Driving in Niseko

[Zer0star 0]

Just wondering if nearly all people living in Niseko have 4wd cars? Can you get by with a 2wd? In what kind of situations would you have to have a 4wd?

[panhead_pete 27]

Saw a LOT of 2WD cars when I was there last week. But most had snow tyres on them.

[muikabochi 208]

Here in Snow Country, lots of people have 4WD but not everyone.

Pretty much everyone has snow tyres.

Non 4WD stuggle in situations like trying to get going from a standstill on ice on and upward slope.

[mitchpee 10]

Almost everyone has 4wd all wheel drive or studded tires. It's almost necessary as the roads are almost always snow covered. As of late it has been a bit warm and the roads are dry as a result .

 

Personally I would be much more concerned with the millions of people who decide to walk in the middle of the roads in hirafu in lines 5 people wide. Seems like a lot of people forget to pack their common sense when it comes to holiday

[Go Native 70]

Originally Posted By: panhead_pete

Saw a LOT of 2WD cars when I was there last week. But most had snow tyres on them.

Actually Pete I think you might be surprised at how very, very few of the cars you saw were 2WD. Most cars sold in Hokkaido are AWD. I don't know anyone up here who has a 2WD (at least not ones they drive in winter). That includes even the smallest K-cars. About the only cars here that are not AWD are the taxis. Obviously there are quite a few 2WD cars up here but they are mostly only used in the snow free months. Also it would not have been most cars had snow tyres. No one drives in Hokkaido in winter without snow tyres. At least none that I have ever seen in all the years I've been here.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

whats the diff between AWD and 4WD?

[Thundercat 60]

AWD uses all of your wheels and 4WD only uses four of them dummy!

[Go Native 70]

The main difference between the two is that 4WD vehicles have a low range gear setting. AWD's do not.

[panhead_pete 27]

Ah GN now that makes sense as was wondering how the little vans were coping if only 2WD.

[Slippery Jim 65]

Which is actually better in snow, 4WD or AWD? (Just back from driving an AWD for two weeks on roads with little or no snow.) I've had car people tell me AWD but...

[rach 1]

Out of interest, in the snow towns around the place, how often are the roads all snowed up? I get the impression that like in places like Niigata, it's just after a dump but it quickly dried up off the roads...

[muikabochi 208]

Right, in these parts it clears up pretty quickly.

Only in the mad snow conditions that the roads are all icy.

[ILoveZao 8]

The road up to Zao is often icy and snow packed especially in shaded areas. And also in town too. Though right now clear due to the warm period we have seen.

[Go Native 70]

I haven't seen the bitchumen on the road out front of my place since December. The main roads that get more traffic and are cleared more frequently will be clear of snow if it gets sunny (too much of that this year) but many of the back roads remain snow covered for much of the entire winter (during normal winters). Main roads up here were covered for pretty much the whole of January.

[tokabochi 9]

Interesting.

Just much colder up there in general I suppose.

[pie-eater 207]

Back home in December when the UK had all that snow.

It was really really cold.

And the snow/ice in my parents road was there for 2 weeks after the last snowfall. Stayed for ages.

That's Wigan. Not Niseko.

[Tubby Beaver 209]

yeah it was the same in Dundee....place looked like a mini-ice age with mini-glaciers covering the roads and pavements

[muikabochi 208]

Roads cracking with the sun at the moment I think