RDU-Man

Just thought I would share some observations from my recent trip to Japan about the pros and cons of renting a car and driving. We are a family of four (two parents and two adult children) and decided to rent a car instead of taking trains for two reasons: first, we wanted to go to some rural areas that were not well served by public transport, and second, the price for a rental car for a week was competitive with the price of four one-week railpasses. Here's my thoughts/observations:

1. The car rental set-up is not like at major US airports (no shuttle buses to huge lots of cars serviced by dozens of people). I reserved a car through Hertz for about $550 for a week, and Hertz does not have their own offices in Japan - they pass the reservation to Toyota Rental. In Narita Airport Terminal 1, there is one small counter about 6 feet long staffed by two woman. This counter services all rental companies (Toyota, Nissan, and one or two others). The car return location was off airport and was staffed by one guy who closed the office temporarily to give us a lift over to the airport.

2. Buy a bilingual road atlas ahead of time and plan your routes, including writing out the names and numbers of roads and the cities you are heading to, so when a road sign comes up that requires you to choose one direction or the other, you can quickly figure out which one you need.

3. It is my understanding that most car rentals come with built-in GPS navigation systems now - ours did anyway. They don't have English instructions, but it's nice to have a display of where you actually are to compare with the road atlas.

4. The roads are well marked with route #s and most major roads have English labels for the city names and major intersections.

5. If you want to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time (particularly in the Tokyo area) stick with the expressways and toll roads. Non-expressways in the cities have LOTS of stoplights and LOTS of traffic.

6. Be prepared to bite the bullet and pay lots of money for the expressways. For example, $70 for the Tomei Expressway from Nagoya to Tokyo.

7. They have good rest areas at frequent intervals with decent rest rooms and restaurants.

8. Japanese drivers are generally well mannered, even in Tokyo. I don't think I encountered more than one or two drivers in a week of driving who tailgated or cut me off or something like that.

9. Police presence appears to be minimal. I never saw a single police car the whole time. On the Expressways with posted speed limits of 80 to 100 kph, I drove 110 to 120 with no problem. I passed many people but was not the fastest either.

10. Big trucks are generally well mannered and usually stay in the slow lane except to pass.

11. You will get lost from time to time, but you can usually figure it out (I admit that I had my Japanese-speaking son with me, which certainly helped figure things out quicker). Getting around Nagoya was easy because it was rebuilt on a rectangular grid system after WWII. I stuck with the expressways through downtown Tokyo, but sampled some side roads in Yokahama. Based on that, I don't think I would try driving in the heart of Tokyo off the expressways.

12. For those with claustrophobia, be aware that there are LOTS of tunnels - they would rather go through mountains than over them.

13. Don't get spoiled by the reverent service from full-service gas stations. They even help you get back into traffic and bow as you drive off.

14. Although the steering wheel is on the right side of the car like in the UK, the turn signal lever is on the right side of the steering column - I spent the first day or two flipping on the windshield wipers when I meant to use the turn signal!

Palal

If you had the choice, would you drive again?

RDU-Man

Absolutely. For what I wanted to see and do, it worked out well. We were going into the mountains and wanted to see rural countryside. However, if I were just going to major centers like Osaka or Kyoto, I would stick with the trains. The shinkansen would be much faster and more convenient, and the major cities have excellent subway and bus systems (we did use the Nagoya subway, for example, and found it reasonable and effective).

I should also have added another point:

Expect to pay for parking almost everywhere!

phred

Do they have a rail-and-drive scheme like they do in Europe? This was a big help to me in France; we took the TGV from Paris to Tours and then picked up an Avis car right at the train station. It's the only way to really enjoy the Loire Valley chauteaux region, and there's no need to deal with getting into and out of Paris AND no need to drive in Paris itself. No muss, no fuss, I just bought the railpass on the internet.

After living in Japan for a year, there's no way I would risk driving there. It's the big leagues, with little streets.

valve bouncer

Driving in Japan is not difficult or dangerous but more frustrating. This is mainly due to;
1) The moronic practices of other drivers.
2) Congestion.

Sanosuke

Don't forget that on some non-expressways, they have cameras above the roadway at some spots. I saw some while going to Yamagata from Yonezawa with a friend of mine. There were 3 boxes above the road positioned on a cross beam crossing across the road at height - possibly all of them cameras equipped with speed detectors to take pictures of violators in each lane.

Sanosuke!

cpx

I dont have any other issue with left and right driving, but when I return to US
I keep hitting the wipers instead of the signals

^ good report... thank you!

Sunnyhere

My first Japanese driving experience was from my then girlfriend's parent's home in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo to her home in Zama, Kanagawa. The drive was unremarkable, save for her pointing out the intersection where she was T-boned, resulting in a one year hospitalization.

hoyateach

I've driven both my parents' small sedan and a minivan in suburban Tokyo. The small, narrow sidestreets can be extrememly intimidating, especially when you have a car coming the other way on a street that feels like it's 1.75 car widths wide. I would add only a few points to the excellent OP:

- drive more slowly than you would in the USA or Europe until you get a feel for the street widths and the driving habits of others.

- be courteous to other drivers and they'll reciprocate. Japanese drivers are by and large pretty nice.

- give buses the right of way. If you don't, they'll probably muscle you aside anyway. Nicely but firmly.

- if you see a pointy heart-shaped half-yellow, half-green sticker on a car, be extra nice to the driver: he or she got his/her license less than 6 months ago and is still learning the ropes.

Happy driving!

jib71

Hmmm... be nice... moronic driving habits....

IMHO "nice" drivers can be among the most dangerous animals on the road - especially the "nice" drivers who bow at you to encourage you to turn infront of them (against priority rules) and then change their minds just as you put your foot on the gas.

Another particularly Japanese phenom "The Safety Driver" - who drives at 40kmh on any road under any conditions.

Actually, I think these habits may be dying out. I see them less than I used to - or maybe I'm getting used to them.

I still think that Ian McQueen's comments are the best attempt yet at explaining Japanese driving habits to the uninitiated. They are reprinted (with a few edits and an annoying pattern in the background) on the following site:
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/bikerfaq-intro.html