As many of you may know, the side of the road that you drive on in the US is "Right". That would make any other side "Wrong", and apparently Japan did not feel like being correct. This character of Japanese driving was the largest cause of my not driving during earlier trips. I just could not get my brain around the idea. I find now that I have adapted quite easily to the difference and regret not taking up driving earlier.
The roads here are strange in that they vary considerably in width as you drive along them. At times the lane is wide and other vehicles can be simply observed as they pass. At other times the road becomes narrow enough to make passing traffic much too close for comfort. All too often, the avenue becomes so narrow that only one car can pass, which causes issues since I have seen very few one way streets here. When another car approaches on one of these too narrow lanes, one driver must find a place to pull over and allow the other to pass. This is done by the pilots negotiating with each other, eye contact must be made. This is very different from my driving experience in New York, where the roads are almost always wide enough for cars to pass each other comfortably, and I think for the lack of road rage here.
I asked Ryoko why the streets are so variable and she stated that "when the government asked for the land to build the road, the owners said no." This shocked me a bit as I assumed that Japan had the same powers in this regard as the US did. In America such eminent domain issues are decided directly by the government, much to the chagrin of many individual citizens. But it is because of the US governments powers in this regard that our roads are so much safer than here in Japan. We take for granted that we will have sidewalks when we need them, but if citizens were granted the right to say no that would not be the case. I also feel that because Japan became civil well before the invention of the car, many property lines were drawn with hand carts in mind. This would not require the same girth as a car and hence the narrower roads. I think the same is true of many European nations. I know that if I had said no to the widening of the street in order to keep more of my property, I would not be able to sleep at night worrying about the accidents and/or deaths my decision would have caused. . .
Another difference here is that because of the crowded and narrow roads, it often seems like you are driving on the sidewalk. There are pedestrians and bicycles competing with you for space on the boulevard. This appears to be directly amplified the closer you get to a train station. I think this unhealthy proximity leads to carelessness, and have had walkers step out in front of my truck many times. I have become quite paranoid about them and assume they will choose the least intelligent option until I have them behind me and even then I doubt their willingness to live. My heart is often in my throat as I ride the bus, as children jaunt out in front of it without seeming to care. I have also been left aghast as I witness motorcycles driving between moving cars, or on the side of the road. I even observed a smartcar (driven by a not so smart person) pull onto the sidewalk one day as I was jogging.
The main point today is that driving here is more dangerous than in America. Think about this the next time you feel your road rage growing because someone cut you off. At least you had a wide enough road in order to maneuver around them. . .
