Car vs. No Car

While searching through my Facebook stream, I came across an interesting ideas:


AAA estimates a medium sedan, driven 15,000 miles a year would cost $9121 a year; or 61 cents a mile! Several other reports hover around this figure.

This got me to thinking, and wondering what the cost of travel via train/commuting would be for Heidi and I, while we're living in Japan.  We have high hopes of living a year without a car and adapting to the local customs of train riding.

Since moving here our AOB (Area Orientation Brief) class had instilled in us that driving in Japan is:
1. Expensive - There are several on-base and off-base fees, taxes, and compulsory car inspections (usually renewed every 2 years) called a "Shaken," and costs can range widely from 100,000 yen - 200,000 yen.  There is an added weight tax based on the size of your car (typically 8,000 yen to 50,000 yen), and mandatory insurance (30,000 yen).  All in all, just to be able to drive a car off the lot will cost you ~138,000 yen or more ($1380).

2. Cumbersome - Before you're allowed to own a car, you must prove you have a place to park it! This is usually spelled out in your rental agreement/contract of how many paces your place comes with or if you are renting a space in the building parking lot.  Given the small street width, street parking in almost all ares is non-existent.  No free overnight parking!

(It fits!)

(Some of these's don't!)

3. Dangerous - Most every city road was at one time a walking/pedestrian only road, now converted to a two lane road. Meaning two cars can at most squeeze by each other, if they both take advantage of the gutters, squeezing the pedestrian walk area. Luckily, you can purchase special magnets for your car to let others that you're a new driver, disabled, or old:



4. Difficult to Navigate: Signs are becoming more and more translated, with quirky arrows and extra pull offs from most highways. It's easy to think you're taking an off ramp, but really just finding a parking area.



5. Tolls: Tolls are not my friend, and Japan has the most expensive toll system in the world.  Thankfully, when you rent a SOFA car on-base, it comes supplied with toll passes.  You often run into several toll stations on a single trip.Some of the  tolls were been $10-$50 per trip. By the end of one weekened adventure, we had saved in toll costs what we spent on the car rental.





Luckily, the public transportation from our house to base is relatively simple, with 2 train changes to the the only other line that goes through those stations. It's great that somebody else do the driving, and with the use of a Commuter Pass the cost between home and work is greatly reduced.

So far, our yearly estimate for public transportation is on the order of: $4550. This has allowed us to live without a car and to travel and enjoy Japan!  We've traveled to several different major cities by train and seen some really great country side too - all without the hassle and stress of driving, parking, insuring....etc. We love it! The only mystery is why, when we tell our American friends that we aren't getting a car, they all look at us for a minute like we're crazy, and scratch their heads...!