Our FIRST True Winter

How can anyone really put into words their feelings and thoughts of living through their first snowy winter. For those of you who don’t know, my brother and I are from Hawaii. Snow, well snow is something that we almost never see, except at the top of our mountains and even then it’s more of an ice. When we chose to move to Japan we knew that the seasons would be something we had to deal with. It was a tad frightening as I have only dealt with summer, but not something that would have stopped the journey.

When looking into the forecast of our previous town Tokigawa-machi, Saitama we found that the snow there was incredibly minimal. Just enough to coat the ground for a day or so. This we thought was more then manageable. But with everything that happened we relocated to Hokkaido. We knew based off of public information, vlogs, and of course family that Hokkaido was the heart of Japans snowy country. But what we found was nothing short of amazing.

There was a true sense of change when the leaves started to fall. The temperature also dropped at this time and even the smell the air had was different. As the weeks passed it was clear that winter was coming.

I’ll always remember the first day of “snow” for us. It was on November 25, 2022. It was the day our mom was leaving to go back to Hawaii. It had started to come down just so lightly as we packed the car. It was just enough to let her see it. Then on the way back, my brother experienced the first blizzard of our Japan move.

Since that day we have been under constant snow fall, including today. (March 18, 2023). It has definitely slowed down some but it still coats the ground every now and then.

But snow, it really makes your emotions or experiences through the holidays different. Growing up in Hawaii, we always depicted Christmas as a WHITE CHRISTMAS, covered in snow, frosty running around, Jack Frost, etc. But we knew we’d never get that life. SO in essence this was a childhood daydream come true.

Another aspect I was not ready for was how easy AND how hard it is to shovel snow. There is a perfect time and a horrible time to shovel snow and knowing the difference is key.

But this winter was our learning curve. We now know what we have to prepare for. What we have to do, to make things comfortable and what more items we should have.

So now, with winter coming to an end, I really can’t wait till next year. The feeling of excitement, joy etc, is already building up. And, i’ve promised myself to document MORE of the change as it happens.

To those of you, who are from the tropics and are hesitant to live in snow, take my word, it’s okay. It’s amazing. And its something you’ll never forget.