My Trip to Japan

My Trip to Japan, March 1998

I've always wondered what it was like to drive in Japan. I was born in Japan and lived there for 9 years until 3rd grade, but I wasn't old enough to drive then. I have revisited Japan many times since, but I didn't even think about driving there, until this time around...

Here's a picture of the car I rented, Toyota Carina, on route 413.
Town of Tsukui (50 km or 31 miles west of central Tokyo,
in Kanagawa Prefecture) is in the background.

Here are some preparations I made in the U.S.

Went to the local AAA office and got myself an International Driver Permit. ($10 plus photo)
Got myself mentally prepared, telling myself that right turns (instead of left) cross traffic. Of course, I was ready to drive on the wrong side of the road.
More mental preparation: while right turn on red is allowed in California, no turns are allowed on red in Japan. (So no left turns on red!)
Another mental prep: the steering wheel is now on the right side, and the shifter is on the left hand. Fortunately, the accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals are in same positions relative to the driver.
There are no freeways in Japan. Almost all highways are toll roads, and tolls are expensive.

Here's a typical intersection in the suburbs.
This is the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture.
It's hard to tell, but it's snowing outside.

What I wasn't prepared for

It took me about half an hour before I stopped activating the windshield wiper whenever I wanted to use the turn signal. (it's an old joke you see in movies :-)
It took me longer (an hour) before I instinctively started looking left instead of right for the rear view mirror on the windshield. This was a harder habit to break!
Only major streets in Tokyo have names, so reading the map became an adventure.
Unlike the Bay Area, drivers are actually courteous! No slow pokes in the fast lane, and people would flash their emergency light while stopping behind congestion, to alert cars behind them. That's cool!

Here's a shot of the Yokohama Bay Bridge. I crossed it soon after

My unfair advantage

I grew up in Japan, so I had no problems reading street signs. Be sure to study Japan's traffic signs and regulations beforehand if you plan to drive there.
Not only did I grow up in Japan, I grew up in Tokyo, so I didn't get disoriented there. This one is tougher to prepare for. A bilingual road map of Japan will help, but not by much unless you are familiar with the area. Remember, only major streets have names.
My dad, who has lived in Japan for more than 30 years, was my navigator.

Here's a view looking west toward Kawasaki from the Tokyo Bay Oasis, a man-made island in
the middle of Tokyo Bay. This is where the Tokyo Bay Aqualine, a 15 km (9.3 miles) stretch
of road that cuts across Tokyo Bay, transitions between tunnel and bridge. The structure you see
is on another man-made island (Kawasaki Jinkoshima), which is a structural part of the underwater
tunnel which runs directly underneath. Objects seem closer than they appear, because I used the
maximum zoom setting on my 300mm lens. See next page for "more to scale" view.

Itinerary

Started at Suginami-ku, Tokyo, 8:00am. (This is where I grew up)
Headed southwest toward Route 413. I missed a turn and ended up in Sagamihara, which was more south than I intended to go.
Route 413 is a non-toll road that borders Tanzawa-Oyama National Park, and leads to Yamanaka ko(lake) which is at the eastern base of Mount Fuji. I particularly enjoyed the drive, as Route 413 had windy sections.
Drove around Yamanaka-ko, then headed south toward city of Gotemba, where dad and I had a pretty good sushi lunch.
Got on Tomei Kosokudoro(Highway) and headed back toward Tokyo. People were going faster than 130 km/h (~80 mph) on the fast lane - speed limit is 100-110 km/h.
Got off Tomei and drove across the Yokohama Bay Bridge and headed toward Kawasaki.
Drove under Tokyo Bay on the Tokyo Bay Aqualine. Stopped on the man-made island, Tokyo Bay Oasis, then headed toward Kisarazu on the Boso Peninsula, Chiba Prefecture.
Headed north toward Chiba, and got stuck on several traffic jams, including one at Makuhari (where many high-tech conventions are held).
Went through many Sunday night traffic jams in Tokyo (especially near the Hakozaki Junction) and finally got home (Suginami-ku) on 7:00pm.

Here's a view looking east from the Tokyo Bay Oasis, toward Kisarazu, Chiba Prefecture.
You can see the bridge section of the Tokyo Bay Aqualine and part of the parking lot underneath.
I guess you can say that the Tokyo Bay Oasis is a tourist trap, with numerous restaurants and shops.
What's worse, even though the Aqualine was not congested at all, I had to wait more than an hour to
find a parking spot on the Oasis!

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