Snow In Tokyo

With the "Polar Vortex" making headlines all over North America, it's hard to talk about snow in Tokyo, but we managed to get in on the worst snowfall in decades. Because snow seldom falls in Tokyo, there's very little equipment for snow clearing, and it's usually dedicated to the elevated expressways.

 But that's not a problem when everyone has snow chains! In fact, you can't proceed on national highways at some times without having snow chains installed on your car. We heard the distinctive "ching-ching-ching" of snow chains as vehicles passed. Buses, trucks, cars all had snow chains, or they didn't move.

But I was flabbergasted to hear that familiar sound when a postal motorcycle went by. All residential mail in Japan is delivered by motorcycle, so of course Japan Post would have chains for their bikes! What else could they do? Imagine driving a motorcycle in the snow, even with chains on the tires!