Hundreds of tourists stranded in Hokkaido due to heavy snow

Approximately 500 tourists from Macau and Hong Kong were stranded at the New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido over the Christmas weekend because of the heavy snow that hit northern Japan last week.

According to Chinese reports the tourists were kept in the airport for three consecutive nights from last Thursday as a consequence of the heaviest snowfall over Hokkaido in the last 50 years.

Until Christmas Eve, hundreds of flights were cancelled, leaving thousands of passengers at the airport.

According to Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT), over 50 local residents stranded at the airport sought assistance from the department until 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

Moreover, according to a report by CCTV13, the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China brought food and water to the Macau and Hong Kong residents after it received requests for help from Hong Kong residents.

The Deputy Consul General of the Consulate-General of China in Sapporo, Zhang Yuping, said “all our Hong Kong and Macau fellow citizens have expressed their thanks to our timely assistance. They said, from the bottom of their hearts, that after all China is good [at taking care of us], that the motherland is good [at taking care of us].”

According to Chinese reports, approximately 100 mainland tourists caused chaos at the New Chitose Airport last Friday night, after their flights were cancelled.

A number of mainland tourists were in the boarding area and became involved in physical clashes with the Japanese police on duty at the airport.

The chaos remained until Christmas morning, although nobody was arrested. The incident did not cause any injuries but two people were sent to the hospital for feeling unwell.