The studs that grip Sapporo’s ice can skid on tile

A stretch of heated sidewalk in central Sapporo can be bare, with hard-packed snow a few steps farther on. Then you duck into the underground shops around Ōdōri and Susukino. Snow from your boots leaves water on the tiles. And the little metal teeth that bite into hard ice can skate across that floor. One Sapporo resident tried gritty soles after finding fixed studs awkward on indoor floors. Last December, even those soles slipped when rain left a film over polished ice. Strap-on spikes worked outside, but meant stopping to take them off at the door. That’s one extra stop on a long icy walk to the subway. Pop in and out of shops all afternoon and it’s part of every stop.