Japan’s Genius Snow-Clearing Method Melts Ice Before It Even Appears— Why the U.S. and Canada Still Haven’t Adopted It!

A quiet city in Japan has been using a surprising method to keep roads snow-free for decades. No salt, no plows—just a clever solution hiding in plain sight. North America isn’t using it, and the reason might surprise you.

Japan’s Ingenious Snow Removal Method. Credit: Jason L. Gatewood - copyright Shutterstock

In the city of Nagaoka, tucked into Japan’s snow-prone Niigata Prefecture, a decades-old snow removal technique continues to draw attention—not because it’s flashy, but because it works. While much of the Northern Hemisphere relies on heavy plows and endless truckloads of salt, Japan has quietly refined a far less disruptive method, one that is both low-tech and surprisingly efficient.

The system, known locally as shosetsu, uses warm water to melt snow directly on the streets. Small sprinklers embedded in the pavement or mounted along roadside barriers activate during snowfall, sending out steady streams that keep roads wet but ice-free. The goal is not to clear away snow after it’s fallen, but to prevent it from settling and freezing in the first place.

A Method Rooted in Hot Water and Geography

The first of these systems was installed in the 1960s in Nagaoka, a city that receives some of the heaviest snowfall in Japan. There, the snowfall can exceed 10 feet during peak winter months, making traditional methods costly and time-consuming. The sprinklers tap into local geothermal sources—namely, Japan’s widespread hot springs—which offer a reliable supply of naturally heated water.

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Diagram of the sewage heat snow-melting system. Credit: Public Relations office of Japan

This geothermal advantage is central to the system’s appeal. The warm water flows directly into the streets, reducing reliance on energy-intensive heating or chemical treatments. And unlike road salt, which corrodes infrastructure and pollutes waterways, the water leaves no lasting damage.

The system has since expanded across various parts of Japan, particularly in the northern regions and the mountainous interior. In towns with consistent snowfall, these sprinklers have become part of the winter landscape, quietly operating underfoot.

Credit: JapaneseNostalgicCar

Why It Hasn’t Crossed the Pacific

The United States and Canada, despite facing similar snow conditions in places like Minnesota and Ontario, have made little effort to adopt anything resembling Japan’s model. One of the biggest obstacles is geography. While Japan’s terrain is dotted with hot springs, the same cannot be said for much of North America. Access to naturally heated groundwater is rare outside of specific pockets, such as the western U.S. and parts of British Columbia.

Other countries have tried variations. China, for instance, has experimented with similar systems powered by heat pumps. But as noted in the original report, those setups are “expensive and difficult to maintain,” making them less practical for large-scale use. The economic and technical barriers remain high, particularly for municipalities already struggling with aging infrastructure.

Still, the Japanese example underscores a broader point: alternatives exist. For cities where snowfall is both frequent and disruptive, looking beyond plows and salt trucks could offer long-term savings—not to mention safer, cleaner streets. Whether North America takes note remains to be seen.