S/ NNN Reporter / Normally, this road is wide enough for one lane in each direction, but the snow mounds make it barely passable for a single car.

On January 26, Sapporo residents were busy shoveling snow a day after they had more than 100 centimeters of snowfall for the first time in 21 years in the month of January.

S/ Sapporo resident / I shoveled snow twice yesterday. This is the first time today. It’s awful.

Due to the heavy snow, train and bus services were suspended.

In front of Otaru Station, a long line formed at the taxi stand.

S/ Traveler from Saitama / I’ve been waiting for a taxi for over an hour, but it still hasn’t come. I come here every year, but this is the first time I haven’t been able to go back home.

At New Chitose Airport, where about 7,000 people spent the night due to transportation disruptions, some travelers were still stranded.

JR Hokkaido says that due to snow removal work, train operations in the Sapporo area will be suspended at least until the early afternoon.

Meanwhile, in Aomori Prefecture, a group of eight men who entered the mountains in the city of Hirakawa on snowmobiles went missing on January 25.

A search party of about 30 members set out the following morning and made contact with the stranded men shortly after 9:30 a.m.

All eight descended the mountain on their snowmobiles shortly before 11 a.m.

One of them said the snow was so deep that the snowmobiles would not move properly, and as it got dark, they decided to spend the night on the snowy mountain.

Police were notified about the missing on the night of January 25 by family members who were worried as they had not returned after going snowmobiling.

The police were able to reach one of the group members by phone at about 4:30 a.m. on January 26 and confirm that everyone was safe.

The police said they will investigate what caused the group to become stranded.