GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS

The good news is—we have a car. The bad news is—we have a car (actually it’s called a Kei-Van) and that means I have to drive. Over here they drive on the left side of the road and the driver sits on the right side of the car. At least the floor pedals are in the right order, but the turn signal and windshield wiper levers are reversed so occasionally when, at the last moment, I put on the turn signal, the windshield wipers go. Actually I had been driving a borrowed car that our neighbors had let us use and it’s really not too bad, although the roads in Japan can be described with 3 words: narrow, curvy and unmarked. In the US every little alley has a name; not so here, as only the major roads are named.

Many roads here would be a narrow one-way street in the U.S., but many of them are 2-way (as you can see below),

and all cars have side mirrors that fold in if things really get tight! The other problem with the narrow roads is that I am told (although officially unconfirmed) that in our area there is no such thing as a right of way for the utility companies. So since a land owner would not have to allow the company access to their poles, the poles are put out on the road.

Also the shape of a homeowner's lot can be irregular so the road width may need to change suddenly.

And you always must be alert for bicycles and especially motorcycles which do not wait their turn. Motorcycles will pass on either side, and they always go to the front of the line when waiting at a stoplight or for a train. Sometimes on the major highways, they may decide to ride between cars, thereby creating a very narrow third lane.

Getting gas here is somewhat like getting gas in the States in the early 1960’s. When you pull in, an attendant tells you exactly where to stop, and if they aren’t busy you may have two people washing your windows and checking your oil.

Afterwards, someone will stop traffic so that you can safely leave the station.

From the picture, you can see that gas is 142 and that would be in yen. At today’s rate of exchange that would be about $1.45.

Now before you get too excited and think how easy we have it, let me point out that over here they charge by the liter and since there are 3.87 liters per gallon, our gas costs $5.63 per gallon. SO STOP YOUR COMPLAINING about high gas prices.

Probably some time in the spring I will need to get a Japanese driver's license which will require both a written and a driving test. I'll give you some information on how that process will go in my next blog.

HAPPY DRIVING.