Tourists looking at Mt Fuji, covered with its first snow of the season, from Fujikawaguchiko on Oct 23. - Reuters
KOFU: The season's first snowcap was observed on Japan's tallest peak, Mt. Fuji, on Thursday (Oct 23), occurring 21 days later than an average but 15 days earlier than last year, Kyodo News Agency reported, citing a local observatory of the weather agency said.
An official from the Kofu observatory in Yamanashi Prefecture observed a layer of snow on the 3,776-metre-high summit around 6am. The observatory said that the snowfall was caused by the presence of clouds and cold air above the mountain since Wednesday.
The mercury dropped to minus 6.4 deg C at a spot near the summit around 1am Thursday, according to an observation system of the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Last year, Japan's iconic mountain, straddling Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures, got the first snowcap on Nov 7, the latest date on record since observations started in 1894. - Bernama-Kyodo
