As I'm sure you are aware, Japan officially opened its borders to foreign visitors from October 11th. Furthermore, the daily visitor cap was lifted, and foreigners that come to the country can travel across Japan freely, without the need for mandatory guided tours. On top of this, the Japanese yen taken a dive recently, making it much more appealing for foreigners to come and spend much needed tourist money in Japan.
One thing I would like to talk about is my driving experiences in Japan. Recently, I have been working out of town again, and unlike previous times where I would catch a train and possibly stay at a hotel, I have to drive daily due to the location. This also means I need to take expressways, and deal with toll gates on a daily basis. While the driving system is largely the same as in my country, there are a couple of small things I've noticed that are pretty useful, which mostly center around the use of hazard lights (or ハザードランプ / hazard lamp in Japanese.
The first observation is when cars merge in to one lane - something my hometown has problems doing at times - at least when I was last back home. People in Japan follow the "zig zag approach" for merging, and after the car merges, they use the hazard lights to signal thanks for letting them go ahead of you. In my hometown, people sometimes just wave in the rare cases, though it can be hard to see.
Another instance I have observed is on the expressway when you spot a traffic jam. Given the high speed and the need to suddenly slow down, cars and trucks will signal others of the traffic jam up ahead by using hazard lights. Of course, successive cars will signal other vehicles, and this continues on, reducing chances of a traffic accident.
I don't know if other countries have similar practices with use of the hazard lights like in Japan, but I'm curious if anybody has seen other uses of them - whether within Japan or in other countries.
No comments:
Post a Comment