giggsy 0 Posted December 25, 2005 Share Posted December 25, 2005 If there is this much snow falling in a day .....how on earth do roads stay open? I just can't imagine it. Some amazing pictures. Happy Christmas! Link to post Share on other sites
Thunderpants 0 Posted December 25, 2005 Share Posted December 25, 2005 Because Japan has an army of helmet wearing guys with snow clearing, salt spraying trucks operating 25 hours a day. Read here about the water spray system. Of course we also have Gamera on the case Link to post Share on other sites
giggsy 0 Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 It'd be interesting to see all that in action. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted December 26, 2005 Share Posted December 26, 2005 Some of the time they don't keep the roads open. Or the trains going. Or the electricity on. It went down at Kashimayari for a bit over the weekend. Link to post Share on other sites
fukdane 2 Posted December 27, 2005 Share Posted December 27, 2005 Very rare that things get like that though isn't it. Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 Quote: Originally posted by Thunderpants: Of course we also have Gamera on the case Are you asking me to brew some fire? Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 My car will look like that when I get back to Takayama in the New Year My favorite Gifu hill HidaNagareha just North of Takayama has the most snow in japan right now at 490cm. So some of that will be on my car Link to post Share on other sites
frannyo 2 Posted December 29, 2005 Share Posted December 29, 2005 How's Canada? Link to post Share on other sites
SKI 15 Posted December 31, 2005 Share Posted December 31, 2005 They only get overwhelmed on rare occasions. I'm always amazed myself when I see how well they often cope in the blizzards. I think the other week was just a bit too much when things went down. Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted January 1, 2006 Share Posted January 1, 2006 The UK copes as well you know. It's only in extreme conditons* when things go wrong. (* over 2cm of snow). Link to post Share on other sites
mina2 6 Posted January 2, 2006 Share Posted January 2, 2006 It's not all Japan that is ready for snow though. They don't manage well here in places that don't usually get snow, like Tokyo. Link to post Share on other sites
lin 0 Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 How many of those great big snow removing machines do places like Hakuba and Yuzawa and the like actually own? And what do the drivers do in summer? They will surely need some special training for those things. Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 That's a good question giggsy. I've been following this for a while. The sprinkler sytems work well, but wastes groundwater. They are being replaced by (groundwater) heated roads and pavements. On the open roads, graders hunt in packs. In town, loaders rule. Blowers clear up, and six-wheel tippers dump snow in the river. And people work. And work and work. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 Good work soubriquet! Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 Quote: Originally posted by lin: How many of those great big snow removing machines do places like Hakuba and Yuzawa and the like actually own? And what do the drivers do in summer? They will surely need some special training for those things. In a sense lin, we are well off in the high snow areas, because the local authorities and contractors have to be well equipped. I don't know haw many machines Oishida has, but it's enough to keep the town open. They normally clear the roads twice per day. The drivers (sometimes women) are mostly farmers, finding useful paid employment during the winter. Link to post Share on other sites
gogalago 0 Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 What I wish they'd do in summer (more with the resort equipment than the road clearing kit) is to apply the machines to their original purpose and grade off some of those flat areas that seem to plague every resort in japan... back on topic though, a friend of mine exports used construction equipment from japan, and for the first time this year has been inundated with orders from inside the country for large pushy machines... Link to post Share on other sites
giggsy 0 Posted February 7, 2006 Author Share Posted February 7, 2006 Thanks soubriquet! That clears up a lot! Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Partner has asked for a clarification. The plant (grader and loader) drivers are full-time professionals. They work in construction during the summer. Apparently it is very easy to wear out a blade. The trick is to shave the road, without wearing the blade. The farmers are driving trucks and directing traffic. Link to post Share on other sites
kkk 7 Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Good pics there soubriquet - good project! Link to post Share on other sites
soubriquet 0 Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 I found this about the groundwater heating of roads and pavements. Source: http://www.thr.mlit.go.jp/bumon/b00097/k00360/yuki1219/yuki_e/2_4_1_2_a.html Water is pumped from a deeper (warmer) aquifer during winter and the cooled water is re-injected back into a higher (cooler) aquifer. In summer, the system is reversed, and cool water is pumped up, extracts heat from roads and pavements, and re-injected into the lower aquifer to heat it. This is a lovely heat/cold storage system, as pumping costs are much lower than heating and cooling. It is a closed system, so it doesn't waste groundwater either Link to post Share on other sites
its-a-clock 0 Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 Thanks for posting that soubriquet, it's really very interesting that. Link to post Share on other sites
manuel_arg 0 Posted May 19, 2006 Share Posted May 19, 2006 "They are being replaced by (groundwater) heated roads and pavements." Thats AWESOME!! Thanks for posting that. Link to post Share on other sites
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