Traffic is snarled and flights have been cancelled as snow blanketed wide swathes of Japan today.
In Tokyo, where heavy snowfall is uncommon, shopkeepers in the smart Ginza district shovelled slush away from shop entrances and cars clattered through the city with road-gripping chains.
Authorities in the capital said at least 20 residents suffered snow-related injuries - mostly after falling on ice. One 66-year-old woman who stumbled and hit her head was in a critical condition, officials said.
At central Haneda Airport, 192 domestic flights were cancelled as snow piled up on runways, said airport official Kumiko Kobayashi.
There were, however, no delays reported at Tokyo's main international airport, 21 miles east of the city, where rain was falling.
The Meteorological Agency predicted continued heavy snowfall of up to 28 inches later today in mountainous parts of Yamanashi and Kanagawa states, just west and south of Tokyo.
The agency expected more than four inches of snow to fall on central Tokyo by tonight and warned of icy conditions overnight.
AP