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Josetsu means snow removal and this is how it’s done in Niseko

by | Dec 27, 2011 | News | 0 comments

In Japanese the word “josetsu” (除雪) means “snow removal”. In Niseko there’s a lot of time and effort put into snow clearing and the locals have a wealth of tools and machines to keep the area moving.

This is what I saw within a 1km radius and a half hour walk in Kutchan on 27 December 2011 during yet another snow storm.

Moving snow by hand

Open man hole, 27 December 2011

Open man hole, 27 December 2011

Senior citizen dealing with snow disposal, 27 December 2011

Senior citizen dealing with snow disposal, 27 December 2011

Mad skills with two snow shovels, 27 December 2011

Mad skills with two snow shovels, 27 December 2011

Modified mama-san dump, 27 December 2011

Modified mama-san dump, 27 December 2011

Clearing the garage and a 360 digger, 27 December 2011

Clearing the garage and a 360 digger, 27 December 2011

Hand operated snow blower, 27 December 2011

Hand operated snow blower, 27 December 2011

Roof clearing from a cherry-picker, 27 December 2011

Roof clearing from a cherry-picker, 27 December 2011

Roof clearing team, 27 December 2011

Roof clearing team, 27 December 2011

Directing the traffic, 27 December 2011

Directing the traffic, 27 December 2011

Heavy machinery to move the snow

Trucks lined up ready to take the payload, 27 December 2011

Trucks lined up ready to take the payload, 27 December 2011

A small digger piling it up, 27 December 2011

A small digger piling it up, 27 December 2011

Specialist path snow blower, 27 December 2011

Specialist path snow blower, 27 December 2011

Moving one tonne a second? 27 December 2011

Moving one tonne a second? 27 December 2011

A big bucket and truck moving it, 27 December 2011

A big bucket and truck moving it, 27 December 2011

Mashing it up on Route 5, 27 December 2011

Mashing it up on Route 5, 27 December 2011

Huge snow blower, 27 December 2011

Huge snow blower, 27 December 2011

Fully loaded truck, but where does it all go? 27 December 2011

Fully loaded truck, but where does it all go? 27 December 2011

Clearing the path, 27 December 2011

Clearing the path, 27 December 2011

Big green snow plough, 27 December 2011

Big green snow plough, 27 December 2011

Big bulldozer ready to rock, 27 December 2011

Big bulldozer ready to rock, 27 December 2011

A bulldozer lost in snow, 27 December 2011

A bulldozer lost in snow, 27 December 2011

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