What do people get wrong about driving in Japan?
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Renting a car opens the Japan that trains do not reach — Hokkaido, Okinawa, the Alps, rural Kyushu. The rules are strict and unforgiving on two points that catch visitors: the licence you need, and alcohol.
The essentials
| Item | Rule |
|---|---|
| Licence | International Driving Permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention (US, UK, Australia, Canada, Korea, most of Europe) + home licence + passport. Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Monaco, Taiwan, Estonia, Slovenia: home licence + official Japanese translation (JAF or embassy), valid up to one year from arrival. China, Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam and others: not accepted |
| Side | Left; driver on the right |
| Speed limits | Since 1 Sept 2026, narrow roads with no centre line default to 30 km/h; other general roads 60 (posted 40–50 in towns), expressways 100 (some 120). Enforced by camera |
| Alcohol | 0.15 mg/L breath (about 0.03% BAC) — effectively zero. Penalties: up to 3 years' prison / ¥500,000 (0.15 mg/L or more), up to 5 years / ¥1,000,000 if judged drunk; passengers and those who served the driver are also liable |
| Expressway tolls | About ¥25 per km — Tokyo–Osaka roughly ¥11,000; ETC card (rent one) or cash lanes; regional expressway passes for visitors (Hokkaido, Central Nippon, Kyushu) — the nationwide Japan Expressway Pass is no longer sold |
| Fuel | Regular (レギュラー) ~¥160–175/L (2026; the ¥25.1/L provisional gasoline tax was abolished on 31 Dec 2025, but oil prices rose in 2026); attendants at full-service stations |
| Parking | Never free in cities; ¥300–600/hour; illegal parking towed and fined |
| Winter | Studless winter tyres or chains mandatory on marked roads; rental cars in Hokkaido come fitted |
- Stop signs (止まれ) are red inverted triangles — Japan added the English word STOP to new signs from 2017.
- Railway crossings: full stop required before crossing, even with the barrier up.
- Child seats mandatory under 6; rental companies provide them.
- Traffic fatalities: 2,663 in 2024, among the lowest per capita in the world (National Police Agency).
[Verify] Licence acceptance with the National Police Agency and JAF; toll rates with NEXCO; fatality figures with the NPA's annual statistics.
Misunderstanding 1｜Any IDP is fine
Only the 1949 Geneva Convention IDP. A 1968 Vienna Convention permit (issued by Germany, Switzerland and others) is not valid in Japan; those countries use the translation route.
Misunderstanding 2｜One beer is fine
The limit is effectively zero, enforcement is strict, and the person who poured the drink and the passengers can be prosecuted too. Japanese groups appoint a driver who drinks nothing.
Misunderstanding 3｜Expressways are free or cheap
Among the world's most expensive: roughly ¥25/km. For a long trip, compare with the Shinkansen; for a rural loop in Hokkaido, central Japan or Kyushu, buy the regional visitor expressway pass (HEP, CEP, KEP) through your rental company.
Misunderstanding 4｜Speed limits are advisory
Cameras and unmarked cars enforce; fines start at ¥9,000 and rise steeply. Traffic flows slightly above the limit; do not lead it.
Misunderstanding 5｜City driving is the easy part
Narrow streets, cyclists, pedestrians, one-way lanes and no parking make city driving the hardest part. Rent from a station outside the city centre, or the airport, and use trains in town.
---
Sources
- National Police Agency — Driving in Japan with a foreign licence (International Driving Permit, translations)
https://www.npa.go.jp/policies/application/license_renewal/
- Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) — Licence translations and driving rules for visitors (English)
https://english.jaf.or.jp/
- NEXCO — Expressway tolls and the Japan Expressway Pass
https://www.driveplaza.com/trip/drawari/japan_expressway_pass/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
About this article
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
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