What is wrong with Japan?
I just returned from a two-week trip to southern Japan. I drove more than 2,000 miles on highways, toll roads and the narrowest rural country roads, and failed to hit a single pothole. Drivers drove at a slow steady pace with courtesy and no one dared to drink (even a sip of beer) and drive.
Road repair was pervasive but done with meticulous traffic control. There were no traffic jams in Kyoto, a dense major resort city, maybe because there was a choice of taxi, bus, subway or train at very low cost. Or, you could walk.
Homeless? No cluttered sidewalks obstructed with poor souls on drugs or in need of help. Sidewalks, a mixture of new, ancient and in between, were spotlessly clean. For old folks like us, personal safety was not an issue. You can go anywhere, night or day without fear, maybe because guns are prohibited and people are normal.
It makes you wonder.
Glenn Kimura
Waialae Nui
EXPRESS YOURSELF
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