Severe cold gripped the Japanese archipelago Thursday, with temperatures in some locations dropping to the lowest recorded this winter, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The mercury fell to as low as 21.7 C below zero in Kitami, Hokkaido, the record low in the city for the month of December, the agency said. The first snow of the season was observed in some cities, including Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, as well as Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki and Oita.