDH4o2SttbdvMk2QTZR5c8coUviioqtCYl5m37GuCvnTw8lxc1HCzSW-wmPEqbfLjfzk=s0-d)
There was a storm when I went to sleep, but I didn't expect it to become one of the heaviest snowfalls in decades at Tokyo! (The last time I saw anything like this was February 1, 2010, but looking at those photos again, I realized it's nothing close to what I saw today!) Snow in Tokyo is a rarity. I never would have thought that exactly one week after coming back from Kanazawa and Snow Country, I would witness even more snow here!
![Wakeijuku faces the snow](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_th9dlcrzum2kL2AH5Lx4VrXv5W9scIw1hrR6YeaI8TVD_2RffpyCUSEyEiMse4-kxIifCatvEUqLvN12QW6illIb7Colt2FfGo7dd7ZNfiD4wlEv9Tu2dgCUPIJRM-jA=s0-d)
![View from the kitchen](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sOZXzh_EYSIZispzEIjC77-T3S2iLFqj72qM2FlBitqYVcndBo2NQfN_AOdhfZiRA0gEnNYJa62GAi-x-TroIxLcYPh9yBtMnTUM-8NWtbchqAHF4U9Bp6yHsdHt_9=s0-d)
![Snow scenery through kitchen window](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tjQDoNITZ6eiy_bLinhrWyOcX9-A-YN3czRCqN7zaDDxKNL3EB6v-gsNFdHY4wx7T6Kq4VDtm8FaBw-eNcRnB1D-xOeU5QX0HkPwyVdmt1lRa6SRFeTTnoGkhxpsuppQ=s0-d)
![Trees covered i snow](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tEfLQvmZyjGl9zyCLB01WE61o3LkrYD0yDAmPvgsZLhHSh-ofowOSCQEmr0DQCF1YDPvFdt7wqJYfQGm1pln7rXyAJSRIoFY4i-AEOAJjbrrFupUdMeZ4Oo5zG1mxH=s0-d)
I wanted to know what other familiar places of Tokyo would look like in the snow, so I went out.
![Back entrance of Wakeijuku in snow](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sHlnYsSxGjJzAljWPt2vod5z5QvLpYAOxfyFJdN-UlKT0GwdBMOmY_Y2KBWc6IDdzR3xlAzPOfjhpbPf-VFXs_mqwlJ0y6Q_ORevrIfnaRMsUwDPUndpF0q9BJvCvrzQ=s0-d)
Down the slopes that I walk almost everyday. I almost slipped.
![Slippery slopes](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_te-q2TViwXVTBQMcXQrsEFToJ_XlkTQj4RptzCRQxPfBI2E_cbuYUjG397ASA3apiCvEnaDDy3WeE6VZH0iOQRkOFRODSeBTYVn7dvxk1kDmnlwHGfnfonzC0kivsaxQ=s0-d)
![Slippery slope outside Wakeijuku](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sMOYC-w8ePck2TQO56iwsOQ28M1WZzLzAbuLjEtQnB-nzVIJuORgABTdCKdLPNiJ7LdGyYTzQMoyRpP47sQMOWviFuN7k6n6EU2nWZ55e4n8GraUvjGsKL6ndVZ1qi1A=s0-d)
![Slippery slope outside Wakeijuku 2](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vOdQ4Wb4Dr3a0G2dIQnY0tSLRUKYyPi282K6EvYvzXay8-Feavt7n2QSNqKm5yN7cgb0LZ0TIkG9po2FEVm1Vt1DSxothJa0iUo26wenf7M0rSE8A4Y_KFZixl7nMyew=s0-d)
And past the Kanda river that I cross all the time. It had appeared in my short film, INHALATION before, during the cherry blossoms period.
![Kanda river covered in snow](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_t8pcqGl9EgAxENXy3jaPGgcHxLeC1jXK-dvvzow1DUZl83r7wGEHmrd3iKOc0Gn1tPoMEc_qoCEZw_QtHAGpIcTbbgrB3BijBMhrAk_dLRHVMqO2T_rBBk1NGIi3LODw=s0-d)
![Snow-covered Kanda river](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sCAqCHK2HamvscWrmKeLyfTnEGNrsvWLJA0Nqpod8rRwqX-f1rMm71qvMrhHONcB5cqfFrBu1qREkJrzkQgdMilH0GeS-eo7n93J4j7L2aOFZDF4SsILJdIM2uw1mh=s0-d)
To Waseda University.
![Waseda in snow](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sWyAxk0agJ8ktYIfu4s4RAicOh2YHjm22eLG9nf7ouO5VZHgw92-ZJ1HrzLQ3j4YZgEmMKYqhmF29o3zt0JsqAeXipYSJxY__EJBUet2jobxG2ysmnzZSjdwW6fJfK=s0-d)
![Guy walking dramatically past the Okuma Hall of Waseda University](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tC5atE5Iz6NZTCT2RbrFVoFicgqKsa8UrHqaZtG9yygA_SphjZ4klA6nJyNC28o-7AR2E3dMAwtfTlssFSsWa1fQzvYnDUQZnRti5wVwaH2fOqLtnLHlTEzmUtFsuPJg=s0-d)
And then, I looked at the statue of Shigenobu Okuma, founder of Waseda.
![Okuma statue feeling the chills](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_t8c06b21VBjuITLQh-BJmwaeMAYANXdIkqH6rurrQK1vVMBtU_jrjXP-4IQhsDKwbl7EXrOpuHnIy_6MLbF1UvMc9ddOoKh8DYoV4NUEx9HN4pP8smXiBH9gbMKJkzvw=s0-d)
![Okuma Bronze statue feels cold](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vPAgKU--aQcgbe9UbDoVqeaAvGbCPq7KzkfQfLrpnTvJbdikywx8k_FOo5lyuDMckBG2TZxMDNvg8ghu3wGif7U-B2JrrNiTNCcLVs4cY54mztnkdpze8h1V1nhEup1Q=s0-d)
After that I headed towards nearby Ana Hachimangu shrine.
![Ana-Hachimangu shrine at Waseda](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uAdHLavNAJa8BoEs3VU0zi9qrq4XwhUy9IoF-nJUFH-zBgN4-FobxaHdG23W86FYtNXd047_hEzqG6Vv_GnyLiCcFDdjGcdhCN-udqciMUN-GWtSr-LquEnPAMX0AVBA=s0-d)
They were preparing for a festival. But those stalls were all swallowed by the snow.
![Shoveling the snow at Ana-Hachimangu](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uSQPpYy4lgantclShahrDHXICOBOBxPah3IvtgV6pklsEC9CZcwM-ebtd7TIpSdiKWFRbDdtR9yfEmWbJSuVUQl2jZvOki1k7yjtHcFmqGG-NPTuOi5qFOOuN9b5uINA=s0-d)
![Ana-Hachimangu in snow](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_szBzbwMJwkqGeG3YvveQENrzIEu9kguxuDMSpeXjiazvDyUZ2-GURKdI6JXGlPbND3gv8fEsMFOrwzpOwiEXgg_bgwdVld6-tPrvC4WIQFrRMXyWTni0H5t_pZBRXMmw=s0-d)
Then I went to Roppongi. Once I was at Roppongi Hills, the winds were strong. I didn't wear any gloves (so I could operate the camera and iPhone properly), my hands were in pain.
![Even Roppongi Hills is filled with snow](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vSTmNfDbp839s65HzWqHcSVVuAZ_G9RHGq-lfbcim1m6y1NRQAeOL6wAQU_ra6Hd96KUBMklXJahwEfJX54ynAndbLpMX1vfxg1ym4NkMGT5qMpnsu_QwfwjlVntv_AA=s0-d)
![Roppongi in snow](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sUQ6CQm5C75cuKS2EfZufm8MTCXcaCX4lVg3qx9j7TmeMn0HP7D6WQZSRcQuJ3vRLKGEXcr6kKDneaLNx9F9kKnP3yB9M6_WuFo1oQQsx3EviH04zUPhed6UpMrQf-hg=s0-d)
![Roppongi in snow 2](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_udJ4F1PTtiaNlHkH34QWL4yAzRrhL4ITM6VNGZ9Ya3o45h-_nq55Fg_gyMCZ56NhirNtXqf9uR6tBGIUngh87VMvaSvxV1CE9jJHXbNm9u-g0ucubT0fBxVCnLTJkC=s0-d)
The blizzards were so strong that I lost three umbrellas.
The sun was setting, everything was a white blur, I thought I could get a nice view of Tokyo Tower and the city landscape from Roppongi Hills, but I couldn't see anything.
In the end I was back in familiar Shinjuku. Of course, it looked alien with all the snow. But lovely at the same time.
![Shinjuku in snow](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tEorTTi6QQt81Cm4i3MiNE_KLXe8eXP7c7zCFZJHpOUGrMxCoVXQjdajuSQW8IuduCmLHaMSLCp9B0vDY6XDq-BM-WhTbeLg70PRQ1WYDAlufXaFvbQvNxfCGwesPPDQ=s0-d)
![Shinjuku station east exit in snow](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tZLzX1x67s_-jiFK4mqyEhENa_8nuMTYtvR11Cyaeb9x2lDh1xHpVTBy_-Y7E42ge2Fxabs6a2aZJVUBkSGYseNK3Cjzurpe4xOIuG4EpikOslPgdQEQESu7G9Z8tN=s0-d)
![Shinjuku became a snow-covered winter wonderland](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vc8VnKCHdMTAccytDoUpWDxmE8neYzrCxH8cd4NWUpFdfueoci8CrsW20Fep8lOS91pq6-HUSI1jgi2xo59LGghfAIEs0N5I--7Nveor1AVtwmV2dMCVOWV39ivXGcyA=s0-d)
![Shinjuku in snow!](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_ssnMi4i5Ml9bp-g5ONEUDfPs5p-_IV6adIToujHIbWvME2HfQ74tbrR58vi4j_v4Mpp2R_iFiCHPCpahQ0qVJtVcWQI1IPrs9viHjdl-Muah179J9YVLDGlVgDu9vqfQ=s0-d)
There was a storm when I went to sleep, but I didn't expect it to become one of the heaviest snowfalls in decades at Tokyo! (The last time I saw anything like this was February 1, 2010, but looking at those photos again, I realized it's nothing close to what I saw today!) Snow in Tokyo is a rarity. I never would have thought that exactly one week after coming back from Kanazawa and Snow Country, I would witness even more snow here!
I wanted to know what other familiar places of Tokyo would look like in the snow, so I went out.
Down the slopes that I walk almost everyday. I almost slipped.
And past the Kanda river that I cross all the time. It had appeared in my short film, INHALATION before, during the cherry blossoms period.
To Waseda University.
And then, I looked at the statue of Shigenobu Okuma, founder of Waseda.
After that I headed towards nearby Ana Hachimangu shrine.
They were preparing for a festival. But those stalls were all swallowed by the snow.
Then I went to Roppongi. Once I was at Roppongi Hills, the winds were strong. I didn't wear any gloves (so I could operate the camera and iPhone properly), my hands were in pain.
The blizzards were so strong that I lost three umbrellas.
The sun was setting, everything was a white blur, I thought I could get a nice view of Tokyo Tower and the city landscape from Roppongi Hills, but I couldn't see anything.
In the end I was back in familiar Shinjuku. Of course, it looked alien with all the snow. But lovely at the same time.