Kei Cars and Other Small Things

For the most part, cars in Japan are tiny.  These little beasts are called keicars - they have the smallest wheels you'll ever see on a four-door car, yellow number plates and an engine no bigger than that of your average Aussie lawnmower.  Naturally, they are cheap as chips to run and so when I arrived in Awa-cho renting a keicar was high on my list of priorities.

I have been lucky enough to lease my car from a company called Auto and Pal.  The guys in-charge are super friendly despite my complete inability to communicate and in exchange for 15,000yen per month (approximately 180AUD)  they keep me in possession of a perfectly maintained little white Suzuki Wagon.  I don't have to pay for oil changes or mechanical failures.  I don't replace tyres or pay for licensing.  I just have to take out an accident insurance policy and worry about my own fuel costs (approximately 8000yen p/m and 4000yen to fill up, respectively).  Easy.

As much as I love my deal though, I don't really love my car.  It's small and boxy and lucky to get to 100km/ph with my foot flat.  It's plain white, terribly nondescript and makes me miss my Lancer a whole lot more!  That said, this tiny little car is my lifeline here.  She helps me to get out of the inaka (countryside) on a regular basis and on the inside is surprisingly roomy enough to fit a carload of passengers.

But keicars aren't the only tiny things in Japan...  Roads are tiny!  Pre-packaged foods at the supermarket also come in tiny packets.  Tea cups are tiny.  Clothes and shoes - tiny!  Omiyage (or edible souvenirs) also come in individually-wrapped tiny packets.  Sunscreen comes in tiny bottles and you can even buy 1/4 sized cans of Asahi beer!

I've never felt particularly tall, but in comparison to many of my Japanese friends or co-workers I am gargantuan.  I can only imagine how some of the 6ft+ guys in our prefecture feel...  This is a pic of a few of them with Liz (who is only marginally shorter than myself) - from left to right: Mark, Tadgh, Mike, Simon and Broc.