A winter attack paralyzes Hokkaido. Thousands of people trapped at the airport

About 7 thousand people spent the night from Sunday to Monday at the New Chitose airport on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido, the Kyodo agency reported. Traffic paralysis caused by record snowfall led to the cancellation of dozens of flights and hundreds of train connections throughout the region.

According to the airport operator, 56 flights were canceled on Sunday alone. In the regional capital, Sapporo, 54 cm of snow fell in 24 hours, a record for January. Due to the need to clear snow from the tracks, the carrier Hokkaido Railway Co. canceled over 500 train connections, affecting approximately 130,000. passengers. Difficulties affected key routes connecting Sapporo with the airport and the cities of Asahikawa and Hakodate. In addition, about 340 people who could not return home took shelter in an underground passage specially opened at night near the Sapporo station.

The winter attack also affected other parts of Japan, mainly on the coast of the Sea of ​​​​Japan. Snow cover in the city of Otaru in Hokkaido exceeded 116 cm, and in Aomori – 128 cm. The city of Kanazawa recorded record rainfall (37 cm in six hours), and in Niigata Prefecture there is already more than 2.5 m of snow in some areas, public broadcaster NHK reported.

JR Sapporo Station
The electronic signboard remains the same as it was this morning, showing only one train on the Gakuentoshi Line.
When will the train to New Chitose Airport run?
The station is crowded with inbound tourists waiting for service to resume. pic.twitter.com/1cg35RflrL

— てっち♨️🏔✈️🏂⛺️🚃 (@aoyama44) January 26, 2026

The Japan Meteorological Agency forecasts a further increase in snow cover – by 50 cm in Hokkaido and 60 cm in Niigata Prefecture. Authorities are calling on residents to avoid non-essential travel and exercise caution due to the risk of power outages and avalanches.

Krzysztof Pawliszak (PAP)

krp/ rtt/