Western Japan sees holiday travel chaos as Typhoon Lan makes landfall

TOKYO -- Typhoon Lan made landfall in western Japan on Tuesday with gusts and heavy rainfall, disrupting transport services for travelers from both home and abroad during the summer holidays.

The seventh typhoon of the year, which landed near the southern end of the Kii Peninsula in Wakayama Prefecture around 5 am local time, caused strong winds in the Kinki and Chugoku western regions and the Tokai central region, as well as heavy rains in many parts of Japan.

The typhoon lashed some western Japan areas with heavy rain, with precipitation of 304 mm logged over a 6-hour period in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, and 190 mm in Ayabe, Kyoto Prefecture.

All bullet train services between Nagoya and Shin-Osaka stations and those between Shin-Osaka and Okayama stations were canceled by Central Japan Railway Co and West Japan Railway Co on Tuesday.

Despite the travel rush during Japan's annual Bon holidays, major Shinkansen stations like JR Shin-Osaka Station, which would usually be packed with holidaymakers, were mostly deserted.

Expressway operators have temporarily shut down networks in typhoon-prone areas, and Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have canceled over 560 flights, largely in western Japan, displacing over 50,000 people.

According to local media outlets, around 650 people were forced to stay overnight at the Kansai airport on an artificial island in Osaka Bay, after rail and road access were cut off by the typhoon.

Several logistics companies and retailers in Japan also announced the suspension of services in western and central Japan on Tuesday due to the strong wind and heavy rain.

The typhoon is forecast to travel north and cross the Kinki region to reach the Sea of Japan in the small hours of Wednesday.

The Japan Meteorological Agency asked the public to stay on full alert for not only storms, high waves and high tides, but also landslides, flooding of low-lying areas and overflowing of rivers.