Driving in Japan

or Why the Japanese Driving Age is 18, not 15 1/2

First of all, I would like to dissuade you all from the typical misconception that Asians are poor drivers. Sure, they may not be able to see the road all that well, but if you want proof, come to Japan for a bit. Either they are incredible drivers, or just really bad with awesome luck. Either way, it works out pretty well. lol Anyways, on with my story.

So, back when I was in Kyoto last year, I thought I had seen scary driving. Zipping along a narrow path with cliffs on either edge while riding in a Japanese taxi... that was nothing.

Out here in the countryside, the following form of driving is the norm. First of all, everyone drives a little over the speed limit. At first, this won't seem like much as it is about the same as what we do in the US (5 over in mph, 10 over in kph) but when compounded with the following info, you will see why even this little bit freaks me out.

So, here's the kicker... the roads are narrow!! I know, I know, I've said this before, right? Well, take a look at this picture:

See those white lines on the road? Look familiar?? Those are stop lines (yes, the same as in the US, just on opposite sides of the road). Do you notice something rather strange about those lines?? How about the fact that they overlap? How about the other fact that those lines are barely wider than any of the cars in Japan. So, what do you do when two cars meet going opposite directions?? Both cars pull over as close as possible to the sides of the road, such that the mirror brushes the wall/lampost/whatever happens to be there and the other side brushes the oncoming car. And no one bothers to brake for this... This is why I get freaked out when people are going over the speed limit.

Here's a picture of an oncoming car, granted, this is when it's pulled over to the side of the road...


And now that I've got you all riled up, here's a beautiful view of the country side from the car window to relax you: