This is the terrifying moment snow plunged from a garage roof as a man was clearing his driveway in Hokkaido, Japan.

Kengo was removing the snow and ice from outside his home in Japan's northernmost main island on January 9 after temperatures plunged to below zero.

However, the thick snow that blanketed the roof suddenly slid down as shocked Kengo let out a scream.

"Are you OK?" another voice can be heard asking in the video before Kengo starts laughing.

"It all came down!" says the other voice.

At the end of the clip Kengo approaches the camera and says: "That surprised me!"

He later said snow shovelling was "really scary" that morning.

Kengo said he was "laughing a lot" afterwards but admitted that it could have been dangerous for the elderly.

He added: "I’m young but if I was an elderly person, I would have been really injured. It’s dangerous to shovel snow in Hokkaido."

Hokkaido is the northernmost of Japan’s main islands and is known for its volcanoes, natural hot springs and chilly weather that produces renowned ski areas.