HIROSAKI, Aomori -- Snow-covered cherry blossom trees and a castle moat in this northern Japan city are currently lit up in pink in the evenings, to the delight of visitors. The "Fuyu ni Saku ...

At 10 p.m. on the night before the Osaka Marathon, my wife Jasmin and I were about to sleep. Then we looked outside. It was snowing. Instead of b ...