FMF: Speaking Japanese, Driving, Beauty Schools and Non-American Holidays

It's been another long week over here at ONK and there has been a lot of preparation taking place therefore I apologize for not being as on top of things as I usually am. With that being said let's go into today's topics.

"Do you speak Japanese?" 

I can speak some Japanese but not as much as I would like to. I can also read and write but my vocabulary is very limited as far as understanding most of what I am reading although I am improving every day through lots of tedious practice. I have a few different blog posts about this but I also plan to discuss more about this in the future in a video.

"Is it difficult to learn the ways of the road?"

Learning the ways of the road are relatively easy. We do drive on the "wrong" side of the road here although that is super easy to get used to if you focus on driving. The road signs are relatively easy to learn also because in my opinion they are straight forward, although, you can and should go online and study the signs especially because you will be tested when you arrive here in you choose to drive.

So what else is there to know about driving here. . . . there is a lot to talk about here and so I might not be able to cover every detail in this particular post or in the corresponding video. Let's see if I can go through a number of these without going  into too much detail and if you have any further questions please let me know and I will ensure that I get your answers to you as soon as possible.

- Call Phones: Put them down. It is illegal to use your cell phone while driving in Okinawa and you'll need all of your attention on the road anyway.

- Motorcycles and Scooters: They're out there and they use the road so be aware of them. They will also share a lane with cars from time to time which is perfectly legal.

- Three Car Rule At Lights: It is not uncommon to see up to three people run the red light before they are considered out of line. I would not advise doing this yourself because it can be very dangerous but it is something you should be aware of.

- Speeding when cops aren't around isn't necessarily the best idea because Okinawa is equipped with speed cameras which will take a photo if you are exceeding the limit and have a ticket mailed to you. Yes even if you are American. And they are not always obvious as they are in some of the US locations where they have been installed.

- There is a lot of traffic here and therefore you are significantly closer than you would be in your home town so be aware of this and pay attention to the road.

- There are stickers which indicate when a driver is over a certain age (very old) or a new driver. Be aware that if you strike one of these drivers you will most likely be at more fault for not keeping an eye out for them as they have stickers displayed.

- Everyone involved in an accident is responsible to some extent. Period.

- Don't drink and drive. They take that very seriously here not only for you the driver but everyone in the car and even people who sent you on your way knowing that you had some drinks.

I hope that this is helpful.

The last two topics I am not going to discuss because I have already made previous blog posts about them due to the involvement I wanted to provide in the answer. Thanks so much for reading and again please let me know if you have any other questions.