Driving in Japan and abroad

Traffic direction
Japan drives on the left. If you’re from a country where you drive on the right side, it will take some orientation to get used to changing sides.

This means the steering wheel will be on the opposite side and your turn signal will also be different.

Despite being one of the biggest differences when driving in Japan, it’s one of the least difficult ones to overcome.

Unique rules of the road
Most of the driving rules in Japan follow the same rules as your home country, but there are a few unique cases to be careful about.

Stopping at a railroad crossing is one of those rules. When coming to a railroad crossing you must treat it like a stop sign. Look both ways for traffic before continuing. There are a large number of railroad crossings in Japan so please be careful when approaching them.

Speed
People tend to drive slow and safe in Japan. This is especially true in comparison to America where residential areas are 10-20mph faster than in Japan.

Be very careful with your speed, and keep an eye of the speed signs around you.

These limits are in place as a precaution because Japan has a lot of winding roads.

There are also a lot of roads with two-way traffic despite only one car being able to fit, as well as many blind turns and hidden alleyways.

Traffic signs
Japanese traffic signs are often pictorial. Stop signs are triangular and you may often see English on them.

Other important signs are often round and can be found in red and blue.

Please familiarize yourself with them before hitting the road.

Driving abroad as a Japanese national.