Thinking Inside the Box

Today, I went on my long awaited trip to Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi. Although NAF Atsugi is only about 40 km (27 miles) from Yokosuka, it was an important trip because it was my first time driving on a toll road/highway here in Japan. For the most part, when someone in Japan wants to travel any moderate to large distance, it's best to take a train or other form of public transportation. But today, I took a government issued vehicle because I knew I'd have to carry documents and paperwork to and from, and it didn't seem like a practical idea to use public transportation.

I was a bit nervous about driving there on my own, mostly because it's hard enough to read Japanese street signs as it is with my limited language skills, but reading them at 80+ km/hour is an entirely different story, especially when gripping with the idea of having to pay a toll booth worker for the ride, too. When I got to the government vehicle supply office this morning, the first big thing I noticed is that my ride for the day was a Mitsubishi Town Box. Yes, I drove a box. And I can definitely tell how they came up with the name. Here are some pics that I was able to google up... not the exact vehicle that I drove, but one of its twin brothers.


Actually, it was a fun little ride. The engine was similar to some lawn mowers that I've used in the past, with just about the same horsepower. I even got a kick out of one of the "drink holder" slots on the dashboard, which could be lifted out of the vehicle so that you could add brake fluid. It made me wonder how many different vehicle maintenance lubricants actually could be injected into the car from the driver's seat. But the official hood area could not have been much bigger than about a 1-foot by 4-foot area, which doesn't leave much room to work on the outside. I was also amazed at how big and visible the window areas were... not one blind spot from the driver's seat, which made me feel pretty safe knowing that I could see all around me.

Anyway, I made it to and from Atsugi safely and in fairly respectable time. I'll probably have to go back several more times in the next couple of months, which is good because I hear that there's a barbecue restaurant on base that I'd like to try. And if I come to find out that it's North Carolina Style Barbecue, then I'll probably head back at least once a week. I do love me some pulled pork.