I have always wondered why people insist on driving in Japan. This country just wasn't set up for moving vehicles. First of all, it is too small to have a portion of the population rallying around, flirting with momentum and dodging buildings. Imagine cramming 125 million people into land the size of of Montana. Now imagine giving them all a vehicle.

Driving in Japan is like driving through a putt-putt golf course. There are various obstacles to maneuver through, such as bridges, tolls and parking spaces the size of telephone booths. There are places where the road suddenly narrows, so that you have to back up to let an oncoming car get through. Country roads have gaping rice fields on both sides. Many a time I have seen a car hanging off the road, ready to drop into a rice field and become someone's future "onigiri" (new onigiri flavor: "salaryman with tie").

I also wonder why Japan, a nation plagued by sleep, allows its citizens behind the wheel. Not only is it dangerous to drive while sleeping, but I suspect this is the cause of all the traffic jams: drivers oversleeping at red lights. Japanese are known to nod off during the slightest interval of inactivity. Every time I see people sleeping on the train after a long day at work, I thank God they are not behind the wheel of a car.