Living life in the Land of the Rising Sun: A Glimpse at Driving

Our new 2003 Nissan March

While I was in the states in November, Russ found and bought a second vehicle for us. Meet our 2003 Nissan March. This has become my car and Russ drives the Nissan Note. I love the March because it's tiny and I definitely feel more comfortable on the narrow Okinawa roads with a little car. It seems to have a looser feel to the steering than the Note does so it weaves around all the obstacles on the roads nicely...and there are always obstacles on the roads. I don't think I've driven anywhere yet where there wasn't a car pulled off to the side of the road even on the skinniest of roads. They have strict laws about using the cell phone while driving so it's not unusual to see cars pull to the side of the road to answer their phones or to send a message. Many times it's at the worst possible place and they are oblivious to the driving hazards they just created.

When driving around town, you can always tell which cars are being driven by Americans because our license plates have either a big Y or a big A at the beginning. The A cars are classified as smaller cars that are taxed less. One day we were driving on one of the main roads from our house to the base and saw a car coming towards us the wrong way. We automatically think this has to be an American who forgot which side of the road to drive on. I'm sure all the Japanese cars traveling beside us thought the same. As she got close enough to see the license plate we realized it was a Japanese vehicle being driven by an older lady and she was just realizing she was in the wrong lane when she got to us. There was a median flower wall between the two directions of traffic so there was nothing for her to do but keep driving. It was nice to see that we're not the only ones that find ourselves driving on the wrong side of the streets. We didn't stick around long enough to see how she got herself out of that one.

In late November I put my first dent on the Note. I was in the parking lot at the BX and it was fairly empty. I was amazed that I could get a parking spot so close to the building (a rare thing). I saw one that looked promising and had overshot the space so I put the car in reverse so I could pull into the sport and <bang!!>, I backed right into a truck that had snuck up behind me. I had only looked in my side mirror and didn't see him. I hadn't gotten used to looking in the rear view mirror since it was on my left and if I had I would have seen him. The driver was a Japanese businessman who spoke very little English. We both pulled into parking spots and he called his company and sent them pictures of his truck and then came back and said it was ok. He asked for my phone number and gave me his card. I haven't heard back from him so I'm assuming all is well.

He was very sweet about the whole thing. I, of course, was a little shaken up. Since I wasn't sure what to do, right after it happened I tried texting Russ to come and help me but he had left his phone in his car and didn't respond so I was on my own. As I always do I took pictures of both vehicles. My car was the only one with damage. I bent the bumper in the back. Russ was able to pop most of it back to where it's not as noticeable.

So many of the side roads in Japan are about the width of what we would consider one lane but they are for two way traffic. Many of the vehicles have buttons to pull in side mirrors since things get pretty tight when you are squeezing through these narrow roads. You will also see many cement walls at sharp angles at the ends of these roads and it's sometimes quite tricky to make a turn if another car is passing through or wants to turn onto the road you are on. When you drive through the parking lots on base you will see quite a lot of side scrapes and bent bumpers on cars from driving all of the many obstacles on the roads. Driving in Japan can be like riding in dodgems cars at amusement parks. You're constantly shifting right and left to avoid the obstacles. As you drive down a narrow road you might meet parked cars along the side, a car coming at you and people walking or biking along the side of the road, old women sweeping the roads, skateboarders or young children who raise their hands and walk into traffic. I've had to polish my defensive driving skills here.

Last week when we were out driving I took some pictures of some of the street signs we see that are a little different than what we see in the states. I also snapped pictures of some familiar American things as well as some of the business names that make me smile. So here's a little glimpse of driving through Okinawa.

A few street signs