Things I'm grateful for during winter in Japan: heavy snow

We've had some heavy snowfall here in Niigata in recent days, and it might seem like a counterproductive thing to be grateful for. It can impede day-to-day life a bit, causing things like traffic disruptions and sometimes even train cancellations if it gets really bad.

If you don't need to be out and about, though, there's a really nice element that comes with heavy snow days—and that's the forced slowdown and the associated peace and quiet that comes with it. There's also the community connection side of things. When it snows heavily, a lot of the younger people in our local area lend a hand to shovel the walkways/driveways of the elders, and it's a reminder that heavy snow doesn't actually feel isolating. 

Heavy snowfall has turned our area into a winter wonderland, which comes with a bit of a forced slowdown.

There's the beauty element of it too, since it really is quite pretty when you can admire it from the warmth of the indoors. Trudging through it, not so much ;)

While it's easy to look at heavy snow days as an inconvenience, I think if you plan for them in advance (e.g. stock up on food, any emergency supplies you might need, some activities that are good for the indoors) then you can see them as something to have gratitude for.