Transportation in Japan

The average family usually have one car. Two-car families are relatively rare in Japanese cities. One reason is the expense. Another is space. Most japanese cities are crowded, and there's not much space for parking cars. The main streets have heavy traffic, and the residential streets are often narrow and winding. In order to own a car, you have to prove that you have an off-street parking space.

This really does limit car ownership. Even if you do have a place to keep one car, finding a second space is very difficult. It is posible to rent a parking space, of couse. But that could cost hundreds of dollars a month. In rural areas, where space is available, two-car families are more common.

Public transportation is good - very good. Having just one car or even no car at all isn't usually a problem in Japan. Public transportation is fast and convenient. Japanese have good buses, subways, and commuter trains. And many taxis are available.

Cards so important to Japanese!

Exchanging cards helps us to know who the other person is. It's important for Japanese to know a person's business affiliation or profession. Once they know that, they know how to deal with him or her. Japanese are often called a vertical society. They usually interact with each other according to their relative positions on that vertical ladder.

What does it involve?
Japanese have to make a lot of choices - in the level of language they use, or in how they bow, for example. Once they see the other person's card, they both know what kind of language to use with each other, and who should bow lower to whom.

There are not exclusive social classes. Family background doesn't matter as much as individual achievement in Japan. Almost any man has a chance to make it to the top. That's why the company identification represents potential as well as achievement. It's all on the card.