Heavy snow snarls transport in northern Japan

STORY: Travellers faced challenging conditions in Niigata city, as the wintry weather shut down train lines for several hours and left roads and pavements slippery.

Long queues formed at Niigata's bus terminal as people sought alternate means of transport, while outside the city motorists faced hours-long queues on national highways in the prefecture, NHK reported.

Some parts of the country have experienced record snowfall in recent days, Japanese media reported.