Do you drive? 👹🍣🎎 Wonderful Japan

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Recent surveys seem to show that it is becoming increasingly unimportant for the younger generation whether or not they own their own vehicle. For young city dwellers in particular, owning a car no longer seems to be at the top of the priority list as it used to be. Thinking back, I started getting my driver's license when I was 17 and bought my first car shortly after I turned 18.

I can still remember the first day with my first car quite well. After we had bought the old white Ford Fiesta, I wanted to go out again to run a few errands. Fortunately, I didn't have to go far, because after just a few kilometers the exhaust pipe broke off and I was glad to get back home. This let to my first experience of car repair and I now have memories that I will remember for many years to come.

But apart from that, I was happy to have my own car and to have been flexible. Not only in the countryside, but also in the city, not having a car wasn't really a question in those days. It was just part of life and anyone who didn't have one was looked at suspiciously.

Times seem to have changed in this respect, and in bigger cities in particular, the trend is moving away from owning your own car and towards rental cars and car sharing. Of course, in cities with halfway decent public transport, I understand and would probably do the same now.

And even here in Japan, there are a lot of people in the metropolitan areas who don't have a car. In Tokyo, for example, if you don't have your own parking space, you can't register a car either. Space is scarce not only indoors, but also on the street, and parking is only possible in public and private parking lots, for which there is usually a charge.

But even here in the city, I've noticed that some of the people I know don't own a car and probably don't want to. As we don't live in a metropolis, but in a smaller city that covers a fairly large area, which includes not only residential areas, but also fields and forests, I'm surprised every time.

Of course you can get around by bus and train here too, but the amount of time it takes is out of all proportion, at least for me. And as it can snow a lot here in winter, you never know whether you'll even get to the station the next day. Driving is also a problem, but usually a smaller one.

Without a car, you also miss out on spontaneous flying visits and tours to places that are not so easy to get to by bus or train. Without a car, I wouldn't have discovered so many interesting locations and so much would have remained hidden from me. Anyone who tells me that you could take the family to the beach by bike is perhaps right on the one hand, but on the other hand they simply have no idea about our world. My immediate horizon stretches from the sea to the mountains, and I don't want to limit myself to seeing everything from afar. Thanks to spontaneous detours and side trips, I have found so many wonderful places where I can simply stop for a quick look around when I'm out and about by car.

I also cycle when the routes are shorter and it's convenient. And I even do it when the weather isn't quite right and I'd rather take the car.

But at least for my own curiosity and wanderlust, having my own car is essential. Other people may be happy with less, and that's fine for them. I am just happy to be flexible and spontaneous, and to be able to discover and explore the unknown even in areas I know. And that I'm also able to take my small team with me and show them the marvelous beauty of our region.

Now that the weather is getting a bit better, I can't wait to get out and visit both old and new places and go where most people, even if they own a car, would never go. I'm sure there's still a lot to discover, so I'd better get going.