ドライビング! Driving!

Yesterday, I drove a car in Japan for the first time.

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I was afraid to say the least.

In case you didn't know, in Japan they drive on the left.  Which is the opposite of what I've had hammered into my head my whole life.  Not only is the steering wheel on the opposite side, but the windshield wipers and turn signals are flipped too.

So, every time I went to turn, I hit the windshield wipers.  Talk about embarrassing!  And, when I meant to go left, sometimes I hit the turn signal for right...because that's different too.

The hardest thing about driving here is STAYING IN THE LEFT LANE.  It goes against everything I've ever known.  Making a short left turn and a wide right is difficult to say the least.  I seriously needed Rhett to keep saying "Wide right!  Stay on the left side!" every single time I turned right.

One time, I turned into a parking lot, and went into the wrong lane.  Even though there was a car staring right at me.  It was just a force of habit.  It only happened once, and thankfully nothing dangerous came of it.  But still...scary stuff.

It's very scary when the Japanese drivers are making left turns, because it seems like they are going to hit me every time (since I'm used to cars making wide left turns).  I nearly had a heart attack more times than I care to count.

Now, I'm not complaining mind you.  It's just different.  Actually, it was a pleasant experience...despite the fact that I got lost for a bit.  Getting lost let me see more of Kota, which was nice.

Tomorrow will be a challenge.  I have to drive to Okazaki for 25 minutes each way...and I only get to follow Tim on the way there.  After that...I'll be thrown to the wolves.  Wish me luck, I'll need it.