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When you start living in your new house or apartment in the Yokosuka City or Miura Peninsula area, you may need to buy and drive an automobile (or motorcycle).  There is excellent and clean/safe public transportation available, but some dwellings are located pretty far away from bus stops or trains stations, so having your own vehicle is the most convenient.  One thing which will be "a first" for many is driving on the left-hand side of the road.  Also, the steering wheel is on the other (right) side of the front seat, and the locations of the turn signal & windshield wiper levels are reversed, compared to American cars.  In olden days Japan, a system of major highways was established, where pretty much all of the traffic was by pedestrians (and a few horses).  One of the most famous highways was the 東海道 "Tokai-do", which connected Edo (Tokyo) with the old capital city of Kyoto -- and the current modern/multi-lane Tomei expressway (東名高速) essentially uses the same route as the old Tokai-do.  Certain parts of the old Japanese roads were pretty narrow, so rules were developed regarding which side of road pedestrians could walk on.  When traveling samurai warriors, with long swords/scabbards worn through a sash on their left, would pass by each other on the road, there was a possibility (when walking down the right-hand side of the road) that their scabbards would hit or bump into each other -- and that could cause a big problem.  So, the rule was made for them to walk on the left-hand side of the road, in order to avoid inadvertent contact/collision of swords/scabbards (and everyone else followed suit).  Another tip for driving in Japan is that when using almost all public & commercial parking lots, it is required for you to back your vehicle into the parking space.  So, this is a skill which you might want to practice a few times before coming to Japan.  If you are interested in learning more about Japan's olden days highways, please see the links below.  We hope you will enjoy safely driving while you live in the Yokosuka area. 

Written by Goodfield 

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Links about Japan's old highway system:　p2-3 (mlit.go.jp)

The Five Highways and Other Routes Across Edo-Period Japan | Nippon.com