Some towns have recorded a total snow fall of nearly three meters high.

In the city of Niigata, nearly one hundred people had to find shelter after their cars broke down and were immediately snowed over as a blizzard whipped through the port town.

In the central eastern Japanese hot spring resort town of Kusatsu, locals were busy trying to shovel their way out from the heavy snow that blanketed the region over the weekend.

Truck loads of snow were taken to the local natural hot spring river to be washed away as local authorities tried to keep up with the falling snow.

At the ski resort of Shigakoen, a hotel and its parking lot was buried by a snow avalanche that pushed two tourist buses in to its lobby, injuring two people.

The bus windows were shattered and snow piled into its seats.