Explore everyday life in Japan
Well, it was bound to happen eventually, and last week it finally did, my first parking ticket in Japan.
I parked my car in a place that I have parked many times before, next to a small park in the middle of the city where I sometimes let my kids play with two of their friends who live in a nearby apartment building. Rather than pay a couple hundred yen to park for thirty minutes or an hour in a nearby parking lot, I had thought that if a problem ever arose, meaning that if a police officer tried writing me a ticket, not being more than 15 meters from my car, I would notice and be able to do something about it. I was wrong, though, and at a whopping price of 15,000 yen (around $130 USD), this is a mistake that I definitely won’t be making again.
Lesson learned. And another nearby disaster narrowly avoided.
It turns out that if you bring your parking ticket to a Koban (a small police station) in Japan, not only will you have to pay a fairly stiff fine, demerit points will also be added to your license. If you don’t go to the police station, though, and you merely wait at home for your fine to be delivered to you by mail, you can pay it at a convenience store or online and your driver’s license will remain untarnished.
When I got my parking ticket, I didn’t know any of this. By sheer chance, I went home first and then called a police department to ask what the procedure for paying a parking ticket in Japan is. It’s a good thing I did because the result is that I narrowly avoided being penalized twice for my poor judgment. Now, I’m out 15,000 yen, but at least my driver’s license is still in good standing.
That’s one thing about Japan, when it comes to curbing specific behaviors and substances, stiff penalties are often involved. Take drinking and driving as an example. It is okay for passengers to drink and carry open containers in a moving vehicle, but when it comes to the driver, if he/she has had even one drink (a BAC of .03 or more), he/she runs the risk of being imprisoned for up to five years and/or will be subjected to a fine of 1,000,000 yen (over $8,000 USD). Not only that, but the driver’s passengers will also face a hefty fine and possible jail time, as will the people who work at the establishment that poured the driver’s drinks (if there was one).
When it comes to Japan, watch where you park, don’t drink and drive (you shouldn’t anywhere), and if somebody offers to smoke you up, kindly decline the offer and wait until you get back home. These risks just aren’t worth taking in Japan.
This is an ongoing series that will explore various aspects of daily life in Japan. My hope is that this series will not only reveal to its followers, image by image, what Japan looks like, but that it will also inform its followers about unique Japanese items and various cultural and societal practices. If you are interested in getting regular updates about life in Japan, please consider following me at @boxcarblue. If you have any questions about life in Japan, please don’t hesitate to ask. I will do my best to answer all of your questions.