SAPPORO - As snow approaches, auto supply stores in Sapporo are entering their busiest period of tire changes.
"Reservations are almost full through November. Because of the congestion, it’s difficult to handle walk-ins immediately," said Takuya Tsujimura, factory manager at Autobacs Ishiyama-dori.
In recent years, major auto supply and tire retailers have introduced “high-season fees” that raise prices during the busy period. At this chain, tire replacement fees in the Sapporo area have increased by 1,320 yen from October 15th through the end of November. "We raised prices partly to encourage customers to spread out the rush," Tsujimura explained.
Tire prices themselves have also climbed. Leading tire makers raised the price of winter tires by 5 to 10 percent in September. "I just bought a new car, so I had to buy new tires and wheels too. It cost 170,000 yen," said a customer.
A female customer who had recently purchased tires said she couldn’t buy them earlier despite hearing about expected price hikes. "I heard it’s better to buy early, but even if I did, I had nowhere to store them," she said, explaining that her apartment offered no storage space for spare tires.
Rising costs are affecting other aspects of winter preparation as well. Sapporo City’s winter bicycle storage program, which runs from December through March, has also seen price increases.
At bicycle parking facilities in central Sapporo, fees rose by 300 yen to 2,300 yen, while storage for motorized bicycles rose by 600 yen to 4,600 yen. Applications will begin on November 17th.
Meanwhile, the latest figures show that gasoline prices in Hokkaido averaged 173.3 yen per liter as of November 6th, down 0.2 yen from the previous week. Prices have remained in the 170-yen range since late June.
However, a new political agreement could soon change that. "Six parties have reached an agreement to abolish the provisional tax rate on gasoline and diesel fuel. The provisional gasoline tax will be abolished within this year," said Liberal Democratic Party tax policy chief Itsunori Onodera.
With the provisional tax of 25.1 yen per liter set to be removed, gasoline prices are expected to drop. The question now is when—and by how much—drivers will feel the difference at the pump.
Source: 北海道ニュースUHB
