Having lived in countries with steering wheels on the right hand side of the car, I was a bit nervous about what to expect while driving in Japan.
It takes a while before you stop entering the vehicle and trying to drive from the passenger seat. Often, the lack of a steering wheel is a sufficient reminder. If you realize this before you try to get into the car, you can save face by acting like you meant to open the passenger side door to put your bag inside. This does not work if you are empty handed.
I must say, first of all, that I am thrilled to be able to drive in Japan. I am extremely fortunate to have the use of a car, and to be partially re-imbursed for gas fees (about $4 a gallon). Public transportation is excellent, but having a car gives you 24 hour freedom to go almost anywhere in Japan! The big islands are all connected, and many little islands, too.
That having been said, here are ten things you must remember when driving in Japan...
1. That red sign? The upside down triangle? It is a stop sign. Even if you do not recognize the writing on the sign, you are still required to stop. This took me three months to realize.
2. Always, always, always back into parking spaces. I don't know why. All the other cars are neatly backed into their spaces, and your car expects to be treated the same. If you see a parked car that was not backed into a space, it usually belongs to a gaijin. On the other hand, this can make it very easy to find your car in a crowded parking lot.
3. Highways are nice, but expensive! If you have a carful of people to share the cost with, it can be cheaper than the train. If not, take smaller, local roads. You may get lost, but unless you are near a volcano, you will never stumble upon a dangerous neighborhood.
4. Beeping can be complimentary! If you pull over to let someone pass, or allow someone to pull out in front of you, a short beep means, "Hey! Thanks for being so nice!" Longer beeps heard after running a stop sign (see #1 above) or cutting somebody off do NOT mean the same thing.
5. Waving, bowing or flashing your emergency flashers for a short time can be used in place of the short beep to thank someone. Eye contact is not necessary.
6. Ditches. Japan is a water-rich nation. And the water is managed partly using huge ditches at the sides of smaller roads. Best to avoid getting too close to them.
7. Parking is very uptight. Often a uniformed assistant or two will stand in the parking lot with a reflective, um, stick (?) and direct you to the parking space of his or her choice. Don't hurt their feelings. Just bow and do as you're told.
8. At night, most businesses will chain their parking lots off so that no one can park overnight. This is very irritating, as most of the chains are difficult to see in the dark and are only discovered after you are halfway in the parking lot with the chain on your hood. If you are going fast enough, the chain will snap, or the posts that anchor the chains will pop up out of the ground and drag noisily behind your car until you stop. Ahem. Of course, I am just guessing at what WOULD happen in such a situation.
9. No left or right turn on red. Even if there are no cars for miles. Ahem. Kilometers.
10. The police will stop you if you are driving erratically. They will drive behind you and use a loudspeaker to apologize and politely request that you please pull over, if it is not too much trouble. Do not let their politeness confuse you. You really do need to pull over.
It takes a while before you stop entering the vehicle and trying to drive from the passenger seat. Often, the lack of a steering wheel is a sufficient reminder. If you realize this before you try to get into the car, you can save face by acting like you meant to open the passenger side door to put your bag inside. This does not work if you are empty handed.
I must say, first of all, that I am thrilled to be able to drive in Japan. I am extremely fortunate to have the use of a car, and to be partially re-imbursed for gas fees (about $4 a gallon). Public transportation is excellent, but having a car gives you 24 hour freedom to go almost anywhere in Japan! The big islands are all connected, and many little islands, too.
That having been said, here are ten things you must remember when driving in Japan...
1. That red sign? The upside down triangle? It is a stop sign. Even if you do not recognize the writing on the sign, you are still required to stop. This took me three months to realize.
2. Always, always, always back into parking spaces. I don't know why. All the other cars are neatly backed into their spaces, and your car expects to be treated the same. If you see a parked car that was not backed into a space, it usually belongs to a gaijin. On the other hand, this can make it very easy to find your car in a crowded parking lot.
3. Highways are nice, but expensive! If you have a carful of people to share the cost with, it can be cheaper than the train. If not, take smaller, local roads. You may get lost, but unless you are near a volcano, you will never stumble upon a dangerous neighborhood.
4. Beeping can be complimentary! If you pull over to let someone pass, or allow someone to pull out in front of you, a short beep means, "Hey! Thanks for being so nice!" Longer beeps heard after running a stop sign (see #1 above) or cutting somebody off do NOT mean the same thing.
5. Waving, bowing or flashing your emergency flashers for a short time can be used in place of the short beep to thank someone. Eye contact is not necessary.
6. Ditches. Japan is a water-rich nation. And the water is managed partly using huge ditches at the sides of smaller roads. Best to avoid getting too close to them.
7. Parking is very uptight. Often a uniformed assistant or two will stand in the parking lot with a reflective, um, stick (?) and direct you to the parking space of his or her choice. Don't hurt their feelings. Just bow and do as you're told.
8. At night, most businesses will chain their parking lots off so that no one can park overnight. This is very irritating, as most of the chains are difficult to see in the dark and are only discovered after you are halfway in the parking lot with the chain on your hood. If you are going fast enough, the chain will snap, or the posts that anchor the chains will pop up out of the ground and drag noisily behind your car until you stop. Ahem. Of course, I am just guessing at what WOULD happen in such a situation.
9. No left or right turn on red. Even if there are no cars for miles. Ahem. Kilometers.
10. The police will stop you if you are driving erratically. They will drive behind you and use a loudspeaker to apologize and politely request that you please pull over, if it is not too much trouble. Do not let their politeness confuse you. You really do need to pull over.
2 comments:
Oh I had almost forgotten how funny you can be. Do you have to take a driver's test or anything before being allowed on the road? Good grief, I had to take the written test again to switch from a VA license to a NC one.
One thing that made an impression on me, when I was in Japan (which was 12 year's ago -- and only for 9 days), was the size of the automobiles. Even the trucks and vans were tiny. It really makes you think about how much our cultures are different when you come back to the states to huge semi's, SUV's, 4-door trucks, and mini (ha!) vans.
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