{"id":732,"date":"2008-02-10T21:57:21","date_gmt":"2008-02-10T12:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-02-10\/732"},"modified":"2008-02-10T21:57:21","modified_gmt":"2008-02-10T12:57:21","slug":"heavy-snow-in-kyoto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-02-10\/732","title":{"rendered":"Heavy Snow in Kyoto"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f\/4.5, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nA Touch<\/span> of Snow<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Having grown up in Ohio – land of arctic winters and steam-bath\nsummers – I learned<\/span> to enjoy the change of seasons. I missed<\/span> them\nwhen I lived<\/span> in California, but Kyoto is better, with glorious<\/i>\nsprings and autumns. Kyoto's winter is short on snow and thus is fairly\ndrab, so I'm excited whenever the forecast has any chance of snow in it.\nSadly, nothing usually comes of it, so any flakes that do materialize are\ncause for enjoyment. I love snow<\/span> so long as I don't<\/span> have to drive in it, so\nI'm always wishing for more.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 45 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f\/5.6, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n“Hurry Up With the Camera”<\/span>“I want to play<\/i>”\n<\/div>\n\n

Yesterday mid-morning it started snowing a bit,<\/span> and by 11am we had a\nnice<\/span> light dusting. But it kept<\/span> snowing and snowing and snowing, and with\nthe temperature just below freezing, it was the kind of snow that came down\nin big gobs and stuck to anything it touched.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f\/6.3, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nWinter Wonderland<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Unfortunately, I didn't get to enjoy this snow because I did<\/b> have\nto drive. Anthony had a play<\/span>-date with Zak's<\/a> son, Gen, and with only a light<\/span>\ndusting on the ground at 11am, I decided<\/span> to make the 20-minute drive to\nOtsu. The bit of<\/span> snow was pretty, but the drive was entirely uneventful\nuntil we came out of the mile-long tunnel under the mountains separating\nKyoto from Otsu, into much<\/i> more snow. The main road<\/span> was sill okay,\nbut we had to take the first exit after coming out of the tunnel, and the\nexit was decidedly not<\/i> okay. I knew it<\/span> would be iffy, so I told<\/span>\nAnthony to be quiet so I could<\/span> concentrate, and I took<\/span> it very\ncarefully.<\/p>\n\n

The next car that took the exit, perhaps 10 seconds behind me, wasn't so\ncareful, and I could<\/span> watch in my rearview as the driver lost control and\nthe car just slowly drifted away from the center toward the side, stopping\nabruptly when it smashed head-on into the leading edge of a guard<\/span> rail. The whole<\/span> front-end and hood positively exploded on impact.<\/p>\n\n

I carefully stopped the car where I thought<\/span> it would be safe, and ran\nback to make sure the driver was okay. I noticed<\/span> with disgust that three\ncars that came on the scene right after simply tiptoed around the wreck and\nwent on their way. Anyway, the lady was fine, and had a cell<\/span> phone, so I\nreturned<\/span> to Anthony and my car, and proceeded down the long exit.<\/p>\n\n

The exit ends with a tight curve that is both steeply banked\nside-to-side and up-and-down as it drops traffic down to the surface\nstreets below. When I got<\/span> there, I found<\/span> it to be pure ice, with two cars\nstopped because they couldn't navigate it without sliding into things. The entire<\/span> exit was covered with this ice, but it only really became a problem<\/span>\nat this point when the road was so steeply sloped.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 17 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>350 sec, f\/8, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nExceedingly Slippery<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Over the next several hours, I tried<\/span> to move the car in small\nincrements, sometimes able to stop sliding into something only by jamming\nthe car into reverse and gunning it. It was a<\/span> very unfun time. Even some\ncars with snow chains slid uncontrollably.<\/p>\n\n

At one point about 100 yards from where I first<\/span> stopped, I was able<\/span> to\nput the car into a spot<\/span> where it was safe from people sliding into it, and\nI let<\/span> Anthony out to play in the snow. The picture<\/span> of him above was taken\njust when he got out, after having spent the last hour and a half<\/span> in a very<\/span>\ntense atmosphere. We had a<\/span> snowball fight, which helped the mood\nconsiderably.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nSweeping the Walk<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I eventually tried to move it again, and got another 100 yards until I\ngot<\/span> stuck on a slight<\/span> hill going up. I just couldn<\/span>'t get any traction. I could<\/span> go backwards, and I could<\/span> slide sideways, but I couldn't<\/span> go up. It was pathetic<\/span>. I know I<\/span> didn't have snow tires, but it's a Mercedes<\/span> and I\nexpected<\/span> better stock tires. Pathetic.<\/p>\n\n

After another hour or so – and much to Anthony's joy – I\nfinally<\/span> decided to abandon the car and walk the rest of the way to Zak's\nhouse. I was very<\/span> worried that someone trying to go up the hill would lose\ncontrol and slide into my car, but I couldn't<\/span> really move it, so there was\nnothing I could<\/span> do.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 18 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nAbandoned at the Side of the Road<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

So, we walked, holding hands tightly to keep from slipping on the icy\nslopes. Occasionally, I'd stop to<\/span> take a picture.<\/span> The snow was<\/span> still coming\ndown in huge clumps, so the FotoSharp camera raincoat<\/a>\nthat I always<\/span> keep scrunched up in my bag came in very handy: I couldn't<\/span>\nhave used the camera without it.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f\/6.3, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nRoadside Tree<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Once we got off the side of the mountain into the main city, it was no less icy, but easier to navigate without the slopes.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 38 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f\/4.5, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nAlmost to Gen's House<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 17 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f\/7.1, ISO 320 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nThe Otsu Mary<\/a> Disappears into the Snow<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

When we finally arrived at Zak's place four hours late, we were wet,\ntired, and wet. We made a<\/span> horrible mess of his place in short order —\nSorry Zak and Maki!<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f\/6.3, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nPretty Patterns in the Snow<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

I felt unsettled, so after a few hours I headed<\/span> back to check on the\ncar. Halfway there, I found<\/span> a stack<\/span> of bags of salt by the side of the\nroad, so I carried<\/span> one (25kg – 55 pounds!) up the rest of the way to\nmy car. It didn't help, and I just<\/span> could not get the car to move forward. It was both<\/span> pathetic and strange at the same time, since I felt<\/span> almost as\nif I had<\/span> the parking brake on, or something. The car should<\/i> have\nbeen able to navigate the hill. To be clear<\/span>, though, I didn't<\/span> have the\nparking brake on. I dunno<\/span> what the problem was. I returned<\/span> to Zak's.<\/p>\n\n

As it started to get dark, the lighting became beautiful in a very<\/span> odd\nway, with almost everything taking on a surreal<\/span> grayscale, as if I were<\/span> in\nan old movie. Yet, there were occasionally punches of color, such as the\nline of brake lights in the shot below.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 75 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>40 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nAlmost Monochrome<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The side of the mountain was beautiful, with different varieties of tree\nholding the snow with differing patterns.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 120 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>30 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nStreet Light<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The one bit of color in the mountain-side shot above is a street<\/span> light on\nthe road I was<\/span> on earlier, just after it comes out of the tunnel. By this time<\/span>, it had been closed to all but those with chains or snow tires.<\/p>\n\n

Around six in the evening, Anthony and I headed<\/span> home via train and\nsubway, where Fumie mercifully had a hot<\/span> bath waiting.<\/p>\n\n

Today was sunny and warm (in the mid 40s, Fahrenheit), so most of the\nsnow melted away. Around 3pm, I made the<\/span> trip back to get the car, and\ndrove it home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having grown up in Ohio – land of arctic winters and steam-bath summers – I learned to enjoy the change of seasons. I missed them when I lived in California, but Kyoto is better, with glorious springs and autumns. Kyoto's winter is short on snow and thus is fairly drab, so I'm excited whenever the forecast has any chance of snow in it. Sadly, nothing usually comes of it, so any flakes that do materialize are cause for enjoyment. I love snow so long as I don't have to drive in it, so I'm always wishing for more.<\/p>

Yesterday mid-morning [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}