Sensoji Temple, the Ghibli Museum, and Tokyo Disneyland are always worth a visit, but especially on snowy days like this.
I’m always baffled when I’m flipping through an English-language travel guide and come across a passage that refers to Tokyo as “ugly.” To me, Japan’s capital is one of the most visually compelling cities on the planet, thanks to how deeply traditional and fancifully modern architecture are often both pressed into the same sight lines.
And while I’d call Tokyo a beautiful city on any day, it takes on a special ethereal character when the snow piles up, as it did this Monday thanks to the area’s heaviest snowfall in years.
浅草めっちゃ雪景色😂😂😂#浅草 #浅草寺 #東京 #雪 pic.twitter.com/ssYKGUZdB7
— onotch (@onotch_x) January 22, 2018
As we’ve seen before, a blanket of snow can give a setting a timeless quality. With the surrounding contemporary skyline obscured by the foggy night, the Asakusa neighborhood’s Sensoji Temple looks much like it must have to pilgrims and visitors generations ago.
Elsewhere, Kanda Shrine’s orange paint provided a dazzling contrast with the white snow, as did the neon signage of the bustling Shibuya and Shinjuku skyscrapers.
東京、喧騒を雪が包んで美世界でした pic.twitter.com/kzhMgQfviW
— いにゃゆう (@biophychemistry) January 22, 2018
While it may have lost its status as Tokyo’s tallest structure to the Skytree, 332.9-meter (1,092-foot) Tokyo Tower remains a beacon that’s visible from many parts of the city, and its glow tinged the icy mist on Monday night.
今日の東京地方は久しぶりの本降りの雪が降りました。
— たか (@taka_00215) January 22, 2018
増上寺から、東京タワーとの雪景色をお届けします⛄
2018.1.22#雪 #東京タワー #写真好きな人と繋がりたい #ファインダー越しの私の世界 pic.twitter.com/4MwQvSJatI
https://twitter.com/k_sk85/status/955409622545842176雪、降りしきる、東京タワー。 pic.twitter.com/COKheQ62mm
— 菅家 優介|Kanke Yusuke (@ysk_photo) January 22, 2018
A few years ago, Tokyo Station was renovated, winding back the clock on its appearance to more closely match its original, 1914 design. Much like with Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, the snow heightened the retro atmosphere.
雪降る東京駅#東京駅 #photography pic.twitter.com/s7UNLqZy2L
— you (@you_photrip) January 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/k_t_t_k_pt/status/955437791378157570こんなに静かな凛とした雪の東京駅は久しぶり。 pic.twitter.com/HQeiREcrSk
— LL(えるえる) (@LyaaaaaLywwwww) January 22, 2018
Tokyo tends to go all out with its Christmas light displays, with neighborhoods seemingly trying to one-up each other. Most of them come down shortly after Christmas Eve, but a few places are proud enough to leave them up all winter long, as seen in these shots from Toyosu, on the east edge of downtown.
豊洲の雪です。 pic.twitter.com/cy4RtOwqIF
— 東京湾岸義塾大学・政治経済学部 (@toyosumap) January 22, 2018
Meanwhile, the Ghibli Museum (soon to screen the latest anime from famed director Hayao Miyazaki), looked frostily festive even in the afternoon.
【ジブリ美術館】
— 情景師アラーキー (@arakichi1969) January 22, 2018
雪の景色が似合いすぎる♬
(2018年東京大雪) pic.twitter.com/VcbS2nvdCQ
▼ Are you cold, rooftop Laputa robot?
【雪のロボット兵】
— 情景師アラーキー (@arakichi1969) January 22, 2018
東京・井の頭公園のジブリ美術館。
(2018年東京大雪) pic.twitter.com/QIUl3xXYQl
Going from one mecca for animation lovers to another, Tokyo Disneyland may not actually be over the border in Chiba Prefecture, but with weather patterns pretty much identical to Tokyo, it was also transformed into a winter wonderland, even if Alice doesn’t make an appearance in these photos.
Frozen Castle 🏰❄️
— Amatou | あまと〜 (@amatou_0429) January 22, 2018
雪化粧のシンデレラ城がただただ幻想的でした✨#ディズニー #ディズニーランド #シンデレラ城 #雪 pic.twitter.com/KbKyH6DuGJ
▼ It’s too bad that rumored Frozen expansion isn’t finished yet.
雪がつもった、今日の東京ディズニーリゾート❄︎ pic.twitter.com/UANSfh04Es
— ⓚⓐⓗⓞ (@kah05disney) January 22, 2018
Things were equally snowy out in the suburbs, and even non-shutterbugs found themselves enjoying the snow, like these two brothers from Tokyo’s residential Setagaya Ward who saved themselves a trip to the ski slopes by snowboarding on a regular sloping street near their home.
https://twitter.com/ESP_festival/status/955452471769378816And if you’re the sort of person who thinks all this looks beautiful, but hates being out in the cold, just remember…
雪の為、帰宅が大変な皆さん、お疲れ様です。
— たむ (@Tam_WoolfeltCar) January 22, 2018
雪道を歩くときはペンギンみたいに ちまちまと足の裏全体で地面を踏んで、歩いて下さい。
がんばるにゃんこ動画、置いておきます。
しばしの癒しになりますように。#雪 #雪道の歩き方 #雪の影響 #大雪の恐れ #大雪の影響 #東京雪 pic.twitter.com/5Y28J8HJJD
…if that adorable little kitty can handle the weather, you can too.
Follow Casey on Twitter, where the first time he experienced snowfall in person, his honest reaction was “Wait…snow is ice?!?”
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