New Year’s, or oshogatsu, is one of Japan’s most important and longest holidays. On Sanganichi (the first three days of the new year), people celebrate the holidays by going to shrines or temples, spending time with friends and relatives while drinking sake and eat special New Year’s dishes.

At the northern end of Honshu, Misawa and its home prefecture Aomori, however, welcomed the new year with heavy snowfall.

According to Fumiaki Oguri, a Stars and Stripes’ Misawa Office employee, a strong cold front brought heavy snow in the Aomori area on the evening of Jan. 2. The snow continued falling throughout the night, affecting flight and train departures in the area.

The skies and roads have since cleared just in time for Oguri and other Misawa Air Base employees to return to work for 2025.

According to the Aomori Railway, some trains are still out of service between Aomori and Misawa Stations. On the base, Oguri said the snowplow teams have been clearing away the remnants of last week’s chilly arrival.

The long winter in Misawa is expected to stay until the end of April. Stay safe and warm!

Misawa Air Base

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