Snow hits Tokyo's road, rail and airport

Scores of flights departing from and arriving in Tokyo have been scrapped due to the snow, while some regional trains were also cancelled.

A rare snowstorm has hit Tokyo, snarling train services, forcing the cancellation of scores of flights and prompting hordes of Japanese to heed official advice to head home early.

Snow began falling on Monday morning, with as much as 10cm predicted for central Tokyo by the time it is expected to stop early on Tuesday.

By late afternoon 6cm had fallen in central Tokyo, as the snowfall intensified, NHK national broadcaster said.

Train services were curtailed and some highways were closed, as icy roads were causing traffic accidents. Around 250 flights from Tokyo's Haneda airport were cancelled.

The government issued heavy snow warnings for the area around the capital, just two weeks after hundreds of people were trapped overnight in a train in northern Japan due to heavy snow.

Trains to Tokyo's suburbs were packed full by the unusually early hour of 4pm.

NHK reported universities had postponed entrance exams due to have been held on Tuesday morning.