Lessons from the Road: Observations from driving in Japan
By Ofosu Joseph Ampadu

It was barely a month of my stay in Japan, when I encountered an experience, anobservation that was not going to be my first and last, but one that was going to berecurring, woven into the culture fabric of Japan. This observation was the refurbishmentof a section of a community road, that run along the tracks of a train line. To my surprise,it took the workers less than 12 hours to dig, refill, tar and re-mark the lanes and roadsigns of about a kilometre stretch. I saw the workers setting up road blocks, construction
equipment and signs, lights and other equipment at around 9 pm, when I was returning to
my lodge from the laboratory. To my amazement, when I was returning to the laboratory
the following morning at about 8 am, walking briskly to catch the train, I realised that thestreet was new and completely different from the previous night. That made a great
impression on me and my thought pattern. How on earth could the workers have done allthat in just one night? How did they pulled this off in such a short period? How long isthe maintainance expected to last? These are examples of some of the questions running
through my mind as I enjoyed my walk for the train station.
Else where, it would have taken days if not weeks to complete that stretch of road. The
name of the line was Keio-Inokashira line, and the station was Komaba-Todaimae. The
lesson I learned was that maintainance culture expedited in time, keeps society runningand moving well. This maintainance culture was not an exception, but a norm practisedin every facet of the Japanese society. Drive on the highways, urban and community roadsand one will soon realise that it is a common practice. The frequency of occurrence does
not connote poor work that needs to be attended to regularly. Rather, it is for safety andcomfortability reasons that sections of the roads are constantly maintained.
Another lesson I received, in a rather ‘hard and painful’ way was that, when in a hurry
and plying a section of the highway for the first time, it is always better to observe what
the majority of road users are doing and follow suit especially during heavy traffic. Thisis because, trying to be in a hurry while deviating form the ‘established norm’ can lead todelays, lateness and regrets. For instance, on a dual carriage where majority of drivers areusing one lane more than the other, it is not advisable to go by the lane that seems to bemoving faster at that moment. This is because, the faster lane might be leading to an exit,
right after which is an entry point which might be much choked compared to the slow
lane. Sometimes, the road signs are only shown a km or two km to the exit/ entry point,and by the time of realization, it might be too late. The lesson here is that, being in a hurry
may not always lead to a faster way out, but rather it could make the ending sour andunpleasant. No hurry in life, one step at a time.
Another amazing attitude of drivers on Japan roads and highways is their readiness toshow gratitude and how they demonstrate it. Making way for other road users always leadthem to flash on and off their hazard lights for about 2 – 3 times saying to you ‘ありが

とうございます’. It is a common character of majority of road users in Japan. You will
always find this on Aqua line, Joban high way, the Tomei, Chuo, Shuto highways andcertainly on all their highways. The lesson here is simply that, one must be grateful andshow thankfulness when others treat us with kindness and courtesy. Driving has always
been a way to learn and observe what goes on around me. But I must say that, driving on
Japan roads makes you learn much than you will expect. You learn attributes and virtues
like patience, fortitude, diligence, humility and of course admiration for the environment
including your immediate neighbours.