Today, September 7, marked Hakuro, or “White Dew,” one of the 24 solar terms of the traditional calendar -- the time when dew begins to settle and the signs of autumn deepen. Fittingly, that day's evening edition of the Mainichi Shimbun carried news of the season's first snowcap on Mt. Fuji (3,776 meters). The report noted that it had come 25 days earlier than in an average year and a full 21 days earlier than last year, and vividly captured the mountain in its beautiful new coat of snow.
Early on the morning of the 7th, staff at the Kofu Local Meteorological Office visually confirmed that the area around the summit of Mt. Fuji was faintly covered in white. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency's Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System (AMeDAS), the observation point at an altitude of 3,775 meters had dropped below freezing on the night of the 6th.
What with the chill of these past few days as well, autumn this year is arriving at a rapid pace.