Otaru in Hokkaido is a city of slopes, and the traffic on this city may not function for a single day without road heating system in winter.
There are many slopes, regardless of their inclination, that make a car climb up very difficult once you stop your car in the middle and try to start it again.
Heating element fixed underneath the slippery part of those roads melts snow, and keeps the asphalt surface exposed to ease the cars' climbing the slopes.
This efficient system enables our daily life in winter of Hokkaido as smooth as it is in summer.
