Kazlaser of the comedy duo Maple Chogokin revealed on a radio show that he ‘doesn’t know how to use a gas station.’ He only started attending driving school last year and got his license this past July, and he says he was baffled by the refueling process while riding along with his wife, actress Fumi Nikaido. His own question — ‘why didn’t driving school teach this?’ — sparked a wider discussion on 5ch about where and when people learn the location of the fuel cap and how to pump gas, with opinions split over whether driving schools are falling short or whether this is just common sense you pick up naturally, and how the rise of self-service stations has changed things.
Kazlaser of the comedy duo Maple Chogokin appeared on the radio program ‘Weekly! Shaberaser’ (SBS Radio) on the 23rd, where he talked about ‘things he wished driving school had taught him.’
Kazlaser started attending driving school last year and got his driver’s license this past July. He says that recently, while stopping at a gas station with his wife, actress Fumi Nikaido, riding along, something suddenly occurred to him.
“It hit me right then — I don’t actually know how to pull into a gas station,” he said, sounding genuinely flustered.
Honestly, watching Showa-retro exploration videos on YouTube is way more fun than watching the Omiya Park mascot 'Peace-kun.'
5AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:21
Isn't he embarrassed to be broadcasting his own ignorance like that?
9AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:22
Yeah, they don't teach you anything about diesel fuel either.
10AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:22
Classic rookie move: pulling up on the wrong side from the fuel cap.
11AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:22
I only found out pretty late in life
that there's an arrow next to the gas-pump icon on the dash
telling you which side — left or right — the fuel cap's on.
12AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:23
Driving school is the kind of place that doesn't teach you any practical 'usable' skills beyond refueling — they only care about getting the car moving.
Pre-drive checks are technically supposed to be covered, but I feel like instructors don't always walk you through them hands-on.
I wonder if the practical lessons now properly start with a vehicle inspection? They still seem to prioritize just racking up seat-time behind the wheel though…
14AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:23
Having a student-driver car pull into an actual working gas station seems like it'd be impossible — too much accident risk for the station itself.
And unless a driving school is out in the countryside, city schools probably don't even have room to build a mock station.
15AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:23
Back in the day attendants would guide you in, but now it's almost all self-service, so no wonder people don't know.
17AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:24
Does this really need to be taught??
I'm seriously baffled lol
Is he just bad with people?
You could just ask the attendant.
19AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:24
If you just search it on YouTube, there's a video explaining pretty much everything.
20AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:24
Maybe if his parents never drove at all. Normally you just pick it up on your own from riding in your parents' car.
21AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:25
I've never even once questioned that
— did he seriously never ride in a car with his parents as a kid lol
Even without parents — grandparents, relatives, friends — has he really never been in the passenger seat when a car pulled into a gas station lol
22AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:25
Re: #1
[Cost of getting a driver's license]
Japan: ¥300,000
US: ¥1,000 (roughly $10)
25AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:26
Re: #22 Ah, so that's why driving over there is such chaos.
52AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:32
Re: #22 They don't even have mandatory vehicle inspections over there.
23AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:25
Even without driving yourself, have you really never seen someone refuel while you were riding along?
24AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:25
I get feeling a little nervous about it
but it's not like there's some complicated procedure involved
— you've already lived through thousands of 'first times' with this exact level of mild anxiety.
27AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:26
Some schools probably do have one — I remember seeing what looked like a mock gas station at a driving school once, visible from outside a train.
28AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:26
Everyone's heart was pounding the first time they used a self-service pump, right?
34AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:28
I didn't know how to pop the fuel cap open, so I used to just go to full-service stations instead.
35AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:28
He could just Google it, and there are probably video tutorials for it by now too. He's supposed to be smart, right? Is he just fishing for sympathy with comments like this lol.
36AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:28
Terrifying to think someone who doesn't even know this is out there driving a car.
37AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:28
Even using self-service at a gas station I've never been to still makes me nervous.
38AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:28
For stuff like this, and self-checkout registers too, there are tons of videos on YouTube — that's how I learn it.
39AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:29
I've actually gotten stuck not knowing how to pop the fuel door open before lol
borrowed a loaner car, pulled into a station, and there was no release lever anywhere
got lucky because the exact same model happened to pull up right after me, so I figured it out from them
Honda seriously cheaps out too much on their cars.
44AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:30
Re: #39 Loaner cars really do make you nervous.
40AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:29
They should really drill it into people harder: don't put diesel fuel ('keiyu') in a kei car lol (the names sound almost identical, which is exactly how people mix them up).
41AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:30
Come to think of it, since self-service is the standard now, there's no attendant around to guide you in anymore.
45AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:31
In my case, I just naturally picked it up watching my parents pull into gas stations, plus I'd already ridden a moped before getting my car license, so I knew how to refuel.
46AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:31
When I first got my license, I had no idea you were even supposed to replace tires or change the oil.
60AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:33
Re: #46 For stuff like that, you're supposed to just get the dealer or mechanic to walk you through it.
65AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:33
Re: #46 Same here. I wish they'd taught us about vehicle inspections too. My wife almost put diesel in without realizing it, thinking 'kei' (light) car meant 'kei-yu' (diesel) fuel.
48AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:31
You hand over your license, shout your name out loud, and then say 'please take care of me' — that's how it's done.
57AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:32
Then there's the people who don't know which side the fuel cap is on and park on the wrong side.
64AnonymousOct 29, 2026 14:33
Re: #57 It's fine, the hose stretches.
Background and Points of Debate
Self-service gas stations in Japan were legalized under a 1998 revision to the Fire Service Act, and they’ve since grown to make up the vast majority of stations nationwide. Driving school curricula, however, remain focused squarely on the mechanics of operating a vehicle — practical post-license skills, like how to refuel or how to tell fuel types apart, aren’t part of the official instruction. The thread split over whether to view this as a ‘gap in driving-school instruction’ or as ‘common sense you’re supposed to pick up naturally by riding along in your family’s or other people’s cars.’ Attendants used to guide customers through the process, but the shift to self-service means more people are now going through the steps alone for the first time, which is likely part of why the confusion feels more common now. A few comments compared licensing costs with the US, but since the systems and inspection requirements differ so much, a straight cost comparison doesn’t tell the whole story.
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