Clear roads: something to be grateful for

Over the last week or so, I've been extremely grateful for clear roads. I know that some parts of the country (like Obihiro in Hokkaido) have had insane snowfalls, with cars basically trapped under it and even snow ploughs doing it tough -- you can see what I mean in a picture at the Japan Times article I linked above. 

It has made me ever-appreciative of the roads being cleared so well out here. I've written before about many roads in our local area having a sprinkler system that pumps up groundwater on them, keeping them pretty snow free -- but larger roads like national routes/highways have to be manually done. You can see below that even though the snow walls on the sides of this road are getting pretty darn high, the roads themselves are very functional to drive on.

It's important not just from a personal safety perspective, but for things like emergency vehicles being able to get from A to B. I can't imagine how places like Obihiro are handling things there—I would hate to be in need of an ambulance or hospital in those kinds of conditions.

Maybe needless to say, but I'm very ready for spring ;)