Just Buying Tires, And Then This

Yesterday, my wife and I went to JMS to buy winter tires for our car. With plans to drive into the Central and Northern Alps.

It was also our first time buying winter tires in Japan. And since we will be using this car for the next six years, it felt like one of those decisions you want to get right rather than rush.

We had been considering a cheaper option. Pirelli. It would probably have been fine. But my wife’s sister’s husband, who works as a car mechanic in Nagoya, had recommended choosing a Japanese brand for reliability and safety. At JMS, they told us something similar. The Bridgestone winter tires had a shorter braking distance and a reputation for being more reliable in the kind of winter conditions we are heading into.

So we chose Bridgestone, even though it cost more. It felt like the safest choice.

And somewhere on the way to the shop my wife said, “You know Bridgestone is Japanese, right?”

I didn’t.

For some reason, I had always assumed it was an American or British brand. The name just sounds like that to me. Solid. International. Not particularly Japanese. But it turns out, Bridgestone comes from the founder’s name, Ishibashi, which literally means stone bridge. He translated it. And then he turned it around.

That was a surprising revelation to me, because for as long as I can remember, I had thought Bridgestone was either British or American. Who would have thought?

Here is the story of Bridgestone, in case you were wondering.