Much of Japan was blanketed with heavy snow over the weekend -- with up to 10.6 inches of snow covering Tokyo, forcing the cancellation of more than 600 domestic flights on Sunday.
The snow storm descended on Tokyo Friday, disrupting traffic and causing blackouts as it moved north along the coast, stopping train service and closing off highways.
In some of the more remote areas of western Tokyo, where communities were stranded, military forces were mobilized to deliver food. With snowplows unable to keep up, trucks and cars were stuck on highways for hours.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, which manages electricity in the eastern Kanto region, said 109,000 households were without power in five prefectures just outside of Tokyo. According to local media reports, 13 snow-related deaths were reported across seven prefectures.
Local media also showed images of an empty gymnasium and a plane service hangar with their roofs caved in from the weight of the snow.
With the rise in temperature on Sunday, snow has started to melt in large parts of eastern Japan but the country's meteorological agency warned that strong winds and snow are still expected along the northern Pacific coast.
