Driving
Cultural differences in acceptable driving practices amaze me. The most obvious difference is that they drive on the left side of the road. I guess this is because the government was modeled after England after WWII. But whatever reason, it is here to stay. I find it funny though that only isolated countries living on an island still drive on the left…I am thinking of Japan, England, Australia and New Zealand. But then again India and South Africa still drive on the left too, so perhaps the British cultural explanation wins out after all.
The best part though is that it makes you realize how automatic your actions are. Last weekend I got into the car to drive. I sit down in the drivers seat. The door is on the right. What do I do? I reach over to left to grab my seatbelt, grabbing air. Smack! I hit myself on the forehead. Next, I go right and smack my hand into the door, trying to reach the shifter in the middle of the car (on the right on Japan). Finally, I need to turn left and finally do the right thing…assuming turns signals in Japan are the windshield wipers. Sheesh!
The worst part is how I have become so used to cars driving on the left. Recently I saw an American movie with cars on the right and it looked positively strange. I couldn’t decide what felt more weirded out about: the cars on the right or me being wierded out by the cars on the right.
Other differences:
- Turning left on a red light is always illegal.
- Parking on the sidewalk in the middle of the city perfectly acceptable…and very common! The parking area is just sidewalk overflow for most restaurants.
- Speed limits are really slow! 40km/h for two lane streets (about 25mph) and 60km on “highways” (about 40ish).
- Everybody seems to have radar detectors, which play happy, recognizable tunes (that quickly become very annoying) whenever they detect a cop using his radar gun.
- I am not sure about what the law says, but they are really strict about alcohol. People who are driving won’t even have a single drink at the bar. The idea of “one beer per hour” doesn’t fly here.
closed
February 24th, 2004 at 16:26
Other weird stuff I’ve noticed in your pictures that would probably throw me off more than driving on the wrong side…
I would try to put a couple of beers and some soda into that little silver heater thingy since it looks like the swank fridges that you buy at Costco and run off of DC power.
I would probably think you party pretty hardy lookin at the funk collected in that strainer in your sink… looks like it got halfway digested and then returned for a refund of NASTY.
WTF is that netting hanging over over the trees in the winter Kenrokuen pictures? I thought there was going to be a Pink Floyd laser light show there!
I would definitely try to make some fresh homemade bread in your washing machine.
February 25th, 2004 at 16:02
The “netting” are actually ropes. The snow here is really wet, so they tie rope to the branches to make sure the branches don’t break.
The washer isn’t actually that small. Probably 60-80% of a western washer.
And another tid-bit about drinking and driving. If you are caught, the fine is about $3000 with the added bonus that each person in the car is fined $3000. Suck!