40 cm (16 inches) in the Hokuriku region on the Sea of Japan coast.
The Japan Meteorological Agency on Friday forecast that heavy snow could hit the Sea of Japan side of the Japanese Archipelago this weekend.
Snow was already falling in northern Japan, including Hokkaido and Tohoku, on Friday morning and will begin falling in western Japan on Friday night.
Maximum snowfall over the 24 hours to 6 a.m. Saturday is forecast at 40 centimeters in the Hokuriku region on the Sea of Japan coast and 25-30 cm in other areas along the same coast.
December 12, 2014 (Mainichi Japan)
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20141212p2g00m0dm049000c.html
Thanks to Argiris Diamantis for this link