The severe weather was blamed for at least 10 deaths in Japan and three in South Korea.

In Japan, about 35,000 households remained without electricity in Niigata prefecture on the Sea of Japan (East Sea) by nightfall.

The bullet train was stopped in sections and other rail services cancelled in Niigata. Around 75,000 bullet train passengers were affected by delays in central and western Japan, Jiji Press news agency said.

Niigata hospitals cancelled some operations due to the blackout with patients given extra blankets for warmth.

A blackout also hit up to 690,000 households in western Japan, where snowfall is rare in winter, with power largely restored by early afternoon.

More than 200 domestic and international flights were cancelled Thursday, public broadcaster NHK said.

Southern city Kagoshima saw 11 centimeters (36 inches) of snow by early Thursday, the heaviest in 88 years for the month of December.

In South Korea, three deaths were reported by the government due to the snow storm, including two men who were found frozen to death, the national Yonhap news agency reported.

Heavy damage was reported in southern coastal regions where up to a meter of snow had fallen in two weeks.

Thousands of motorists had been stranded on a snowbound highway, where officials were distributing bags of bread and milk, the report said.

Most of the flights to and from Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, were cancelled. About 1,200 schools temporarily shut down, Yonhap said.

In Buan, on South Korea's west coast, about 200 people were evacuated from their homes which showed signs of collapsing under the weight of snow.

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