Pimp my Ride: Japan style

This is  one of the funniest things to me about their strict adhere-to-the-norm culture.

Cars and their modifications very likely started with the yakuza and somewhere along the way some more degenerates picked it up, and now it is not entirely uncommon to see a car or two all kinds of crazy looking. The primary format of disrupting the norm are the humongous decals that take up the entire body of the car. I know when I walk to work, there lives somewhere around here a giant purple dragon that come zooming right along with extra loud and noisy diesel engines. But another popular offender is that large anime character prints on the sides of cars. With these two it pretty much makes the tops of mini coopers seem normal. 

not my brothers room...

Getting to second base is like seeing the cars with the low lights, or for that matter, lights of any kind adorning their car. These are less common, but where you find one, you might just find another, it is like they travel in packs. You know those party lights that you always get for your dorm and think will be 'OMG so cool' and then kind of come to regret later and thing now what do I do with these; well the Japanese have answered your question. I feel like that is the exact kind of light they use, but then again I am no pro, or even mildly interested in the matter of adorning things with lights. More than likely they are some LED variety. 

And finally if those things just are not good enough for you, you can always go and get a foreign car (like a Chevy) and make sure its an older version, and proceed to pimp the loving exhaust functions out of that piece. I am talking rims, wheels, hydraulics and it all. And then, even then, it may not just be enough, you might not just be there yet, just you know, almost...but not. And therefore, you have no other choice, but a full body modification. I am talking about colors, and spoilers, and demon hoods with holes and horns in them, piping leading to nowhere with no function. And then, only then, might you feel some sort of small complete satisfaction that you have in fact pimped your car all that you can. 

You are now driving the oldest gold Oldsmobile your money could possibly find, it had tiger stripes down the side and the weirdest lightening spoiler that was custom made just for this piece and it is sporting some yellow lighting in strategic places along the sides of the car and the top of the spoiler or more like giant antennae, and upon you hood, you hood is on giant decal with the very face of Japans symbol, a much larger than life Pikacchu. Congratulations. You have in fact caught them all. 

That purple beast over there, she's a beaut right?

awwwa yeah nothing will score you some ladies quicker.

Sticker discrimination

Remember when you first started driving and you got your drivers permit and the card told you that you had certain restrictions to driving like no more than 2 people in the car, no driving after 9pm etc...But also remember how you broke those rules all the time. Those rules were meant to be broken. There was totally no way to enforce them because there was no way to know if you were under a permit or a regular license unless you were pulled over.
In Japan they have a small step up from that. Here they have stickers, or these metal car decor that identify just what kind of driver you are. Though I have no idea just what those restrictions are. For me, I see it as a way to identify those that can easily be hassled on the road. Oh don't pretend you don't know what I am talking about. Everyone says that they want to fool around with those driving the drivers ed car. It is also a way to identify those you most likely want to pass on the road.
There are two kinds of stickers, both can easily be bought and/or replaced at the local dollar store.
One sticker is that of a yellow and teal colored arrow which is to signify the driver is a new one and is under a 6 month permit. This one is commonly called wakaba maaku. Which pretty much means young driver (though a bit more eloquent than that). I think it is interesting in Japan they like to use nice, nature sounding names for lots of things, like special education classes to make them sound more pleasant and interesting or perhaps as a way to hedge calling them exactly what they are and sound kind of cute about it. I suppose that is really the same thing. It is kind of like when trying to talk about a fat person and calling them big boned or saying there is just more to love. Yeah like that.
The other sticker is a yellow and orange tear drop that is to signify that someone is elderly, over 75. Seeing as the common man certainly does not retire around 60, the senior citizens age is a nice decade and a half higher. Recently though, there has been a lot of fuss over that sticker. You see the name of the sticker was called momiji maaku, referring to the fall color of leaves. Even the color is a tribute to those spectacular Japanese maple leaves. But you know what fall leaves do? They fall. That is right those very leaves are pretty much in their end stage and the elderly think that that factor and perhaps the the tear drop shape is a little bit grim. Seeing as they certainly do not want a constant reminder of just how close they are to their next lives, they would rather have a happier looking decal. So in place of the tear drop, earlier this year they began issuing a four-leaf clover pattern of greens, orange and yellow. Four leaf clovers and luck and happiness right? Problem solved.

Boxcar

This is just something I have happened to notice about Japan.

Cars are a lot more boxy over here. I remember when the Cube just came out in America and everyone made fun of it a bit. I think there was even a commercial with people driving refrigerator boxes when another car would be well and clearly on display amidst all the cardboard.  And then people noticed how these boxes kinda, just kinda, looked like the Cube.

Well anyways, here, boxy things like the Cube are the norm and people love their little box cars. Many of them happen to be Kei cars, which are a type of compact car that is narrower than many of the compact American cars. In America compact might mean like a lower roof kind of car, like driving a Corolla versus a Suburban. So it was odd coming to Japan and seeing these tall but extremely narrow types of car. Though that interestingly does not mean it is any less comfortable in the car; though in the back, you might be sitting two instead of three, though again some cars still have that three-seater option. But then again the Japanese three-seater would not have to be as large as an American three seater as they are a definitely thinner population here. OK that is not the case really, they are not thinner per say, but more averagely proportioned with well balanced diets. Take from that what you will...no OK, I am calling Americans fat. Yes, I am, it's true.

These Kei cars are extremely popular to drive since they cost a lot less, your insurance is a lot less, and most people don't have that big of family to pack into a car. Also, they really rely on their public transportation a lot more than most other countries, and therefore find less reasons to drive. Gas is extremely expensive and cars are just too small to entertain kids for extended periods of times. And trains are just so cheap and convenient in comparison, so why not visit grandma via the JR lines? Precisely the Japanese mindset.  But the few that do have cars seems to vastly prefer these Kei cars. And for those who have a little more money, they will get a larger version of these Kei cars, which are at that point no longer considered 'kei', or gasp something like a Prius. An interesting fact between the two car-types, is that you can differentiate them by their license plates; kei cars will have yellowy-orange plates, where are a normal vehicle will have white plates.Toyota does seems to be one of the more popular choices of normal car here in Japan, well at least as far as normal sized Japanese cars are concerned (Suzuki Wagon R seems to be the most popular kei car that I can seem to determine). At least they hold their Toyota's in high regard, with things like the Nagoya Toyota car museum and their well esteemed eco-friendsly cars.  But again, you would have to pay more money for the car and the insurance and probably the plates as well. I almost wonder if you have to pay more just to use the toll roads when you are driving a normal sized vehicle. They really seem to like to punish you for driving one. haha.
And for people who really have money to throw around, they will get the foreign imports, but not just ANY foreign import, they would get the ones with the driver still one the right side of the car. And when going through toll roads, they have special booths set up to specifically accommodate these people.

Yellow plate. 

Also...crazy decor 

Check out the boxyness.

That silver one is a Suzuki Wagon R