cars
This is off-topic and unrelated to the chronology of my time in Japan, but one of things that struck me while in Japan, and particularly in Tokyo, was how differently automobiles functioned within the social and geographical space.
For one thing, given the density of the buildings and population, there is virtually zero on-street parking, so roads are not lined with cars on one or both sides as is common in American urban landscapes. Moreover, roads are narrow, often just wide enough for cars coming from opposite directions to pass one another, with little shoulder, instead running right up to the sidewalks or, where there are no sidewalks, almost up to the sides of buildings.
This, of course, means there is sometimes little visibility regarding traffic on cross streets, thereby making it an absolute necessity to come to a full stop at stop signs, rather than the gentle roll-through that characterizes much of American urban driving. Fortunately, many intersections without lights are fitted with angled mirrors in order to see down the streets to either side of an intersection.
This also means that parking space is at a premium, sometimes limited to a small patch on someone's property (the idea of a "driveway" is ludicrous) or, where one doesn't have a parking pad, making it necessary for a car-owner to either purchase or rent a space. Some parking spaces (as I've also seen in Boston) use a lift to raise up one vehicle in order that another one might be parked underneath it.
As a result of these constraints cars in Japan are, on average, smaller than their American counterparts and full-sized SUVs are quite rare, let alone something gargantuan like a Hummer (which probably wouldn't even fit down many Tokyo streets and, in any event, would be unparkable). If one takes something like a Nissan Sentra as an average sedan, the majority of American cars would be larger, sometimes significantly larger, than a Sentra, even among Nissans. In Tokyo, the opposite seemed to be the case: the majority of passenger vehicles would be smaller than something like an American Sentra.
Such a comparison can be substantiated, I think, by examining the models available through the lines of cars that manufacturers direct at the American automobile market compared to those they market in Japan. Thus, for instance, the line-up at Toyota USA might be compared to the line-up at Toyota Japan. In particular one should note the "2Box" line of subcompact cars available in Japan, none of which are available at all in the US market as far as I know but which seem to sell quite well in Tokyo, at least. This difference in car marketing between Japan and the US applies beyond just Japanese manufacturers.
At the extreme, some cars in Japan (including this German-made one to the right) are almost nothing more that a couple of seats, an engine, and a cab surrounding the seats, more mini than a Mini. Though perhaps not entirely apparent from the photos here, even minivans (or are they mini-SUVs?) in Japan average on the small side, both shorter and significantly more narrow than their American analogues, lacking the sliding back door (for which there is no room on the vehicle) and without much cargo space.
Well, so much for the Japanese auto scene.
(continue to next post: kyoto, part one)
For one thing, given the density of the buildings and population, there is virtually zero on-street parking, so roads are not lined with cars on one or both sides as is common in American urban landscapes. Moreover, roads are narrow, often just wide enough for cars coming from opposite directions to pass one another, with little shoulder, instead running right up to the sidewalks or, where there are no sidewalks, almost up to the sides of buildings.
This, of course, means there is sometimes little visibility regarding traffic on cross streets, thereby making it an absolute necessity to come to a full stop at stop signs, rather than the gentle roll-through that characterizes much of American urban driving. Fortunately, many intersections without lights are fitted with angled mirrors in order to see down the streets to either side of an intersection.
This also means that parking space is at a premium, sometimes limited to a small patch on someone's property (the idea of a "driveway" is ludicrous) or, where one doesn't have a parking pad, making it necessary for a car-owner to either purchase or rent a space. Some parking spaces (as I've also seen in Boston) use a lift to raise up one vehicle in order that another one might be parked underneath it.
As a result of these constraints cars in Japan are, on average, smaller than their American counterparts and full-sized SUVs are quite rare, let alone something gargantuan like a Hummer (which probably wouldn't even fit down many Tokyo streets and, in any event, would be unparkable). If one takes something like a Nissan Sentra as an average sedan, the majority of American cars would be larger, sometimes significantly larger, than a Sentra, even among Nissans. In Tokyo, the opposite seemed to be the case: the majority of passenger vehicles would be smaller than something like an American Sentra.
Such a comparison can be substantiated, I think, by examining the models available through the lines of cars that manufacturers direct at the American automobile market compared to those they market in Japan. Thus, for instance, the line-up at Toyota USA might be compared to the line-up at Toyota Japan. In particular one should note the "2Box" line of subcompact cars available in Japan, none of which are available at all in the US market as far as I know but which seem to sell quite well in Tokyo, at least. This difference in car marketing between Japan and the US applies beyond just Japanese manufacturers.
At the extreme, some cars in Japan (including this German-made one to the right) are almost nothing more that a couple of seats, an engine, and a cab surrounding the seats, more mini than a Mini. Though perhaps not entirely apparent from the photos here, even minivans (or are they mini-SUVs?) in Japan average on the small side, both shorter and significantly more narrow than their American analogues, lacking the sliding back door (for which there is no room on the vehicle) and without much cargo space.
Well, so much for the Japanese auto scene.
(continue to next post: kyoto, part one)
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