On the Road Again

One of my good friends here in Japan has a car. 

          She likes to go on adventures to see different places in Japan, and often is kind enough to invite me along. The trips we have taken are a blast, even if they do not always go according to plan. So I go every chance I get.  

       Back in the states I have been on my share of road trips so my mind cannot help but compare there to here, with a few stark contrasts coming immediately to mind.  First of all, the cars are all smaller. That means that there is a little less leg room in the vehicle - but that does not bother me much because I have never been one to take much foot space. However, smaller cars also use smaller roads and the whole highway feels like it is miniature sized. I particularly thought so the time we saw this little red car (below). The driver thought that he was so cool, but his car is barely a meter high and only about two meters long. It is a toy. I am convinced, and I have no clue what it is doing on the highway. 

     
          Secondly, like in America there are express-highways and standard roads. Nowadays in America it is uncommon to take anything but highways. In America I prefer highways because I do not take the time for the scenic route. Let's be real, we all have places to be. However, in Japan my favorite trips have been on the non-highways because they go through small towns and residential areas of Japan, giving me a better perspective on Japan and that locale. In some ways it reminds me of route 66: it is cute, it is slower, and there are a lot of run down and outdated (but adorable) stops along the way.
       
          I also love the scenery of the road trips, and I still do not know what part of America  to compare it to. The greenery grows like the Smokey Mountains (although the species here and there varies). The terrain looks somewhat like the Rocky Mountains and opens to a sky that is almost as big as Montana. The sides of the mountains are coated alternately with pine trees and kudzu coated ferns. The crops in the fields, which occupy every available inch of flat land, is rice or occasionally onions or water chestnuts. Houses and their gardens are beautifully built and maintained. Or else old and outdated but still charming, like route 66.  I do not know exactly what to compare it to, but it is breathtaking.

Finally for now, on our road trip today I realized another difference: 

how do you play the alphabet game in Japan?