3 in 30 - 2000.06.03
From a narrow alley of a street, a driver is confronted with this array of stimuli. Immediately to the right is a pedestrian crosswalk that does not have a light. Pedestrians in Japan have the right of way, so that if someone enters a crosswalk, the driver is obliged to stop.
On the other side of the street are two mirrors, reflecting traffic to both the left and right similar to those on crowded European streets. A driver learns to search out the mirrors to aid in entering streets, crossing sidewalks to generally avoid pedestrians, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and other vehicles.
In the background, you can see the elementary school of our neighborhood.
A little further up the street, closer to the train station is this small memorial stone shop. There are three small granite Buddhas on the porch with matching blocks nearby.
Houses are built on small lots close to one another. This view across a parking lot shows six houses in a space where in the US, they might put one.