This Is Japan
Explore everyday life in Japan
There are many aspects of daily life in Japan that appear to be standardized.
In many ways, I think it is safe to say that they actually are. Best practices that govern behaviors ranging from how to best greet people in the morning to the preferred order for eating the various dishes of your lunch or dinner have been determined in Japan, and these habits are practice and rehearsed by people again and again beginning at a very young age.
One such behavior that often stands out to people visiting Japan is the way in which almost all drivers here, ninety percent of the time or more, back their cars into parking spaces when parking. Often, regardless of the rush they may be in, drivers pull past their desired parking spaces, swing the front ends of their cars out to the right or left, turn on the car’s hazard lights, and then start backing in.
If you are a foreigner in Japan and you are not accustomed to this behavior, you might see a car begin to roll past an available parking space, think that you are getting lucky, and start to pull in. Be careful, though, the majority of the time, the car in front of you is going to come to a stop, turn on its hazard lights, and start backing toward you. In this situation, it is you who should get out of the way.
In order to get their drivers’ licenses, drivers in Japan all pay thousands of dollars going to rigorous driving schools that teach them preferred practices for driving in Japan. While this doesn’t necessarily create the best and safest drivers in the world, it does seem to instill the habit of backing into parking spaces very well. And why not, when you think about it, it is much easier and safer to pull out of a parking space or a driveway headfirst than it is to back out, especially when dealing with roads and parking areas as narrow as those found in Japan.
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.
@boxcarblue - Much Love!! This was really a fascinating post.. I had no idea that in Japan this was common practice - and as you stated, it makes much sense.. How many fender benders occur in parking lots in the United States?? Too many!! The pics of all the cars backed into spots just looks so much more organized and efficient for parking at companies, shopping areas, or any large lot - less time walking to the door and simply more efficient..
Are there any other Japanese oddities that you can think of.. I have a feeling there are more :)
There are an endless amount of things that seem like oddities to us. I try to list some later. I've actually got to pull out of a parking space now.
Sounds Good!! And that last thing was hilarious!! I have the feeling you were telling the truth too :) Maybe try and come up with your top 3 Driving Oddities in Japan..
I was literally leaving my parking space outside of work.
Here are some differences:
Driving on the left side of the road.
Having two-way streets that are the width of a one-lane street.
Having electric poles built into the shoulders of the road so that sometimes you have to stop to avoid hitting them.
Triangular stop signs.
Not having the right of way at an intersection when you arrive at it first if you are making a far turn.
Needing to use mirrors that are posted on walls and electric poles to see around corners before pulling out from intersections.
Using your hazards as a thank you sign to other drivers.
But oddest of all is the driver's test. It's done on a closed driving course. You don't need to parallel park or do a k-turn. You have to maintain a distance of about 30 cm from the white line on the shoulder of the road. And you have to do a number of little things like look under your car before you get in it if you want to pass the test.
@boxcarblue
Thanks so much for the long list of differences in driving habits, unwritten rules, general country rules, and cultural habits..
By the way I apologize for using the word "oddities" in my original comment - a driving oddity in retrospect is more along the lines of something weird like driving to work in 'drive' and returning from work driving in 'reverse' --
Driving differences is what I should have said...
There are certainly a few differences that would benefit the United States society as a whole if they adopted some of the differences you mentioned.
I particularly liked the idea of people using their hazard lights to thank other drivers.. It seems to me that not only the intended driver but all drivers in the vicinity would likely notice the 'thank you' -- positivity shown and seen by more drivers overall - instead of a quick wave often missed seems like it may have an amazing effect.
Intrigued by having to look under your car before getting into it - what's that all about? A car safety precaution? A car bomb precaution? Or a humanitarian effort to prevent driving with an animal, child, or insect hiding under your car and possibly hurting them.
Lastly - Who has the right of way at an intersection? The larger vehicle, more expensive vehicle, or the vehicle with the more aggressive driver behind the wheel ?? Or none of the above...
Ok the real last question - which deals with the main premise of the post - backing into parking spaces -- are most cars in Japan now equipped with the self parking feature not just for parallel parking but backing in parking..
I'm really looking forward to reading more of your posts about the societal differences and practices between Japan and the U.S. -
Using the word oddities was fine. I didn't find it offensive. I think the reason for looking under your car at the driver's test is, as you guessed, to check for animals, children, etc. it's a safety precaution.
I'm pretty sure the right of way goes to the person either making the near turn or going straight. Aggressive driving can get you the win as well.
Regarding the automatic parking, I don't know how prevalent that is. Most cars do have a camera that activates when you put the car in reverse so you can see behind your car as you back up.
Driving is always interesting to me.i always enjoyed a lot when drive.i always drive with top speed.@boxcarblue what is your top speed?
I drive a tall K-car, so if I go over 130 km/h I get rattled all over the road. When I was younger, I think I drove 120 or 130 mph a time or two. I could be wrong though. It was a long time ago.
Thanks for your kind information
Any time.
A lot of things are odd. Some in a bad way, some in a good way. But when I compare Japan and US on the topic of "works orderly and reliably" without any knowledge, then my money is always on the Japanese. Of course that orderly also puts a lot of pressure on your behaviour, which again is sometimes good, sometimes bad.
Having lived here for so long now, I don't really look at things as good, bad, or odd, just different from what I was once accustomed to. The way over here produces results that are very beneficial to a lot of people in society, but you're right, they can and do take their toll on people.
haha! that's pretty interesting! thanks for sharing this story and the photos with it
Thanks for dropping by. It's one of those tiny details that you don't normally think much about, isn't it?
Correct me if I'm wrong, I think Japan is one of the most disciplined country in the world. Such a nice place to live.
I would have to guess that you are right about that. Things tend to be very orderly here.
Yeah. They're good example that should be followed by other countries. Even in times of calamities, Japan is really resilient.
And orderly as well.
The pictures are looking so beautiful. Yes Japan is a very beautiful country, thanks for making us visit to Japan. Wish you very beautiful time ahead.
Thanks, Maya. Always happy to hear your encouragement.
Most welcome my dear friend. I want to ask what will be happen if bitcoin banned in India?Please suggest if you can.
I don't know, but I imagine you will find a way to access it. It's a part of the internet, so if you can access that, you should be able to find a way to access BTC, I imagine.
Thanks for the nice reply, let's see what will be happen.
Interesting, haven't really noticed this despite having visited Japan twice. Flipped through some of my photos taken, true enough.
While the picture does not do enough justice on displaying the parking phenomenon in Japan, feel free to also have a look at the orderly manner in which the bicycles are parked.
Interesting.
Another similar pic with a further view, you can look at the way cars are parked on the right side. This practice is consistent even in residential areas.
A lot of times, apartment buildings and stations have attendants who come and straighten the books so that they don't end up a big tangled mess. With your picture, though, I'm going to guess that people just took the time to put their bikes away neatly. Thanks for verifying my account. Where were these pictures taken?
It was in the vicinity of Tokyo, Japan. But I can not remember which exact location though, just strolling along the residential areas snapping pics, haha.
Hip shots are great. That's how I get most of my pictures.
there doesn't even seem to be a odd one out for the last picture :) everyone is on the line and facing forwards, such order :) I don't know if I should admire or be cautious. But it's nice to have serious people around you even if they seem like they are
It's also not uncommon to see people correct their parking two or three times to make sure that it's perfectly aligned with the parking space. The purpose of doing so is basically not to impose on the people driving the cats in the spaces next to you. We all know what it's like to have to squeeze into our car because someone didn't take the time to leave out car enough space when they parked.
I live quite far away from Japan, but it's the way we tend to park too. I'm a pretty inexperienced driver but I also do that even when I borrow my father's cargo minivan that doesn't have a rear window. And it's not discipline here because drivers here are not very disciplined. I just think it's more convenient because backing out of a tight parking space is more difficult and dangerous (especially with the cargo van) than it is backing into it when you have enough space for the proper approach.
I grew up in the States, and it's pretty mixed there. Some people pull in, some people back in, some people double park. I would guess, though, that the majority of people of pull in. I agree that pulling out of a space is much safer and easier.
I think the difference is mainly caused by the amount of space you usually get. Both Japan and where I live, everything's narrower and more crammed. If I have to back out of the parking space in front of the building where I live, I would have to wait a long time until somebody decides to stop to let me come out, otherwise it's either moving cars or cars that are waiting in traffic behind you so there is no space for you to back into so you can merge. My guess would be that there is something similar going on in Japan too.
In the States it seems that while there are traffic jams, most spaces seem to be wider and there is more time and space for maneuvering even if you have to back out of a spot.
I can see that. Space definitely can be an issue here. Houses and buildings tend to be built right on the street with very little room for driveways and parking. Plus, once a habit is established, it's hard to break.
Absolutely, habits are always difficult to break especially when they become culturally reinforced.
Japan is very beautiful country and i have some friends from there too. Till now i am seeing here restaurants and food photography from my friend miho and now i will get to see some beautiful places and lifestyle too i am excited to know more. Japan beautiful country and
Thank you. I haven't written these posts much lately, but I'm sure I've written more than a hundred over the past year or so. If your interested, please follow the links at the end of each post back in time.
I pull in to parking spots front end first when I'm in Japan just to be a rebel.
I often do it for convenience and because I like the way just curving into a parking space feels.
Backing in is the way to go, although here in the US I prefer the pull-through. I’ve been hit TWICE backing out, even with a camera.
When it comes to pulling out of a parking space, it's great to have backed in. I don't always like to take the time to back in, though, when I'm parking:) Short term vs long term gain.