After a month of paperwork, insurance registration, and various government clearances it was finally time to step into our first Japanese car in Japan. We purchased an eight year old mini-minivan with roughly 23,000 miles on it for 1,000,000 yen ($7500 USD at the time). It does not sound like much usage, however here people do not really drive too far in the city and are more interested in having a “new car” than wearing out their current one. Every two years a car has a required test to make sure that everything is in working order, which can cost $600-$900 or more (plus repairs to be deemed road ready). As a car gets older this test changes to yearly. Most Japanese people prefer having a new car than dealing with problems with a car test. Japanese people typically have overly high standards for their cars. Also each year an annual car tax must be paid, so expenses can really add up when owning a car. ( List of typicalexpenses. ) When buying a car a test drive is not allowed so it is of the utmost importance to rely upon the relationship built with the dealer as well as the very stringent standards for buying and selling of cars here. People often build trust with a certain dealer and only go to them whenever they need a car. This level of trust would be unheard of in America!
My family and I had lived in Japan for close to seven years now always using public transportation as well as bicycles to get around, so this was a very new experience. Our children are getting older now and it will be too expensive to pay for us all to use public transportation, so we decided that it was time to buy a car. Stepping into the car with the steering wheel on the right side of the car as well as driving on the “opposite” side of the road certainly takes some getting used to. The first few trips were quite anxious to say the least. Some lights here are Red with Green arrows at the same time directing traffic forward!
Japanese cars are typically very small with low ground level clearance as opposed to the average American vehicle. They are known for their economic advantages at the cost of safety. Most cars seen in Japan are not available in America due to certain size regulations, impact standards, and other complexities. In Japan roads are very narrow, speed limits are significantly slower, and people are very cautious as well as safe drivers in general. For these reason it would seem that Japanese cars can get away with having smaller sizes with less “armor” for accidents. Much of our time is spent waiting on traffic lights and driving very slowly. This road setup makes the country appear larger than it actually is! Some roads are very narrow, requiring great patience and good manners to navigate when encountering others. Japan has very few parking spots so it is not uncommon to have to pay to park. Free parking spots are certainly cherished and well guarded so as to be not taken advantage of! Gas is about $4.70 a gallon currently. With good gas mileage it is quite reasonable, especially with gas rates in the USA costing as much as $7.00 per gallon in some areas.
Thus far it has been a good experience learning to drive here. Getting used to turning around in tight areas, narrow roads, parking fees, and tolls fees for highway use takes some time, but for the most part it is similar to driving in highly urbanized American settings in some ways. Having a car has allowed us greater access to get gospel tracts out to areas where we could not reach by train, bus, or bike including small towns. Please pray for us as we attempt to use our car wisely to share the gospel with Japanese people!
