I think women from Japan are tough and rugged. My wife would like to have one of these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiPpp3HqbOA&feature=related. She thinks she can easily handle this one without any problem and too bad we don't have it here in the USA/Canada.
That thing is a joke. Why not just remove the auger and impeller from a regular two stage machine and go to work with that? If I were to rely on something like that, my driveway would be as wide as a deer trail by mid winter and the snow banks would be eight feet high.