Should I Drive in Japan?

In this video I give my advise on driving in Japan.  The question posed was

Should I drive in Japan?

Q: Should I drive in Japan? A: First of all thanks for the question!! Now lets get to the answer... In the video I discuss 6 points that you should consider when thinking about driving in Japan.
 1. How long will you be in Japan?
2. Do you need the car/bike for work/family?
3. Do you want a car/bike?
4. How much extra money do you have?
5. Where do you live? City/Country?
6. What is your job situation like?

FAQ - "Do You Need a Degree to Teach in Japan?"

I decided to do a little driving podcast to answer a question from a couple listeners. I answer the very popular question: "Do you need a degree to teach in Japan?".

I am driving from Itoshima to Fukuoka City via the expressways.

Is Driving in Japan Expensive?

Is driving in Japan expensive? Well let see if I can answer this question for you.

1. Gas is currently 138 yen a liter (1 US gallon = 3.78541178 liters)
2. Parking is at least 100 yen an hour (off peak)
3. Vehicle inspection is like 100,000 yen every two years
4. Road tax is like 25,000 + a year. (depending on the car)
5. Highway and expressway tolls are expensive.  

Does that answer your question?  

If I were to answer this question directly I would say: "Yes, but I wouldn't give up driving in Japan.  There are too many cool places off the beaten path that you can enjoy!"

PS. No that's not my car, but DAM it is NICE!! 

Parking in Japan

Parking in Japan is almost never free, and usually will cost you a pretty penny.  At first I used to be irritated by the price of parking but now I know it's just the way it goes if you wanna drive in Japan.

The interesting thing is there are all kinds of payed parking spots. Here are a couple picture I took to show you.

I didn't originally take this picture because of the "pop up gate thing". It was more for the rare Honda Turbo II City, but then I was looking for pictures of parking lots and I pulled this one out. 

Again another interesting car parked in Japan that aslo shows the types of paid parking spots. Most of these spots cost like 100 yen for 30 minutes during none peak times.  You gotta be careful to check the prices in high traffic areas or popular areas!! It can be 400 yen for 15 minutes!! After 8:00pm it's often 100 yen per hour, so that's not too bad.