Thank you

Anyone who has been to Japan, or indeed seen any Japanese movies will know all about the bow. In Japan it has a very important place:

You would like to show your servitude: you bow
You would like to ask for a shopping bag: you bow
You would like to enter through a doorway: you bow
You would like to say thank you: you bow
You would like to give something to someone: you bow
You would like to receive something from someone: you bow
You would like to say hello: you bow
You would like to say goodbye: you bow
You would like to express your apologies: you bow
You would like to start eating: you bow

and the list goes on (it really, really does)...

So what, I hear you ask, does one do in a car when wanting to express something to another driver (no, not the finger)?

Well, yes: They bow.

Though personally I find it a bit dangerous to bow and drive, so it becomes more of a nod.
The biggest problem is that the usual protocol is to nod, and then they nod, and then you nod, and then they nod... and the nodding ensues until one of you drives off far enough out of sight or gets motion sick. If I am the passenger I go for the full dip, but needless to say I often feel like I am one of those 'drinking birds' the you see in the sciences labs back in high school...

But in instances such as when you are merging and someone lets you merge in front if them, how can you bow? After all, to the car behind you if you were to bow it would only look like you are hunching over the steering wheel, or perhaps trying to pick up that M&M you dropped in your lap. The answer Japan has come up with.....

A quick flash of your hazard lights.

Yes, it's a little blink of thanks to lighten up an otherwise grey road. Mind you, the first time we encountered such a thing, we thought "This idiot can't merge properly and now they decide to stop randomly in the middle of the road with their hazards on". But now that we understand the system, it is a goodie- especially as it works at all times of day.

So I think that this 'blink of thanks' should be brought all around the world. I know that Australia doesn't have the same 'bowing' problem as Japan, but how often does the old "wave of thanks" look like a  middle finger?

So come'on everyone- next time someone lets you merge in front of them, why don't you say thank you the Japanese way... With a flash.

Like a hoon

So, to the land of the internet, I come out loud and proud. I am a square (though I am sure you knew this all along).

That's right- I get off my bicycle when crossing at the traffic lights, I feel guilty when I eat supermarket grapes and I don't go over the speed limit by more that 2kms/hr (intentionally).

Which is why driving in Japan for me is like trying to stick the triangle block in my very square hole (Mind out of the gutter, please).

You would think that Japan would be all about the obeying of the rules and that I could live out my life speeding ticket free- but there is more to Japan that meets the eye.

You see, Japan has a bit of a weird thing where if something works, there is no need to fix it. In the case of speed signs; they were doubtlessly put up in the days when the family oxen could quite easily beat one of those shiny new auto-mobiles. So, most speed signs in Japan average 50kms an hour on the highways and main roads.  Around Tainai streets it is 30kms an hour (I am not joking)- and we are talking out in 'inaka' (boonies/sticks) where there are no traffic lights and no hazards whatsoever.

But rather than update these signs to something more appropriate, they just have an unspoken rule in Japan where you are ALLOWED to go 20kms over the speed limit.
Sounds like great fun? I'm sure you can understand how this triangle block just isn't sitting right with me- no matter how many times I bang it with my little wooden mallet. And I have this sneaking suspicion that for foreigners this rule may not apply and I will end up in a Japanese jail somewhere giving free English lessons in exchange for cigarettes....
Where it gets really silly is we have been told that 20kms over is fine, but if you go 21kms over the speed limit, you will be booked for going 21kms over the speed limit, not 1km over.

So, while I hope for the day that Japan will update the signs to what they really should be, in the meantime I will be racing around town at 45kms an hour like a rebel, sampling grapes for free and walking on the grass...

Look out world, a new Cassie has arrived (at 45kms/hr).

Buying a car

So in the land of the rising sun, there is more to buying a car than what you will think. Much like in Australia where there are all sorts of hidden taxes, Japan is no different.
There is registration tax, a parking certificate (making sure you have a space to put the car in) a recycling fee a few other hidden taxes and the almighty Shaken- which is like a roadworthy that costs around $1000, give or take, depending on the size of the car (Some cars can be over $2000 I have heard).

So, off we go and as I had no idea what they were going to ask of me, we took along a foreigner who had lived here for 15 years with a Japanese wife to ask all the tricky questions... Except, there were none.
We rolled up to the local lot (as it had been recommended to us) and basically asked what he had in our price range. Which was a single car...

At this point I was a little sceptical, as there was no price tag on the car he showed us and there were other cars on the lot with lower prices on the windows than what he told us that this thing was. So, naturally, wanting to get the best deal I asked about one of the cars that was advertised as $1000 less. He happily showed us and upon getting in, our knees touched the steering wheel like one would imagine a tall gaijin in a tiny tiny japanese car- so that was a no go. We then asked about the car next to it, which he did not recommend as it was a bit of a fixer upper, so for lack of options- we took the car originally recommended to us.

Being Japan, I expected mountains of paperwork to complete, but all he wanted was a piece of paper that said our plastic stamp belonged to us, and then he sent us on our way to come back two days later to pick up said chariot. I would like to mention at this stage, there was no test drive or anything either.

Naturally after I suffered complete buyers remorse, but due to lack of choice there wasn't much that I could do but put faith in the Japanese.

So, two days later we went to pick up our beast, once again expecting a mountain of paperwork, but nope, he took car of all the paperwork and registrations- It was just a matter of handing over the cash, he gave us the keys and away we went...

Never has it been so unexpectedly easy to buy a car.

So the question became, did we get a lemon....

True to form- no. The Japanese were honest (even the used car dealers). The car drives perfectly, great steering, breaks, 4wd  (for the snow) and all the mod-cons like key less entry and power windows, but best of all...

A spoiler (That makes it go fast)!

So watch out Japan... Cassie is on the road!