The End of Denial: the price of gas in Tsushima

I've been driving a car on a rural Japanese island for almost 3 years. Going to the gas station and filling up 3/4ths of the tank is about 4000 yen. When I stop to think about it, that's something like $45. I drive a small "Kei car," however, which can get me 2 hours south to the airport and back on 1/3rd of a tank of gas, so I don't think about it that much. (I honestly think Kei cars are close cousins with go-carts... but don't tell my blue beast that). About a month ago, however, I saw a sign outside my local gas station-- the same gas station where I've been filling up for 3 years because they're nice and didn't laugh when I pulled in the first time and didn't know where the gas-latch release lever was-- that said the price of gas would be increasing by 6 yen in a few days. I saw another sign today saying the same thing. And so, although I've been in denial for 3 years about how much I'm actually paying for gas, I thought it was time to do the conversion. Putting 9.3 litres in my car today cost 1488 yen. Doesn't sound too shabby, does it? 160 yen per litre? ...but do a little math, and that's the same as paying $18.21 for 2.4568 gallons, or a whopping $7.41/gallon. On April 1st, when the price will rise by 6 yen/litre, that's the same as a jump to $7.69/gallon. Time to fill up, indeed.