It is fairly standard for homes in Hokkaido and some businesses heat the sidewalks of their storefronts. Manual clearing is also still very prevalent. Some res

It is fairly standard for homes in Hokkaido and some businesses heat the sidewalks of their storefronts. Manual clearing is also still very prevalent. Some resident owners will opt to clear snow manually just to save money. I notice in the site you linked they did not mention cost of running it per hour. When snow starts in November and can occur as late as April, cost of daily running does add up.