To a fellow accustomed to zipping along for miles at a stretch on the long and lonely South Texas highways without turning the steering wheel hardly a nudge in either direction, driving in Japan is likely to make him feel like a fish out of water. This is the third time I drive to and from Yokota AFB, only 45 miles away and it took two hours to make the trip. Seven days out of the week there are just too many vehicles on the road. We pulled out of Yokota at 9:20 this morning on the chance that traffic would be just a tad lighter on a Sunday morning. Wrong!However, on the bright side, there is no place I would rather be in heavy traffic than in Japan. I give these drivers credit for being patient, courteous, and cautious. Even at what passes for high speeds on the expressways, motorists leave a nice big assuring "cushion" of space between vehicles. It may be a time-consuming drive from one place to another, but I don't get stressed out in traffic. I don't sweat it. The flow of traffic, whether slow or fast, has an orderliness about it that I appreciate.
