In Kuroishi, the sidewalk runs under the shop eaves

The shops can shut and you can still walk under their eaves. The strip behind the wooden posts is the komise in Nakamachi, Kuroishi City, Aomori. It runs across private property from one storefront to the next. In January 2025, heavy snow blocked parts of a local resident’s walk home. Under the eaves, they could still walk and even sit on a bench to wait for a friend. In winter, some stretches get boards between the posts to keep snow from blowing in. In Niigata you might know this as gangi. Does the one near you get boards in winter too?