My Lovely Japan Car Accident (Part 1: The Incident)

There's a fantastic scene in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in which a traffic accident is portrayed through the series of events and encounters that lead up to the climactic accident itself.  The idea being that had any one of those chance events occurred any differently, the woman involved in the accident would not have been crossing the road at the exact time same time that the taxi, its driver, and his passenger were driving through, and thus, no accident.

We had just watched this movie over the weekend, so naturally, a similar thought process went through my mind last Monday as I sat stunned stunned, staring at my sunglasses that were now resting on the floor mat.  A few seconds prior to this, they were blocking the sun from my eyes on a normal, sunny, morning commute.  Now that they sat on the floor of the car, I realized things were suddenly about to change.

I thought about how I decided to fore-go one more cup of coffee, and the opportunity to sit and chat with my wife before leaving for work.  I thought about the fact that I chose today to return my co-worker's golf clubs that I had borrowed for over a year and the extra time it took to pick up, carry, and load the clubs.  I thought about the time I spent laboriously unloading our recycling including half a dozen beer bottles  - not 3, not 8, only 6 - into the community bins before getting into my car.  I thought about how I drove a bit slower than usual on the highway because - at the time - I knew I would be early to work.  And then I thought, what if the girl who had crossed traffic on her bike had been any later or any earlier?

I remember these thoughts, I suppose, because had any one of these events been different or had not occurred, I wouldn't have been staring at my glasses on the floor mat.  And I wouldn't be looking up at the man getting out of his car in front of me rubbing his neck, taking in the damage.  And I wouldn't have been wondering how in the world I had just gotten into my first ever traffic accident.

The police and the insurance companies would later decide that it was a 100-0 incident, meaning I was 100% to blame.  And they were right, I looked down momentarily, looked up and traffic had stopped to allow the girl to cross the street on her bike.  I tried to stop and swerve, but it wasn't enough.  You're run-of-the-mill rear-ender.  I hit the car in front of me - an old 1980's Nissan station wagon built in the days before cars were engineered to absorb energy, when they were built like rocks.  Thus, the front of my 2009 Toyota Auris was bashed in pretty good, and the rear corner of the Nissan only had a slight dent.  The Auris absorbed much of the blow and I was unharmed.  Unfortunately, the Nissan did not do much absorbing, and the seat lacked any sort of whiplash-preventing head restraint.  Needless to say, the person I hit walked away with a bit of a sore neck, which makes matters worse, but I'll save that for the follow-up blog.

This all happened right in front of work, so a lot of my co-workers recognized me and stopped to help.  I was fortunate for their help in dealing with the police, the tow trucks, and insurance.  They helped sort out everything, and I tried to answer questions as best I could.  Everything took about 2 hours, and in the end, both cars were towed, the police said to wait a week for any report or fine, the person I hit was on his way for a routine examination to make sure there was no damage unseen, insurance was notified, and rental cars were in the works.  I wanted to feel some sort of relief, but I couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that I hadn't fully grasped the situation from not speaking the language well.  For the time being, I was worried about insurance, the person I hit, and what this might mean for my pocket-book.  Unfortunately, I had no idea what a nightmare this incident would soon become.

Living abroad, we are told to represent our country with class and dignity, and to abide by the host country's laws and culture.  This ambassador would certainly be tested over the next few days.

McDonald's Big America Campaign

The McDonald's machine (or should I say 'Mack-do' as it is commonly called here in Japan) keeps rolling out the gems to increase their presence and popularity in Japan.  My wife and I sensed a subtle but impending doom for the Japanese when McDonald's finally thought the timing was right to unveil its quarter-pounder to the Japanese market last summer.  Prior to that, it was just thought to be too much burger for the petite Japanese culture.  Apparently not.

Alas, it was met with resounding popularity in Japan.  And why not?  Let's be honest, despite the health concerns, the stuff tastes good.  The only problem is that, while the Japanese might have some idea of why America has an alarming obesity rate, I don't think they are taking seriously the potential long-term dangers that can result from America's fast-food machine.  So, naturally Mack-do has decided to capitalize on the popularity of the quarter-pounder.

Starting back in January, McDonalds began running ads for their 'Texas' burger as part of their new 'Big America' campaign.  Doesn't anyone here in Japan see the writing on the wall?!?!  The irony is hilarious.  One could argue that the ad actually suggests fast food can lead to an increased belt line.  I'm sure its not what they meant, but I can't help but smirk when I see the 'Big America' billboards.

In all, McDonalds has unveiled 4 types of 'Big America' burgers, all variations on that ol' classic, the quarter-pounder.  The Texas burger, California burger, New York burger, and Hawaii burger will attempt to provide different tastes from well-known regions in America.  As you can see from the picture, the Texas burger was so popular, it will be coming back.

A great marketing ploy to be sure, but in the end, I wonder what the effect will be on 'Little Japan'.

More details on each variation of the burger in the 'Big America' campaign can be found here.

30 for 30

Contrary to the T-Shirt in the photo, I'd say Haikus are not always easy.  At least not in this case.  After months of planning, organizing, begging, reminding, and I'm sure quite a few road bumps, my wife pulled off a wonderful birthday surprise.  30 Haikus from 30 of my friends and family to celebrate my 30th birthday, and all presented in a beautiful hardcover book form.

Honestly, I was blown away by it.  All of the work, all of the support, and all of the individual touches from all of the participants brought a smile to my face.  Each Haiku was presented in the authors' original handwriting or creative approach along with a photo from our time in Japan.  I am grateful to my wife for organizing all of the responses and putting together such wonderful photos in this book.  I am also grateful for everyone that participated giving me quite a lot to be happy about!

As a token of my appreciation I feel it only fair to reply in Haiku form:

Thirty years gone by
USA, Japan, the world
Everywhere Love

Suntory Highball in A Can

Over the last few years, it has become quite trendy and more common to see mixed drinks in a 12 oz. can or bottle.  The huge selection today is certainly a far cry from the days of simpler choice between Seagram's or Bartles and James.  Nowadays, there are companies like Smirnoff who have taken pre-mixed vodka cocktails to a whole new level, or Mike's Hard lemonade who have the market on lemonade cocktails of all flavors virtually cornered.

The selection is quite large and growing.  Naturally, it will only be a matter of time - if it has not already happened - before the market is flooded with options, especially from the big breweries or drink manufacturers.

Personally, I normally don't go for these types of drinks as they are not really to my liking, but I just couldn't stop the childish voices in my head telling me how legendary this drink would be when I was in the store the other day...

That's right.  Suntory got into the game with it's whiskey and soda in a can offering.  I'm not sure exactly what it was that pulled me in like a tractor beam.  Perhaps it was the Suntory-Bill Murray connection, or maybe it was the mere mention of the word 'highball', or perhaps it was just the fact that it came in a can...???  I don't know, but I do know that I probably will never buy it again.

It was ok, but it reminded me that I just don't like sweet drinks.  If you're a fan of a whiskey highball, or any other sweet cocktail for that matter, then I can see how you might become a fan.  They're convenient and get the job done.  I just hope we never see the day when bartenders start serving these traditional cocktails out of a can.

Right Hand Driving

There were certainly many adjustments to basic living when we moved to Japan, but driving has definitely got to be up there on the list of most difficult.  So much so, that my wife - who never really liked driving anyways - ultimately gave it up in favor of public transportation while we are here in Japan.

I'd say that besides the obvious like adjusting to triangular stop signs or signs written in Japanese, there are two huge differences between driving in Japan and driving in the States.  First, the size of the roads.  Japan is a crowded country that makes efficient use of space.  That's why when it comes to the size of the roads, there is really no excess room.  You have to get used to using your mirrors more to check your spacing, and there are even times when you have to gauge the space ahead to decide whether or not you should pull over for oncoming traffic to share the road.  Remember the Seinfeld episode when Kramer buys a stretch of highway and then paints over the lane stripes effectively making one huge lane out of two lanes?  After which, he drives down the highway giddy with all the space as he gracefully swerves from left to right.  Let's just say, that's how I felt during my return trip to the States last Christmas.  So much space, I didn't know what to do with it.

Second, the cars are right hand drive and drive on the left hand side of the road.  This was particularly difficult for lane spacing and making turns - especially turning right across oncoming traffic.  Inside the car is another story.  Everything is reversed.  From the shifter to the wiper controls to the blinkers, everything is on the opposite side.  So, inevitably, I made the mistake of turning the wipers on when I wanted to make a turn several times before I got the hang of it.

All these adjustments were especially difficult at work when I had to do test drives on the high speed test tracks.  Try down-shifting coming off a high banked curve in a right hand drive car going 100 kph.  Not easy.  That's why last week during a test drive, I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I watched the windshield wipers inexplicably turn on when my Japanese co-workers were turning out onto the test track with the American left hand drive car we were testing.  It was a comforting reminder of how much we've accomplished here and how close we are to the subtle comforts of home.