Japan photo #15 solved

This one wasn't too hard. They are snow chains - for a car. 

The sales woman who sold them to my husband was a petite Japanese lady who said she found these very easy to use. They even come with arm-length plastic sleeve covers, so you don't have to get your clothes dirty! Before I drove into the mountains on my own with a bunch of ladies in March, I received instruction on how to use them. Thankfully, though it got very close, I didn't have to apply my shaky knowledge!

To the person who asked about snow chains for bikes. I don't believe there are such things. If it is snowing it is pretty much too cold to ride anyway. I'm not sure that chains would help much on a bike because the chains rely on the weight of the car to give it traction.One of the joys of moving to Tokyo from snowy Sapporo, was being able to use bikes all year round, not just six months a year.