Learning to Drive Again

Driving in Japan takes some getting used to. I realized that once I drive off base, I would get totally lost. The Japanese don't use street signs. Every once in a while, I get the opportunity to drive the government vehicle. Something like that van in the picture below. The Navy has plenty of them and they come dirt cheap. The lack of good shocks, insulation, horsepower and safety is pretty much the reason they're so inexpensive. Anyways, driving on the left side of the road still feels strange to me. I always switch on the windshield wiper when I try to signal. The signal is on the right side. The shifter is on the left side. Like in the states, the gas pedal is still on the right and brake on the left. Speed is in kilometers and the gas gauge is in liters. Navigation systems come standard... well, not on the government vehicles. It is hard to get any speed with an Inline-5 engine on a minivan. Over here, 6 cylinder engines are high performance. Even with all the tiny little engines and fuel efficiency, there's still smog. I believe that all the smog come from all the little motorcycles and mopeds. There's millions of them. Well, learning to drive here is still a challenge. I'd rather ride my bike still. It only takes me 6 minutes to ride home via bicycle... 30 minutes via motorized vehicle.


Mini Vans are actually Mini