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Sea of Clouds Over Lake Kussharo Heralds Winter

HOKKAIDO, Sep 25, 2025 (News On Japan) - A sea of clouds spread across Lake Kussharo in Teshikaga, eastern Hokkaido, on Wednesday morning, creating a striking early sign of the coming winter.

The spectacle, filmed around 7 a.m., showed Japan’s largest caldera lake completely veiled in a blanket of white. The phenomenon occurred as the morning chill cooled the air above the water surface, causing water vapor to condense into a thick layer of cloud that hovered low over the lake.

September 23rd was the autumn equinox, the midpoint of the season when day and night are nearly equal in length, and the view of the lake shrouded in mist created a dreamlike scene that seemed to herald the footsteps of winter.

Source: HBCニュース 北海道放送

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Typhoon No. 25 was moving away from Japan over waters to the east early on September 22, bringing an end to rainfall across the Kanto region while remaining a strong storm as it tracked northeast at 45 kilometers per hour at 3 a.m.

Severe transport disruption continued across Chiba Prefecture on the morning of September 22 even as Typhoon No. 25 moved away from Japan, with major JR lines still suspended, rail access to Narita Airport disrupted by river flooding, highways closed across the Boso Peninsula and thousands of travelers dealing with the aftermath of the previous day's cancellations.

Japan collected another 12 medals on Day 3 of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 21, with 17-year-old swimmer Shin Ohashi and karateka Kakeru Nishiyama winning gold, while the host nation also advanced strongly in women's volleyball, baseball, soccer, handball and hockey.

People aged 65 and older accounted for a record 29.6% of Japan's population in 2026, the highest proportion among major countries worldwide, while the number of elderly people in employment also reached an all-time high as Japan marked Respect for the Aged Day on September 21.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako watched Japan defeat Kazakhstan in a women’s basketball preliminary-round game at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya.

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