© KyodoA car is covered by snow in Niigata City on Saturday.
In 12 hours from Friday night to Saturday morning, 50 centimeters of snow fell in Niigata City, and 38 centimeters in Aikawa, Sado City, both of which are the highest ever recorded, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Snow has also fallen in areas that usually get less snow, such as Kyushu, Shikoku and the Pacific side of the Tokai region.
Nagoya observed one centimeter of snow for the first time in about a month.
The maximum amount of snow forecast to fall though Sunday morning is expected to be 80 centimeters in the Kanto-Koshin region, and 70 centimeters in Tohoku, Hokuriku and Kinki regions, the agency said.
On the Sea of Japan side, authorities urged caution against poor visibility due to a whiteout.
Comment: See also this report from February 4 of earlier, exceptional heavy snow in another region of the country: Record-breaking snowfall hits Hokkaido as cold front sweeps Japan - 120 cms (nearly 4 FEET) of snow in just 12 hours with more heavy falls forecast