#87 Tenets of the Ninja

Hawk on April 6, 2006

During the years I lived in Japan, I never once drove a car. In retrospect this is a good thing. I think one of the worst curses you can bring upon yourself in Japan is car ownership.

First of all, in Japan, there's no room for your car. Wanna park it somewhere? It better fit in your mailbox. Even at your home the parking fees are pretty steep. If you plan to go somewhere, it's likely you'll have to pay a toll. Also, your drivers license costed you thousands to earn from an expensive driving school. What, you got that covered? Well, there's also the expensive crippling emissions exam you must pass every few years that costs so much that it's actually better to get a new car and send your old one over to an American used car lot. And when it's all said and done, you're still paying way more than Americans are for your gasoline. Even though you're driving a little rice-burner.

My main reason for not ever driving is that I'm sure I would've lapsed back into the American system and started driving on the wrong side of the road. Lucky for me the subways and trains in Japan were exceptional and a bike could get you almost anywhere you wanted to go… with ample free parking!