Discovering the Wonders of Winter in Hokkaido: [Winter Lifestyle in Hokkaido] Hokkaido Lab ~A Hokkaido Travel Guide to Enjoy Gourmet Food, Nature, and Culture~

Discovering the wonders of winter in Hokkaido: [Winter Lifestyle in Hokkaido]

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: Last updated: September 11, 2018

Table of contents

1. Winter travel essentials: Winter boots

2. Winter Styles as Seen by Children

3. In winter, temperatures below freezing are the norm.

4. There are some things that feel strange and inexplicable when you're driving on the road.

　1) What is this?

　2) And this one...?

　3) It looks like a weather station...

Lastly, the most important thing

osanpo-child-in-sori3 Hokkaido is always incredibly popular. It consistently ranks number one in surveys of prefectures people want to travel to.

Therefore, many people must yearn for life in Hokkaido. However, as is often the case with the old TV drama "From the North Country," once you actually live there, you'll encounter seven mysteries. What is this? Why do they do it that way? Do they really go that far? The mysteries never end.

But this is all thanks to the magnificent nature of Hokkaido. Unbeknownst to us, the harsh natural environment is causing it to happen this way.

Will you grow to love it more? Or will you dislike it because it seems difficult? That's up to you, but these are all things unique to Hokkaido. I hope you'll realize what a wonderful lifestyle it is.

1. Winter travel essentials: Winter boots

If you live in a place where it doesn't snow, you only really pay attention to the soles of your shoes when they're worn out. However, in snowy regions where walking on snow and slippery ice is commonplace, you can't wear the same shoes you wear in the summer. That's why people wear "winter boots" with thick, textured soles. The textured soles make them less likely to slip on ice. (They still slip, though.)
shoes-adult-winter (Adult shoes)

While "sheepskin boots," popular among women, may look the same everywhere, in Hokkaido they are sold with soles designed to be non-slip.

People visiting Tokyo for the first time are often surprised, saying, "People there (in Tokyo) wear the same shoes in winter as they do in summer!" It seems that here, it's normal to wear different shoes in winter. You wear summer shoes when the roads are wet, and winter shoes when the roads are icy.

People feel that the world has simultaneously changed from water to ice during this time of transition. In the past, the Ainu people spoke of ice as the standard, and now it's water.
normal-winter-shoes (Even children's shoes have uneven soles.)

It's okay to fall in nature, but intersections are the most dangerous. Until you get used to it, it's best to walk slowly and carefully, shuffling your feet. Shoe covers are sold in various stores throughout Hokkaido. Many parents in Hokkaido have their children wear them, and they are sold for around 1000 yen at general merchandise stores like Homac.

2. Winter Styles as Seen by Children

child-snow-sori When it gets cold, I bundle up before going out, but adults (from my perspective as someone from Kansai) don't dress that heavily. Underneath their coats, many wear thin sweaters or T-shirts rather than thick sweatshirts or knits. Perhaps it's because they mostly travel by car and don't spend long periods outside.

However, since children play outside a lot, they need to be properly dressed for winter. First, they put on overalls. They zip up from the feet and cover their whole body, so they are very warm. normal-winter-cloth (Children's clothing set)

It's also completely waterproof. I can't go anywhere without it. Next, I put on gloves, a neck warmer, a thick hat... and then my winter boots.

These are adult-style winter boots with thick soles and warm interiors. From the time they are babies just learning to walk, they wear these large winter boots and walk diligently on the snow. It's a very cute sight. They also wear gaiters and snow covers with their winter boots to prevent snow from getting inside. Only after all this can they finally say, "I'm off!"

By the way, strollers and tricycles are unusable on snow. So, sleds come in very handy instead. They're used for playing in the snow, of course, but also for getting around, with parents pulling their children along with all their might. Sometimes, kids even fall asleep on the sleds... and they're even used for shopping! baby-snow-sori Sleeping soundly...

What do children from Honshu think of children from the north who live their lives on sleds like this? Playing in the snow, becoming one with the snow—that's how it all begins. It makes you think that winter will become your friend without you even realizing it.
osanpo-child-in-sori

3. In winter, temperatures below freezing are the norm.

People in Hokkaido generally don't say "minus" even when it's -5°C. They can tell whether it's below or above freezing by touch, so they sense it through "skin x conversation." Moreover, -5°C isn't even considered cold, and they'll say things like, "It's warm today." If it gets really cold, it can easily drop to around -15°C anywhere except in southern Hokkaido.
thamografh It's a warm day today.

"It's freezing this morning, it's 17°C. Wow, it's 23°C in [location]!" People in subarctic regions consider sub-zero temperatures to be the norm. By September and October, mornings and evenings easily drop below 0°C, and this trend continues until around May. So, they spend more than half the year in sub-zero temperatures. That's why it turns out like this.

However, people from Hokkaido aren't particularly resistant to the cold; in fact, they're very sensitive to it. The need for heating after coming in from the cold outside has become so normal that I've ended up with a strange lifestyle where I blast the heating and consume far more ice cream in winter than in summer.

winter-icecream-child The outside and the inside are two completely different worlds.

Originally, people say that even when they slept at home, the edges of their blankets would freeze, so it must have been extremely cold back then. However, at some point, it became a lifestyle separate from eco-friendliness. Now, Hokkaido is so warm and cozy that you could say winter is paradise.

Are people on Honshu struggling with the heat that's beyond the usual warmth? Lower the temperature to your normal setting, but since it's really cold outside, try raising the temperature only when you come back inside. Then, once you've gotten used to it, you can return to the Honshu temperature.

People in Hokkaido drink beer like crazy in their very dry rooms, and those who can't drink beer gulp down refreshing cola. This is how they maintain balance, so try stimulating your throat a little with a lightly carbonated drink or Orangina. This is a correction from the Honshu style. A message from the North Country.

4. There are some things that feel strange and inexplicable when you're driving on the road.

1) What is this?

road-diffence This is called a snow fence.

In flat areas with fields and pastures, crosswinds can whip up powdery snow, creating a condition called "whiteout" where the driver's view is obscured by a blizzard. Because you can't see the car in front of you, even if it's stopped, you can't see it at all, making rear-end collisions extremely dangerous. You also might not notice a car driving in the opposite lane, leading to head-on collisions.

Therefore, snow fences are erected to make whiteouts less likely.

There are several types of snow fences, and the fences installed are tailored to the conditions of the land. This is typical of Hokkaido, with its vast, barren landscape and harsh natural environment. They may slightly obstruct the view, but please bear with them.

2) And this one...?

road-yahane
These are fixed road marker posts, commonly known as "arrowheads." When snow accumulates, it becomes difficult to see the edge of the road, so we use the arrows below as a guide to mark the shoulder of the road.

Drivers can feel reassured knowing there's a road below the arrow, and pedestrians can walk on the sidewalk by going beyond the arrow. When snow accumulates, the boundary between the sidewalk and the road gets buried, so it's an important landmark for pedestrians as well.

Furthermore, since it uses reflective or solar-powered lighting, even in the summer, when driving on roads without streetlights (which are common in Hokkaido), you can use this light to see ahead.

Whether in winter or summer, it's an indispensable item for driving in Hokkaido. The vast landscape of Hokkaido stretches endlessly into the distance, and in winter, the roads also seem endless. It's a phrase that says, "Sorry, it's so vast."

3) It looks like a weather station...

box-include-pack-of-sand
This contains sand. It's used to prevent cars from slipping and getting stuck on mountain passes and slopes by spreading it on the road. This anti-slip sand is also installed at some pedestrian crossings. The sand is spread to make it easier to walk on slippery surfaces.

However, this sand is scattered everywhere during the winter, so when the snow melts in the spring, the roads become covered in sand. If a truck tries to drive over them, it's like a sandstorm. Therefore, sweeping is done, and the beautiful roads of summer are restored. This sand is truly a lifesaver on slippery roads.
jyosetsu-work I appreciate the road maintenance done during the winter.

Lastly, the most important thing

People in Hokkaido during winter are weather enthusiasts. Weather forecasts are a frequent topic of conversation, both in greetings and casual exchanges. And they're not just general forecasts for eastern Hokkaido, but pinpoint forecasts that they've got a firm grasp of.

"The wind will pick up around ○ o'clock, and the snow will be heavy," or "Tomorrow, it will be a blizzard, so don't go out in the town of ○○," or "Today's temperature will actually be above freezing, so the melted snow will freeze completely when it gets cold tomorrow, making the roads dangerous, and it looks like it will snow a little more, making the roads the most dangerous."

In short, they anticipate driving and have a firm grasp of what the road conditions will be like at that time. Furthermore, they also carefully monitor the weather at their destination.

That's understandable, because places that take an hour to reach are basically 60 kilometers away. In Honshu, that's undoubtedly the next prefecture over. Wouldn't the forecast be different then? Misjudging the situation could be fatal.

That's why the people of Hokkaido are weather enthusiasts in order to survive. When traveling in winter, I hope you'll take a cue from the Hokkaido natives and have a trip without any problems.
osanpo-child-in-sori2 Have a good day!