Driving in Japan

Driving in Japan

With a car you can travel to more remote places where busses do not go to or go only few times a day. And many places for example Okinawa you really need a car to get around on your own schedule. If you are traveling with friends it might even be cheaper to rent a car than take the public transport and who would not want to have a road trip in Japan?

License

What kind of license do you need?
First of all, you need an international license. In many cases, this, combined with your passport, will suffice. However, there are a few exceptions. If you are from France, Switzerland, Germany, Monaco, Slovenia, Belgium or Taiwan, you will need a translation of your drivers licence (an international licence will not suffice in Japan). If you live in Japan you can get if from the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF). If you don't live in Japan, you can get this translation for instance through Japan Experience, who will deliver the translated licence to your house in around 2 weeks.
There are also some countries that are not so lucky; the people of some countries are not allowed to drive at all. So check first with your local automobile federation if, and so, how, you can be permitted to drive.

Traffic rules

It is good to study a bit of Japanese traffic rules before going to drive. One big difference to most people from other countries is that in Japan it is left sided traffic and not right side one. This will take some getting use to when the side you should pay more attention to is on the other side that you are used to. One thing that helps to get used to the traffic is sitting next to someone else when they are driving. Check these websites for English explanations of the Japanese traffic rules. One thing that is good and nice to know is if you want to thank someone in traffic (when they allow you to join their lane for instance) flash your emergency lights (double blinkers) twice and make the road a happier place!

Japanese Traffic rules