The Japanese and cars are really weird. I've already mentioned that sometimes they aren't very polite when they're in them, which is quite weird by itself. However, there's more. Their cars all have really expensive audio/visual systems inside of them, often costing the same price as the car. Many of them have a video screen which plays DVDs, receives broadcast TV (or satellite), plays CDs, receives the radio, and has a satellite car mapping system. They get a map of their current location, along with voice instructions to go to a destination of their choosing. High density traffic areas show up on the map, so you can steer around them. It's really great, and they are very popular. I keep thinking that if you had something like that in America, your car would probably get broken into. However, that doesn't seem to be much of a problem in Japan.

Perhaps it's because of the amenities of these cars, or maybe a lack of privacy and space in the houses, but Japanese people love to sit in their cars in parking lots. Businessmen especially seem to like this. If you go to a park after work on a nice day, you can often see lots of cars, each with one man sitting in them watching TV with the windows rolled down (normally smoking, too). Quite frankly, I'd rather enjoy the park than sit in the parking lot, but they seem to like it. I get the feeling that the Japanese family is not a close institution, but is in a small space. So many people like to take some time on their own before going home. The alternative is to go out and drink, go to strip bars, etc. before going home. That also seems like a popular option.

Another thing about Japanese drivers, they don't turn on their headlights in the rain or snow. I think this is fairly dangerous, but it's not the law to do so. They seem to have a thing about keeping their lights off as much as possible. Maybe they think it will cost them extra money to have them on. Because of this, there aren't any cars with running lights that I've seen in Japan. I find this especially strange since some of the first cars to come with standard running lights that I remember were Toyotas and Hondas. When I rented a car in the fall, I kept the lights on the whole time I was driving, and other drivers kept flashing their lights at me to tell me to turn them off. Another time, Iguchi-sensei was driving me to another prefecture, and we passed through a series of tunnels. All the drivers will turn on their lights for the tunnel, and then turn them off when they exit, even if the next tunnel is about 500 meters away.