Vroom Vroom

After living in Japan for almost three years, I've decided to take the next, most obvious step towards insanity here: buying a car. Why is it insane you might ask?

Well first of all, it's really expensive. Every three years the car must be inspected. For those who are stateside, you may think "well, that's not so bad". The problem is, with inspection comes mandated repairs (such as brake pads, transmissions and what not). From what I gather, as the car gets older, $1,500 a pop for inspection runs about average. Sure, the car is safer but...

What good does it do to have good brake pads when you share the road with incompetent morons who can't even keep their eyes trained in front of them for more than 5 seconds while driving? I've been walking/riding my bike here for a few years now and I've seen some pretty horrendous driving skills (and almost been creamed multiple times by the esteemed graduates of Japanese driving schools). I'm hoping this experience walking/riding comes in handy for my defensive driving skills needed here.

The final thing I'm not looking forward to is paying a yearly tax based on the engine size (and vehicle size) of the car. Note, I didn't say the engine EFFICIENCY (mpg) but just the size. I own the car. It's mine. Why do I have to pay a tax on it? Because of how much air it sucks in to complete a kilometer of distance? What's next? A bike rider's tax since my lungs use air, too? Maybe a tax for my air pump? What about a double tax since I must also exhale C02 in order to fill the tire. I dunno, I just can't fathom it. This kind of thinking reminds me of that great quote by Ronald Reagan: "...if it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it." Maybe I can file for a subsidy if the car breaks down...

So at this point, my loyal 3 or 4 readers are probably thinking "Wow, what a whiner, just don't by the damn car". And for a while I thought that too. But I am looking forward to traveling to parts of Japan that just aren't easily accessible by bike/bus/train or....well I guess that would be it, wouldn't it? Also, growing up, my parents often took me and my brother for car rides, so I do love getting into the car and just exploring. It will be nice to do these things and enjoy a little more freedom to move around.

So without further ado, here is the car. It is a Volkswagen Golf Touran. The gentleman who owns it now is heading back Down Under and needs to unload it. It's got a pretty strong engine, is pretty efficient on gas and has tons-o-room.

Time to hit Wiki and study some Japanese. ワッショ～～～イ！