Tire Chains

Well, we finally had our first snowfall in the Tokyo region yesterday; it snowed all day, in fact. When we went shopping the next morning I noticed a strange sound coming from almost every car that passed us by. It sounded like they all had flat tires. Now I am as unlucky as the next person, but even life under my black cloud, I couldn't comprehend how everyone had gotten flat tires at the same time.

When we reached the grocery store, I finally got an up close look at one of the cars that had driven past us only minutes before and I saw this strange contraption surrounding the tire. My wife, noticing my confusion, said only two words, "tire chains", and suddenly the world made sense once again.

Now I started driving in the mid-80's and I can vaguely remember tire chains in New Jersey, but I never actually used them. I think they were out of style by then. I know that today living in New Jersey I have never seen or even heard anyone mention the word "tire chains" even in the worst of winters.

Here in Japan we only got around 8 inches of snow and yet everyone had chains on their tires. In New Jersey, we could get three feet of snow and no one would even think of putting chains on their tires. Heck, no one even thinks to slow down!

But you know what I don't see on the roads of Japan? Anyone stuck in the snow on the side of the road because of lack of traction.