Iwamizawa, Japan -- A cold snap returned to the main islands of Japan on Thursday pounding cities with blizzards and heavy snow already piled to record heights in some areas.
Japan's weather agency has forecast more snow to come in the next two to three days along the coast of the Sea of Japan.
On the northern island of Hokkaido, the city of Iwamizawa came to a standstill as it was buffeted by a blizzard with gusts of 44.7 miles per hour. Visibility was severely hampered and public transport came to a halt in much of the area.
"I was trying to get to school, but I can't go to school now because of this blizzard," one unidentified school girl told a reporter.
In Niigata city, central Japan, where so far near-record snow fall has already plagued locals, more winter weather is on the way. Japan's weather agency predicts another (27 - 35 inches) of snow on top of already (9.8 - 13 feet) of snow seen in some parts of this prefecture over the following few days.