I went to the kindergarten as usual on Wednesdays. The kindergarten has a couple of parking lots for parents and teachers. There is the daily dropping off and picking up of the children and when there are event days, like the Christmas program or the bazaar or Sports Day, then there is hardly enough parking to go around. A couple of years ago the kindergarten had a new parking lot put in at the corner of the grounds and it is asphalted and well marked.
The kindergarten, trying to get the most out of the very small amount of land that they have (well, they have land and that in itself is something!) marked VERY NARROW parking spaces.
"How many spaces can we squeeze in here? 15 cars easily? Okay then let's mark 16 spaces."
I am rather proud of my rear parking skills (of course everyone else can do it too... but as a Southern Californian driver that is used to being a road hog I think I have developed a great maneuvering technique.) Still... it takes a lot of glancing in both the side mirrors and rear view mirror and opening my driver's door to lean out and check before I can get my car into a narrow space. And once parked! I carry lots of stuff with me to the kindergarten. Computer, book bags, white board etc. etc. Trying to get all that in and out of a car door that is only open a few inches is a bit time consuming. I am also not a petite Japanese lady, so even getting myself out of the car takes a bit of maneuvering!
BUT... this parking situation is not unique to just the kindergarten, the majority of parking lots in Japan require some skill on the driver's part.
And that is why Japanese cars all have retractable mirrors. Here's my question. Do all cars in the world have retractable side mirrors? I don't remember.... If my brother's car, which I drive when I'm in the States, has the retractable mirror button then I've probably never used it. The parking spaces are so much wider in California!
But in Japan. It is... park the car, retract the side mirrors and then shimmy yourself out of the car and the parking space. It would be inconsiderate to park your car without retracting your side mirrors! The next driver would have quite a time getting back into his car or even driving out of the parking space. Thus retractable side mirrors are a must in Japan.
I admit. I occasionally get back in the car and drive half a block or so before I realize my side mirrors are still retracted. I guess I'm not THAT great a driver.
19 comments:
I think most of us have retractable mirrors on our cars but I rarely see anyone use them. We do have some very tight parking in some areas but not all.
No button to retract mirrors on either of our cars. Don't remember ever seeing any on any one elses, except my son's very large pick up truck. Newer car mirrors can be pushed flat from the outside of car, cuts down on the breaking off when getting to close to something.
Omg. I was offended recently when someone parked so close I had to crawl in the passenger's side. I didn't realize how tight it was in other places. My daily vehicle is a 99 honda crv. But my baby is a 1 ton dually ford pickup. The mirrors on her don't retract but fold. They also extend out when we are pulling our fifth wheel. Thanks for opening my eyes.
No retractable mirror button here in Canada. Our mirrors will retract but it has to be done manually. I am not a fan of narrow parking spots!
think I would put everything in the trunk ....and maybe it would be easier to get out all at once......that's if you have room to get to the back of the car! My reverse parking is not good , I would have to use a lot of public transportation!
enjoy seeing the life tribulations in japan through your eyes, Bonnie in Virginia
It's not just Japan that has the tiny parking. I live in Bellevue, WA (the other side of the lake from Seattle) and the parking drives us CRAZY! Such small spaces and barely enough room to get in and out of the car. And that's if you can find parking that doesn't charge by the hour! But we don't have the retractable mirrors, at least not as a standard car feature. I think that would be nice!
I love reading your stories of life in Japan. When so much of the world seems the same - at least Europe does - to find something 'foreign' is really refreshing. Parking spaces are tightish in the UK, but not that tight; there's usually enough room to get in and out, but we're used to having to weave around the wing mirrors. I've never seen retractable mirrors, but ours do fold back against the door, which is very useful, as any road other than A and B roads can be very narrow, so it's useful to be able to fold back the wing mirrors if we meet something coming the other way.
I love reading your stories of life in Japan. When so much of the world seems the same - at least Europe does - to find something 'foreign' is really refreshing. Parking spaces are tightish in the UK, but not that tight; there's usually enough room to get in and out, but we're used to having to weave around the wing mirrors. I've never seen retractable mirrors, but ours do fold back against the door, which is very useful, as any road other than A and B roads can be very narrow, so it's useful to be able to fold back the wing mirrors if we meet something coming the other way.
It seems that parking spaces are getting smaller on the East Coast, too. Mostly in or near the cities. I find the narrowest ones in the indoor lots near hospitals or shopping centers.
I have a Toyota and the mirrors fold back but there is no button to push from the inside. My mom has a buick which also has folding mirrors which she has to use to get into her very narrow garage.
That does look tricky, all right! I remember in Italy and France how tight the parking is. In fact, while in a cab between the airport and hotel in Paris we were in a cab, stopped in traffic, when a motorcyclist drove between lanes of traffic and broke off the rear view mirror of the cab. The cab driver just shrugged.
Our cars have had retractable mirrors for ten or fifteen years now. The thing I REALLY love, though, is our new Ford Edge (it's a computer with a car built around it) with the rear view camera when the car is put in reverse. It also has various signals when other vehicles or people are approaching from various directions. It "almost" drives itself....
Next, we will just teleport ourselves, right? ;)
Hugs,
Lois
I think that cars in US have had side mirrors that fold back, but not until recently have I've seen a commercial for one that has inside button to retract them. Thanks for sharing, love to hear about other parts of the world.
cindy
I have a Honda Jazz and it has retractable mirrors and it is a feature I love! Parking in the U.K. can be pretty tight too....I guess it's that whole island living thing :o) I've done it too where I've been half way down the road and they are still folded...so you are in good company!
Most cars in India have retractable mirrors too. The parking situation in a city like Bangalore, where the population is growing way faster than anyone can plan, is quite similar. Many parking lots don't even have markings, so folks can get quite creative!
Saw a new car ad on TV this past week (US), and it showed a man parking in this ridiculously small space, after retracting the mirrors...from the inside, so there must have been a button...and then crawling out the back hatch of the car. So it looks like it's going to be available here!
Like Sew Create It Jane, I'm in the UK and I drive a Honda Jazz (new this year for my 70th birthday!). It has a button to fold away the mirrors, and to unfold them, and if you fold them, switch off the engine, then hit the button again, then the mirrors unfold themselves next time you switch the engine on. Useful if you sometimes drive away with them folded ... My husband has a Ford Mondeo about 5 years old, and that has the magic mirror button too.
Even if cars have retractable mirrors, no one uses them. People in the US are large and lazy and think nothing of banging their doors against your car if they don't have enough space. And if they don't have enough space, they park over the white line to take more so they can get out and so their doors don't get dinged. At least in Japan people are considerate.
I really wish our mirrors were retractable here in Canada as our garage is quite tight and, yep, although our mirrors are quite flexible, I did manage to break the passenger side mirror backing too fast out of our garage the other day.
I first saw retractable mirrors on a trip to Japan around 2001 and thought it was a great idea. When I got my SUV in 2007 I was happy to see that it had them and I use them all the time. My husband had them on his last sedan and again on his new car so I don't think they're that uncommon in the US.
The side mirrors on my Honda manually fold but don't have a power retract feature. So did my Subaru and Mazda. I guess they don't think it's necessary for cars in the US, but I have to admit that parking spots seem to be getting narrower - not a good thing when we share the road with so many pickup trucks and SUVs. I once had to chase after a man into my doctor's office building who had parked his enormous pickup truck so close to my car I couldn't get the door open, when I couldn't get in on the passenger side either because of an SUV. He was grouchy but he moved the truck. I was starting to think if I couldn't get the guy to move I would have to crawl in by the rear door, and I wasn't eager to look that goofy.
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