Mt. Hakkai (Hakkaisan 八海山) and the surrounding area are blanketed in snow in Minamiuonuma, Niigata, Japan.
There are red and yellow striped poles intermittently installed on the sides of many roads during the winter here in snow country.
The edges of roads and guardrails are buried in snow during the winter. The poles are used to identify and mark the edges of the road. The poles are necessary when there is a lot of snow and/or visibility is poor due to whiteout conditions.
The roads in the pictures below were cleared with the mammoth snow blower type snow removal trucks ▷ described in this link. These snow removal trucks slice through the snow with a deep, clean cut and eject the snow far away from the road.
Note: The height of the snow can be judged in comparison to the approaching car in the second photo.
