Self-driving in Japan - advice?
 

This time iam planning to rent a car. Anyone can share some experience?

Iam especially looking for some advises for the day-to-day problems.
Parking in cities looks quite complex, how do the parking ticket machines work?
Can you find free parking outside the cities?
How does the highway toll system works?

Any advises would be welcome.

There is no reason for most tourists to use a car in cities, other for day trips out of town. Parking overnight is usually multi-storey garage nearby, with attendants.

Yes there is usually free parking outside the cities. But there is also paid parking outside cities.

Highway Toll system works like most other countries.

http://global.c-nexco.co.jp/en/toll/methods.html

Payment by ETC may be available at car rental companies in Hokkaido and a few odd places elsewhere.

I starting driving in Japan two months ago.

I have been a driver in other countries for more than 25 years so I am not a novice driver however I find driving in Japan quite stressful.

Driving on the left side of the road, all the car controls on the opposite side than I am used to, the narrow roads, road signs that I can't read and the use of road mirrors (which I am not in the habit of doing) and parking in tight spots.

For me, the hardest thing is avoiding bicycles. I am not used to bicycle riders riding on the sidewalk and suddenly popping out in front of me.

Just drive slowly and deliberately. My driving instructor told me that everybody breaks traffic laws but the key is to do it slowly so that everybody can SEE you doing it and avoid you.

Timely thread. I've never driven in Japan, but I plan to spend some time in Hokkaido later this summer, and it seems the best way to get around is via car. So I am thinking of renting one, although I've never driven on that side of the road. Should be fun...

Your location is indicated as Singapore and driving in Singapore is on left side so that should help. Definitely if you can read Japanese then that is big plus since you will able to read road signs.

I do not know about roads in Singapore but comparing with typical driving in the U.S., roads in metropolitan Tokyo area are very narrow. A road which would be a single lane one way road in the U.S. would easily being used as two way roads with oncoming traffic in Tokyo. When I started to drive in Japan I found that driving outside of Tokyo to be easier, because roads can be wider and there are far less traffic on the road.

Yes, while maneuvering such narrow road when there is oncoming traffic, I have to be careful with bicycles on the side of the road. When I started to drive in Japan (in metropolitan Tokyo area) I really thought I will hit few people on bicycles. (Thankfully I did not end up hitting any people on bicycles. :))

I think form my experience, driving in downtown Boston come close because downtown Boston was built and designed before automobile where small wagons were norm on the road.

For me it was change from driving on right side of the road to left side of the road. That also means change from sitting on left side of the car for driving to sitting on right side of the car for driving. Even if you can drive manual transmission this involves change from shifting using right hand to shifting using left hand. It sure took me a lot to get used to, not recommended driving manual transmission in Japan if you are used in shifting using right hand.

Also, sitting in right side of the car for driving, driving reverse was very weird felling for me. In the U.S. sitting in left side of the car then I turn myself to right to see the back while in reverse. But in Japan sitting in right side of the car then I turn myself to left to see the back while reversing, that really was weird feeling for me when I started to drive in Japan.

It is really quite simple.

The whole thing about the left hand side of the road for those not used to it should not be a problem if you recall that you gauge where you are vis a vis the lane divider in the US by keeping the front left wheel stable in relation to what you see slightly ahead of the car. Works exactly the same way here. Riding a motorcycle on the left is much easier though as you actually see the lane dividers.

In general the Japanese drivers will treat the road with a great deal of respect for its inherent dangers, but they much like American drivers do so to excess and end up driving with too much trepidation which also can be quite dangerous.

My advice is do not expect the quality of driving you would see in England or Germany, but instead expect the poor road skills seen in the US and drive accordingly defensively.

Thanks for your answers so far.

Left or Righthand drive is not an issue for me. Iam used to both.

The Japanese are quite defensive drivers, it will drive me nuts yes, but thats what iam expecting. ;)

I'm a bit worried about this too. We're going to be driving from Jomokogen Station to Gunma, through the Teriha Valley by Tone River and Lake Akaya. Then from Gunma to Yamanouchi the next day; driving around the Nagano foothills, Matsumoto, and eventually crossing into Gifu via the Tateyama Kurobe Scenic Alpine Route between Toyama and Shimano-Omachi. We'll be taking the rental into Ishikawa and Kanazawa for a few days, and then finally returning it in Kyoto. We're relying entirely on English GPS for the trip and hoping that we'll be able to navigate the roads and signs. JTB is facilitating the rental for us through a local company, possibly Toyota. I assume I'll need to get an international driver's license at some point before our trip. I've never driven on the left side of the road before and I'm not really looking forward to it!

Parking
You can usually find an attended parking lot. Make sure you note when it's open/closed. You might also want to use automated parking lots (e.g. 24Times). These are often built with barriers that rise a few minutes after you park in a space. To lower the barriers you must use the machine. Input the number of your parking space and pay the hourly rate with cash or a credit card to lower the barrier.

Driving behavior
I agree with mjm's assessment of driving habits. You'll see a lot of slow, but not skilled or attentive, driving. This does not meet my definition of "defensive driving". I'm sure it's down to lazy-... instructors like the person who is teaching Taiwaned.
(BTW @Taiwaned - There are instructors in Japan who can really teach you to drive well. Fire the asshat who is telling you to just drive slow and find an instructor with real skills. Get an ex-police instructor if possible).

Driving on the "wrong" side of the road
I take it that the OP has already decided to do this so I'm not going to waste time with words of reassurance. You made a choice that works for you. Good. Here are a few of the "upside-down world" moments that you can plan for:

1) Starting off on an empty road. With no other traffic to give you cues, you might forget where you are.
Solution: Write a reminder and stick it somewhere visible. Agree a routine for starting each trip with your passenger. If you discuss how you're going to position the car when you drive off and how you're going to negotiate the first turn, you'll be OK.

2) Reversing. Woah. Freaky. ... Which way is up?
Solution: Try it out once or twice before you actually need it.

3) Turning right (across oncoming traffic). First couple of times may feel a little strange.
Solution: Find a small road to practice once or twice soon after you pick up the car.

4) Getting the correct position in the lane. Your passengers will probably tell you that you're too close to the parked cars on the left. (Or you may clip someone's wing mirror).
Solution: Think back to when you first drove. Did you have a trick like aligning the front corner of the car with the center line? Get yourself a new trick.

5) Unfamiliar controls in the car.
Solution: Ask lots of questions when you pick the car up from the rental station. Write down a checklist to ask about if you like. Where are the controls for wipers? indicators? Any trick to turning the ignition? Is there a button to pop open the fuel cap? How about the trunk? How do you tune the radio? What are the settings for lights? What does this button do? Spending a few minutes on this will save you some agro later. You don't want to have to explore the manual late one night when you're trying to turn on the headlights.

Whatever you do, don't drive when tired. That's a killer even when you're at home - much worse on unfamiliar roads with unfamiliar habits.

Places where the rules differ from what you may be used to
Of course, this depends greatly on what you're used to, but here are a few of the things that foreigners seem to get into trouble over:
1) Never turn on a red light
2) Always STOP the vehicle before crossing a railway line (level crossing)
3) Never park on the right side of the road

Insurance
Standard insurance on rental cars tends to leave you liable for some things - In addition to the standard excess amount, you can be charged a daily rate for the period the car is being repaired, for example. You might consider buying a worldwide rental car excess insurance policy. I have one because I regularly rent cars and use zipcar. You probably need to do more than one rental per year for it to be worthwhile.

Hope this helps.

Yes, that was common occurrences when I started to drive in Japan for the first time. As mentioned on a previous post, I felt more comfortable driving out in country side of Japan when I first started to drive in Japan. However, when there were no incoming traffic to remind me and especially when I was making a turn at an intersection I often made a turn into right side of the road rather than left side of the road.

It was true in my case that actually having incoming traffic on a road kept reminding me of which side of the road I should be driving.

Another thing, in the U.S. it is common to park a car with front of the car in at a parking space. In Japan it is common to park a car with front of the car facing out at a parking space, backing into parking space in reverse. I was told that there is no traffic rule regarding position of the car at a parking space but all driving schools in Japan teach to park a car that way. It is common to pay and attend a driving school before attempt to get a driver’s license in Japan, I was told that driving test in Japan (both written and driving) is very difficult compare with driving test in the U.S. I was told it is very difficult to pass driving test in Japan by self study, almost has to go to a driving school. But I do not know since I never had to go through that to get a driver's license in Japan.

I believe you're right. The same is true in the UK - Driving schools will explain that it's better to reverse into the parking space so that you don't have to reverse into traffic when you move out of that space. Needless to say, this guidance is widely ignored in Japan and in the UK.

The couple of times I tried to drive in Jpn, I was fazed by a lot of the same things you say above. In fact, your post reminded me of why I haven't quite gotten the nerve to drive in Jpn again. Maybe I'll try driving again in Jpn at some point. Lots of good advices above.

Good advice from Jib. +1.

Driving in the countryside is really easy. Driving in the city is very easy also but harder to navigate. Take a bit of getting used to.

Jib.... where did you get your insurance policy.

Currently using www.insurance4carhire.com
Previously used http://icarhireinsurance.com/
For me, it's a no-brainer. If I were to pay Zipcar for its excess waiver, I'd be paying nearly 10X the price.

However, looking at the fine print, this insurance is only available for EU residents. There are some other threads on Flyertalk where people have discussed other companies that offer this kind of insurance. I understand that some US residents might get similar coverage from their credit cards.

Thanks jib71 for your advises.

Are the machines bilingual? I presume not?

As I mentioned above, iam familiar with both sides. Singapore has choosen to drive "on the "wrong" side of the road" and iam doing it daily.


If you are familiar with Japanese cars, it shouldnt be much of an issue. Drivers who are used to european brands will go nuts, especially with the wiper. ;)