Driving In Japan
In Japan, it’s easy for foreigners to rent and drive a car. Japan even recognizes the driver’s licenses from a handful of U.S. states, meaning those residents can drive on their existing licenses, without any additional steps. For the rest of us, the best bet is to get an “International Driver’s License” from your local AAA branch. With that in hand, all you need is a reservation from your favorite car rental company.
With the legalities solved, now comes the hard part. Other than modern highways, most roads in Japan are narrow, even by European standards. Many roads can’t support two car widths, meaning one has to pull over into a driveway, bus stop, or parking lot for the other car to pass. In addition to narrow streets, blind corners are the norm in Japanese cities. Luckily, this is resolved with the help of giant mirrors strategically positioned at intersections. It takes a bit of time to get used to this approach, but it works well, if you remember to look at those mirrors.
The Japanese drive on the left side of the road, similar to the Brits and Aussies. If you’ve only ever driven on the right, you’re in for an enormous learning curve. Right turns at intersections are utterly nerve wracking the first few times through.
Traffic is best described as organized chaos. Drivers are very respectful of each other and aggressive driving is rare. Road rage is largely not present, though gear heads exist in all countries and you’ll find a fair share of souped up cars, blaring their free-flowing exhausts in ear-shattering blasts.
Camera based speed traps are common on the throughways, so be careful, or your trip may end up being a bit more expense than planned.
Another difficulty is finding parking spot. Nearly all parking spots are paid stalls. In modern lots, credit cards are taken, but not in all. Be sure to have a handful of ¥100 and ¥500 coins with you in case you find an older lot. Not only is parking expensive, but the spot you get is often the exact width of the car. That means getting in and out of a parked car in a full lot is a challenge. Best to have the skinniest person in your group be the driver. They’ll have the best chance of getting in and out of the car with the smallest can opener.
