We’ve been watching the extra-cold winter dumping lots of snow on the U.S. this year and feeling more than a little guilty, what with Japan experiencing the warmest winter its had in decades and all.

The previous 1960 record for the latest snowfall in the Tokyo area has already been smashed, and with the bizarre T-shirt weather continuing, there’s talk that this might be the first snowless winter since they started keeping records back in 1876.

One of the most enjoyable times to be in Japan is sakura season, when the cherry blossoms bloom with exploding fireworks of beauty, but it’s been so warm this year that everyone is sure the sakura will bloom at least a full month earlier.

There’s also a lot of concern that with such mild weather this year, there’ll be less snow in snowpacks in the mountains, leading to water shortages in the summer.