Slow-moving Typhoon Lan made landfall on the Kii Peninsula in western Japan on Tuesday, bringing heavy rainfall, disrupting air, road and train services and causing havoc for domestic and international travelers during the summer holidays.
Around 650 people were forced to stay overnight at Kansai airport, located on an artificial island in Osaka Bay, after rail and road access was cut off by to the typhoon. Many people had to sleep in the airport's lobby, and the facility operator handed out sleeping bags and water to those stranded there.
A weary-looking 65-year-old woman from Taiwan said, "I hadn't expected something like this."
A 22-year-old university student from Okinawa, who said he gave up on his hopes of sightseeing in Kyoto, complained that it was cold overnight at the airport due to the strong air conditioning.
Major shinkansen stations like JR Shin-Osaka Station, which would usually be packed with holidaymakers during the annual Bon summer holidays, were mostly deserted.
The typhoon lashed some western Japan areas with heavy rain, with precipitation of 304.0 millimeters logged over a 6-hour period in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, and 190.0 mm in Ayabe, Kyoto Prefecture.
The weather agency continued to warn of heavy rainfall in eastern, central and western Japan and urged residents to stay alert for possible dangerous flooding, landslides and strong winds.
Central Japan Railway Co and West Japan Railway Co canceled all bullet train services between Nagoya and Shin-Osaka stations and those between Shin-Osaka and Okayama stations throughout Tuesday.
Expressway operators have partially closed networks in areas likely to be impacted by the typhoon, while Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. canceled over 560 flights mostly departing and arriving in western Japan, affecting more than 50,000 passengers.
Universal Studios Japan's popular theme park in Osaka closed Tuesday and four summer high school baseball championship games were canceled at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture near Osaka and were rescheduled to Wednesday.
The typhoon, which made landfall shortly before 5 a.m., was moving in a northwesterly direction near the city of Wakayama as of 10 a.m., the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
It had an atmospheric pressure of 985 hectopascals with winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour.
© KYODO
42 Comments
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kurisupisu
Typhoon 7 is already impacting western Japan
It is shaking the house right now with strong gusting winds
NHK is warning residents to stay clear of windows and keep curtains drawn due to the dangers of them being blown out by strong wind!
Newgirlintown
Climate change is making typhoons worse. Downvote if you like, the truth doesn’t care about a thumbs down on a comments page!
JRO
Climate change doesn't really need to mean that it's getting worse everywhere, changes to water temperature and currents etc can change the paths that typhoons take and make some areas less affected. When I first came to Kansai in 2004 I remember we got multiple days off from school every year because of typhoons. Now days there is barely one every year that causes people to have to stay home from work and school in the Kansai area.
justasking
Still all quiet here in Tokyo the calm before the storm.
factchecker
Look forward to seeing the over analysis on NHK.
dbsaiya
Hey, there's a typhoon coming, let's go to the ocean and watch the waves...great photo, happens all the time, idiots come out of the woodwork.
wallace
My house is secure. Everything outside is put away or tied down. Strong wind and rain now and will increase later in the day.
winston
Please don't rely on early warning systems or authorities to provide safety no matter how confident they may appear.
Be prepared for the worst case scenario.
Have a plan
Stay safe
wallace
In our location, we have the speaker warning system and the evacuation centers are up and running.
winston
Correct
So..you think there's somehow less typhoons ?
Ok..so you don't understand how weather systems work at all then.
Where exactly do you think the wind comes from and what denotes the path and direction it swirls in ?
Have you heard of the equator and high and low pressure systems.
It's well understood why typhoons are generated in certain areas and travel familiar paths.
And thats not getting less whatsoever
The ocean is warming not cooling so more wind is being generated
JRO
Guessing it might be a bit early for you, but maybe re read what I wrote.
garypen
The shutters have been shaking for much of the night, and are getting worse this morning. Stuff in the yard and around the house seem secure so far.
I see on the news that there are already power outages in Osaka and Kyoto prefs. I hope we don't get hit. OTOH, if we do, maybe my wife will finally let me buy a generator. Or , better yet, a new PHEV.
falseflagsteve
It’s beastly here in Osaka. Sooo noisy, can you believe it?
Just looked outside and on the main road there’s loads of people about, I can’t believe it. I hope he children can say at home today, I’m worried about them travelling to school in this, many go by bicycle you see.
餓死鬼
You probably don’t have to worry about that as they’re still on summer holidays.
Elvis is here
Indeed. The whole country is in Obon shut down too. It's quite obvious if you live here you see.
TokyoLiving
Be strong Japan!!..
Everybody be safe..
Burning Bush
Falseflagsteve There is no school. It's one of the few holidays in Japan. Don't you know?
oyatoi
That’s because it ain’t anywhere near Kansai or Korea, where whatever’s left of the storm will head to next.
Ego Sum Lux Mundi
Yawn, whatever. It's fine in Kanto.
Alan Bogglesworth
Seriously everyone, stay safe, be strong, stay inside at all costs god damn it!!
Eastmann
strong wind outside now some rain but nothing unusual soon to be over...take care everyone and stay safe
Kaowaiinekochanknaw
We all need to pray to the Gods for safety.
rainyday
Looks like it is headed straight at Kobe, hope everyone there is safe.
wallace
Less intense than expected.
Norm
Yes, and I’m glad for it. It’s brought the temperature down, but, of course, it’s also brought the humidity way up.
Only saw a handful of people on my morning walk in central Osaka (while the rain was just a drizzle), and none on bicycles.
Hope it continues like this, but the rain may cause problems for the people in the mountainous areas. Hope everyone stays safe.
wallace
Kobe Shi
Elderly persons, please shelter
[2023/08/15 12:30:37]
Danger of Landslide has been increasing.
[Kita-ku, Nishi-ku] Landslide hazard zone needs of this
・Supporter in elderly persons, person with a disability, infants, other evacuation hanging people in time
This, please shelter.
When you stay in home, you move than the second floor of strong building, and please secure personal security.
12:30 alert level 3 "Elderly persons must evacuate"
We announce from Kobe-shi
Norm
Wallace:
Great post. This seems to be a slow-moving typhoon, so it’s dumping a massive amount of rain in a relatively short time. More than the wind, the amount of precipitation is, I think, the biggest worry.
I hope people are following the advice of the authorities and getting out of landslide-prone areas.
Hoping for no bad news tomorrow.
Rodney
Just rain here. Drove about 100km this morning. Apart from big puddles, only 20% cars. It was great.
garypen
Yes. And the worst of it appears to be over. Rain and moderate winds now. I think we may have had more severe rain in Kansai during this year's rainy season.
wallace
The storm is passing in South Hyogo/Kobe. Opened my shutters again. Better prepared than not.
Elvis is here
Seems Tokyo has gotten away with some mild but humid weather.
I wonder how it's going on Oosaka?
wallace
It had an atmospheric pressure of 985 hectopascals with winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour.
Norm
I’m in the center of Osaka (nearer to the north than places like Namba), and it’s been relatively calm. I was out walking in the drizzle between 7:00 and 8:00, and it was windy but nothing dramatic.
Still, the light rain is incessant and won’t stop until tomorrow morning, so I worry about people at the foot of mountains. Again, hoping for no bad news in the morning.
wallace
There are still emergency warnings in place.
https://www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.html#7/34.075/133.506/&elem=all&contents=warning&lang=en
Japantime
I am getting ready for it to hit Tokyo big time tomorrow.
nosuke
Party time get your Nintendo switch out and beers and time to bunker down
nosuke
Stay safe All make sure you have plenty of fluids and foods to eat
wallace
It's not going to Tokyo
Kaowaiinekochanknaw
Another storm in a teacup
wallace
Kaowaiinekochanknaw
Probably thanks to your prayers
wallace
Eastern Totorri Heavy Rain Emergency Warning (Landslide and Inundation) warning. The highest alert.
Roy Sophveason
Elaborate please.