Snow in Kyoto

　Kyoto is extremely hot in summer and extremely cold in winter. Our guesthouse is a renovated old private house built in 1940, but it is not what is known as a Kyomachiya (traditional Kyoto townhouse); the Building Standard Law came into force in 1950, and no matter how old the house is, it cannot be classified as a Kyomachiya if it has been renovated at least once since then. However machiya houses are relatively cool in summer, they can be incredibly cold in winter as they have no insulation and are constructed to allow outside air to pass through to the inside. For this reason, we have put a lot of effort into insulation at our guesthouse, but it still feels quite cold on the ground floor:'(
　Since yesterday, heavy snow has been falling in many parts of Japan due to a major cold wave. The area around our guesthouse has also been covered in white.
　When I moved to Kyoto, it snowed about once a year and it was top news when the Golden Pavilion was covered with snow. However, in the last few years, the number of days with snow cover has increased, perhaps due to climate change.
　Although February is a quiet month, the white-covered streets of Kyoto are quite beautiful.