This got passed around work today:
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bah- wrong island!

lol

Well, there was this attached to the original email as well.

Well, on the first link there's a very high-resolution map of Kyushu Island toll roads. The 2nd link is a very low-rez map of Honshu which basically can't zoom in. Do you know where to find a high-rez map of Honshu? I'd sure like to see which roads are becoming free. Thanks!

It'd be so great if they made that little tiny 200 yen road between the daiei and Yoko-Yoko free! No more sitting at the damn Ikegami-jujiro intersection!!

Tirani: that'll never happen.

And I wonder if that is the most expensive pavement in the entire world. 2 bucks for 1.6 km of road. I never figured out the MOST expensive road, I've tried though!

I know the most expensive waterway is Panama Canal. That can go up to 6 figures for a short jaunt.

In any event, that little section is a great way to greet newcombers. When I used to pick up folks from Narita, I'd always point out how pathetically insane that little drive was. I still get postcards from folks thanking me for showing 'em that part. Helped them realize just how expensive this place is (for certain things).

Well, coming from pure scuttlebutt, I'd heard (from a guy who heard it from a guy who heard it from his barber whose sister knows the secretary at the office where they do things like this)...

... that one of the campaign promises of the dominant political party was to do away with toll roads altogether. I don't know if that was supposed to be national or if it's just local.

I heard the same thing Allan.....I'm not sure if that would be a good thing or a bad thing though. It definitely would save a lot of money when we take road trips, but I could see EVERYONE in Japan taking road trips and traffic becoming unbearable. Traffic can be bad enough as is. Plus, I don't see how the country can deal w/ the loss revenue that the tolls generate.

Posted By AllanS on 09 Jun 2010 09:08 AM

... that one of the campaign promises of the dominant political party was to do away with toll roads altogether. I don't know if that was supposed to be national or if it's just local.

hmmm... was this the political party of the PM who just resigned?  Okayyyyyyy...

The solution is obvious. Painfully obvious.

Yoko-girl is right; removing the tolls will significantly increase the traffic. The local truckers have to be furious! And that lost revenue (assuming they used it for maintenance) will be hard to augment.

The solution is to just LOWER the price. The increase in traffic will make up the difference, yet it'll still keep the completely tight-wadded off the road, keeping the actual increase in traffic that might just be bearable.

Yes, Tirani, I concur. I hate paying that toll and resent being charged 200 Yen to go less than a mile. What a rip-off. I call it the "Welcome to Yokosuka Chump" toll.

I repeat, it's a great way to welcome all Americans to Japan. It lets them know just how insane and expensive this place can be most of the time. I say double the 1.6km toll road. Go for the gold, bring Guiness here and let 'em rank it as the biggest ripoff in the world.