To Drive or not to Drive, in Japan
 

Before I make a car rental reservation for my Japan trip in August, I am interested to read about driving experience in Japan if anyone can share it.

I will be flying to NRT. Not planning on drive in any major cities but in the "west of Alps" rural area: between Takayama and Shirakawa-go as well as between Takayama and Gifu.

For a US driver like me, someone who's never driven on the right side of the car/ left side of the road, will it be dangerous to drive in Japan? How much time should I expect to take to get used to driving there?

The first time I went to Australia it took me maybe 30 minutes to adjust; then a couple little slip ups through the couple months I was there. Driving in Japan can be... interesting... it's nothing really tedious, it has to do with the signage more than the driving on the "wrong" side of the road. People are very courteous drivers there, imo. Nothing really crazy like France, Italy or the Bay Area so you should be fine if you just pay attention... at least at first.

The left hand side of the road thing isn't difficult to get used to at all. The two things I'd suggest you be careful of is which direction you should be looking when entering a road (ie look right instead of left) and believe it or not changing lanes on the freeway where you have to drive conciously, not sub-conciously.

I've hired cars i japan often and found it's a great way to get around when you're using them the way you have described (shinkansen/express train to the major town, car for exploring surrounding area). You can get sat nav on pretty much any rental car in japan but while it will be in japanese you can use phone numbers to enter locations or if you're with someone we've always used a map to see where we want to go and the sat nav to show where you are.

I've always used this website to organise rental cars in japan, super cheap and no hidden extras.

Rural parts of Japan and the highways I found no problem.

The bloody twists and turns of some of the alleys and PARKING was hell in the city. I am used to the streets of Canada. Big and wide so some of these tight streets were quite scary for me. Just the thought of scratching the rental was too much.

As previous poster mentioned. Driving on the wrong side of the road issue isn't too bad but when there is a split decision to be made. That is when it got scary because my instict told me to go right ..... into oncoming traffic.

For me it is not worth it. I have driven in a lot of countries, but I usually avoid the left side countries if possible. You really have to concentrate and a wrong decision made in haste could have huge consequenses. I like to enjoy myself on a train of other transport.

Since I consider driving to be a chore and a burden, one of the things I like best about Japan is never having to drive.

There is bus or train service to all the places you mention.

I adapt easily to driving on the left, although I have been told by others I'm a very good driver. :)

Hi Doraemon! (I just wanted to say that as I get a warm fuzzy glow when I think about Nobita's friend :) )

I don't drive, but I did consider the option for this part of Japan for a visit with my parents and gave it a lot of thought. For travelling around the Japan Alps and visiting towns and villages around Takayama (such as Gifu) a car does make a lot of sense.

However, I'd consider hiring the car locally rather than driving from Tokyo or Narita and using the train to get to and from Takayama or Matsumoto just as IMOA said.

Living in London with family and friends in mainland Europe I'm fully aware of people's experiences of getting used to driving on the 'wrong' side of the road. As IMOA has also mentioned, it's just the initial experience that is unsettling. I'd suggest you take a mnemonic aid and attach it to the dashboard/window/steering wheel as a constant reminder, especially if you will be driving on deserted roads. It's more likely be the second or third morning that you relax, 'forget' and cross over into danger rather than on your first foray.

Drivers from rural mountain areas are the same everywhere, a lot of accidents happen on the roads in Japan. I've seen plenty in Tokyo, I've heard that driving standards are worse in the country. I'm not trying to put you off, just let you realise that drivers' minds wander when in semi deserted rural roads in Japan in the same way they do everywhere. And there'll be a lot of holidaymakers, just like you, who are just as unfamiliar with driving in country roads as well as the comparitively reckless locals.

Obviously you'll need to brush up on the traffic signs.
http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/towers/2060/rdsign1.html and
http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/towers/2060/rdsign2.html

Think about the PARKING.

Driving in Japan is OK - road signs may be a problem - but parking (even at reasonable cost) can be a nightmare

Driving on the left is easy. Now if your first drive in the UK takes you through the Magic Roundabout (that thing is fun at 4am), you might think otherwise.

About Japan: the highways are EXPENSIVE. IIRC something like $1 per km tolls. (Edit: This is in the Tokyo area.)

Not in the countryside, which is just as full of strip malls as the US (well, almost). Practically any rural shop, restaurant, hotel etc will have free parking.

There are buses and trains in the Takayama/Gifu area, but you'll have to schedule pretty carefully. Having your own wheels makes life much easier.

Why?
 

Why drive?

The trains are wonderful!!!

The train trip to Takayama is beautiful.

The trains are clean and always on time (to the minute). You can rest and eat read or enjoy the views. The bento boxes sold at the stations are almost always delicious.

That's the point, you can take the train to takayama but from there you can hire a car to get up into places like shirakawa-go, kamakochi etc where a car is much more convinient and often cheaper than the buses. Some of my most enjoyable experiences in japan have only been possible because we hired a car and got off the tourist trail.

I agree with IMOA that a car is useful mainly in the most rural areas.

Driving in the cities makes no sense whatsoever. Traffic is so bad that I'll even take the subway or commuter trains in preference to the buses anytime.

If you wnat to drive in rural Japan, take a train to a central location in the area where you want to drive and rent a car locally.

The roads in the Japan Alps seem to be made up entirely of hairpin curves, judging from what I experienced on a bus trip from Takayama to Shinshimashima.

I lived and drove in Nagoya, Japan for 2 years and I can tell you that rural driving is wonderful, freeway driving is extremely expensive and city driving is just not worth the delays, the million traffic lights and the frustration of one-way streets etc.

There you have it.

dave