The Idler
The Idler is a quintessentially Japanese phenomenon. It may be a taxi driver, construction worker, or just someone eating just-purchased food outside of the convenience store.
Generally you will find the Idler in a parking lot or alongside a less travelled road with the windows up, A/C on, laying back in their seat with their feet up on the dashboard. Depending on what the Idler has for obligations, he might do this for hours at a time, especially if it is a taxi driver trying to keep the cab cool for possible passengers.
Several places in Japan have made this sort of practice illegal because of the pollution and waste of several hours of idling, but it is still incredibly common.
The EcoDriver
Surprisingly, there are also quite a few EcoDrivers in Japan. At first I thought everyone just drove around madly because they had such small cars they got good gas mileage anyway, but I quickly realized that was not the case.
Many times while waiting at stop lights I have heard to roar of engines starting back up when the light goes green. Even some of the city bus drivers are cutting the engine when idling at a light for a long time.
Even more surprisingly, people practice engine off coasting down hills. The other day I was biking out in the countryside to visit a friend of a friend’s tea house, and when returning down the mountain I was tucked in behind a truck with a motorcycle at about 35 mph. When we got to the bottom of the hill a few miles later, the motorcycle’s engine suddenly started up and the ride took off. I didn’t even notice he had the engine off!
Today, in fact, when driving with the owner of the guesthouse I am staying at, I noticed his habit of putting the (automatic) van in neutral when coasting or waiting at stops. Though he doesn’t drive a particularly efficient vehicle or express any concern about gas mileage, he does this simple thing as if it is common sense.
So, are Japanese drivers fuel wasters or fuel savers? I’m not ready to make that conclusion just yet, but it seems that common sense driving practices here have a larger fuel efficiency component than they do back home in the U.S.
By Benjamin Jones
EcoModder is a community of fuel economy enthusiasts, dedicated to helping others increase their gas mileage and make green car choices.
Ken O. says:
Fuel costs more there. In any country where fuel costs more than in the US, people are more efficient. Efficiency is kinda drilled into Japanese from a young age. It just permeates your everyday life, like immersion language learning does.