Summer may be the rainy season, but hail like this is freaky even for Japan.
A phrase you’re not likely to run into in Japanese textbooks, but which you’ll definitely hear people say in Japan, is gerira gou. Literally translating as “guerrilla downpour,” the term describes powerful but brief rainstorms that occur with little warning, as though Mother Nature herself is employing guerrilla warfare tactics.
After an unusually dry June and first half of July this year, the guerrilla rains came to Tokyo in particularly violent fashion on July 18, when the capital was suddenly pounded by gigantic pieces of hail, some measuring more than five centimeters (two inches) in length.
And if you think those gargantuan chunks of ice look scary in still photos, wait until you see them actually falling from the sky.
In the downtown area, the Ikebukuro neighborhood was hit especially hard. Making things worse were incredibly strong gusts of wind, powerful enough to blow wheeled signboards down the street and partially flood the platform of the JR Yamanote Line.
▼ The wind was also strong enough to turn whoever shot this video into a cackling supervillain/lord of a vampire manor.
And while Tokyoites could keep dry by staying indoors, many no doubt found themselves wondering if their windows were strong enough to withstand a direct hit from one of the giant hailstones.
▼ This have been a good time for this Family Mart branch to disable it’s automatic door.
Even once the rain stopped, there was plenty of slush left on the sidewalks.
▼ This Twitter user even noticed a number of busted street lamps, which appear to have shattered from the impact of falling hail or other debris.
Thankfully, no injuries were reported in association with the downpour, and by the time evening rolled around…
…the guerrilla rain clouds were giving way to the onset of a beautiful, peaceful sunset.