A few quick notes before I dive into driving in Japan...
Some of our blog readers have commented that they'd love to see more details around the family aspects of travel - the do's, don'ts, gotchas and little efficiencies that we discovered or wished we had, so you'll start seeing more of those in little "tips" and "anecdotes" sections - thanks for the feedback!
Also, we've been talking to locals more and getting inside the heads of people we meet, so expect a few "culture" sections too.
OK - this said, let me tell you a bit about driving in Japan.
First, whatever you do, don't drive on the wrong side of the road - easy, right?!
I'm a pretty rock-solid driver at home, on the right side... having lived in New Zealand for nearly a year, I was able to avoid most of the newbie gotchas with switching sides... most of them. I still occasionally made a turn in autopilot mode - usually early in the drive and usually when distracted by a question from the kids or a navigation hiccup.
IMHO, in the Japanese countryside, the stakes are a bit lower - country roads are more lightly travelled and speed limits off the major toll highways are low (50km/h), so it's not such an alarming thing to "cross the line" at an empty intersection for a few seconds, provided you snap out of it quickly.
In Japan, I initially turned into the wrong lane on 2 occasions (see tip below). In both cases, we had just gotten underway and I hadn't put my brain in "drive on the other side" mode - I was using the "system 1" part of my brain. Confused? Checkout this awesome read by Thinking Fast and Slow for more on the 2 parts of your brain involved in making driving decisions.
Our car rental attendant, several of the blogs we read and some other travellers we spoke with noted that non-Japanese speakers rarely drive in Japanese cities - they prefer to drive in the country side instead. I couldn't agree more! With Japan's urban rail systems, cars in the city are a nuisance rather than an enabler.
Don't get me wrong - we're all pretty invincible with Google maps in our pocket, but... between busy downtown streets, foreign language and unfamiliar signage (especially in construction zones), weird turning lanes, narrow roads and lanes and for some, a change of "side of the road", Japanese cities can be a big, joyless bite to chew on.
Here's where I give a quick shout-out to the rental car website that gave us the best deal on a station wagon - Web Rent-A-Car and to the agency we ultimately rented from - Times Car Rental. We paid a fair price for a 6-day rental with unlimited KMs and an English GPS. Staff at Times did their best to serve me in English and the car I rented was in tip-top shape.
Another good website option is rentalcars.com for smaller vehicles - Orix offers some great deals through web resellers.
Smaller rental agencies may be cheaper but generally don't have English websites or staff, which makes booking with them challenging as a foreigner. Also, Turo hasn't broken into Asia yet, so it's not an option for Japan.
Japanese stop signs are different - inverted triangles, and have been since 1963. They don't appear to adhere to common international standards, so watch out for this from the start!
The Japanese police service is, apparently, considering replacing stop signs with their more widely recognized octagonal equivalent before the 2020 Olympics, to avoid accidents.
Most other signage is in line with what we've seen elsewhere - here's a great guide to Japanese road signs.
Now, what's the real speed limit? You get an immediate feeling, as soon as you get behind the wheel in a new country, how seriously to take the speed limits. Japan is no exception - locals here regularly drive above the speed limit.
Toll expressways in Japan can cost as much as a few hundred bucks to travel as many kilometres - downright outrageous! These toll roads are straight and speedy, but prohibitively costly for many. If you do use them, approach tolls in the non-ETC lane (unless you have tied your credit card to your rental car's toll road payment system). In the non-ETC lanes, you can pay by cash or credit.
As a result, Japan's older, windier country roads are an attractive option for budget-conscious drivers with a few extra hours on their hands. By our math, there is still a significant cost benefit, even with the extra gas. Don't forget - Japanese rental cars generally sip gas, they don't guzzle it with their sewing machine engines.
We spent a lot of time driving these smaller roads and truly enjoyed the scenery, towns and people we saw/met along the way. Speed limits on these roads are 50km/h but my spidey senses told me to follow the flow of traffic, which consistently moved at 65km/h (with the exception of switchback mountain roads) - a lot like Canada!
After reading a few other blogs about driving in Japan, I now know why. The Japanese police use photo-radar. They hang cameras above roads - apparently to catch egregious speeders. Every country defines egregious differently - 70km/h is, apparently, the magic number in Japan (20km/h above the limit).
Interestingly, the Japanese public call photo radar traps "mouse traps". Driving with the flow of traffic turned out to be a good call (IMHO).
Staff at full service shops even guide you back onto the road after your fill-up so you get safely underway.
IF you're unsure, read the fine print. If all else fails and you feel exposed, you can always buy coverage from a 3rd party - I like rentalcover.com - policies are simple and fully international - buying directly from them usually saves some money.
Some of our blog readers have commented that they'd love to see more details around the family aspects of travel - the do's, don'ts, gotchas and little efficiencies that we discovered or wished we had, so you'll start seeing more of those in little "tips" and "anecdotes" sections - thanks for the feedback!
Also, we've been talking to locals more and getting inside the heads of people we meet, so expect a few "culture" sections too.
OK - this said, let me tell you a bit about driving in Japan.
First, whatever you do, don't drive on the wrong side of the road - easy, right?!
I'm a pretty rock-solid driver at home, on the right side... having lived in New Zealand for nearly a year, I was able to avoid most of the newbie gotchas with switching sides... most of them. I still occasionally made a turn in autopilot mode - usually early in the drive and usually when distracted by a question from the kids or a navigation hiccup.
IMHO, in the Japanese countryside, the stakes are a bit lower - country roads are more lightly travelled and speed limits off the major toll highways are low (50km/h), so it's not such an alarming thing to "cross the line" at an empty intersection for a few seconds, provided you snap out of it quickly.
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| Typical country road (north of Kyoto) |
In Japan, I initially turned into the wrong lane on 2 occasions (see tip below). In both cases, we had just gotten underway and I hadn't put my brain in "drive on the other side" mode - I was using the "system 1" part of my brain. Confused? Checkout this awesome read by Thinking Fast and Slow for more on the 2 parts of your brain involved in making driving decisions.
Our car rental attendant, several of the blogs we read and some other travellers we spoke with noted that non-Japanese speakers rarely drive in Japanese cities - they prefer to drive in the country side instead. I couldn't agree more! With Japan's urban rail systems, cars in the city are a nuisance rather than an enabler.
Don't get me wrong - we're all pretty invincible with Google maps in our pocket, but... between busy downtown streets, foreign language and unfamiliar signage (especially in construction zones), weird turning lanes, narrow roads and lanes and for some, a change of "side of the road", Japanese cities can be a big, joyless bite to chew on.
Tip
If you're switching the side you drive on to visit a place, I humbly recommend you use this really silly trick. Make up and sing a little jingle in your head every time sit down in the driver's seat - something like "Drive on the left - left is the best. Don't get caught, because you forgot, to drive on the left...". The quick repetition will put your noggin in the right mindset to not hurt anyone!Car Rental
Car rental options are myriad; however, large cars come at a huge premium. Remember, Japanese cars are really small, so when travelling as a group of 5, we needed to up-size - compact just wouldn't fit!Here's where I give a quick shout-out to the rental car website that gave us the best deal on a station wagon - Web Rent-A-Car and to the agency we ultimately rented from - Times Car Rental. We paid a fair price for a 6-day rental with unlimited KMs and an English GPS. Staff at Times did their best to serve me in English and the car I rented was in tip-top shape.
Another good website option is rentalcars.com for smaller vehicles - Orix offers some great deals through web resellers.
Smaller rental agencies may be cheaper but generally don't have English websites or staff, which makes booking with them challenging as a foreigner. Also, Turo hasn't broken into Asia yet, so it's not an option for Japan.
Tip
Rent your car at or near a major subway or JR station and get out of town as directly as you can.Signage
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| Stop sign |
Japanese stop signs are different - inverted triangles, and have been since 1963. They don't appear to adhere to common international standards, so watch out for this from the start!
The Japanese police service is, apparently, considering replacing stop signs with their more widely recognized octagonal equivalent before the 2020 Olympics, to avoid accidents.
Most other signage is in line with what we've seen elsewhere - here's a great guide to Japanese road signs.
Speed limits
100km/h on expressways unless otherwise marked, 50km/h everywhere else unless otherwise marked.Now, what's the real speed limit? You get an immediate feeling, as soon as you get behind the wheel in a new country, how seriously to take the speed limits. Japan is no exception - locals here regularly drive above the speed limit.
Toll expressways in Japan can cost as much as a few hundred bucks to travel as many kilometres - downright outrageous! These toll roads are straight and speedy, but prohibitively costly for many. If you do use them, approach tolls in the non-ETC lane (unless you have tied your credit card to your rental car's toll road payment system). In the non-ETC lanes, you can pay by cash or credit.
As a result, Japan's older, windier country roads are an attractive option for budget-conscious drivers with a few extra hours on their hands. By our math, there is still a significant cost benefit, even with the extra gas. Don't forget - Japanese rental cars generally sip gas, they don't guzzle it with their sewing machine engines.
We spent a lot of time driving these smaller roads and truly enjoyed the scenery, towns and people we saw/met along the way. Speed limits on these roads are 50km/h but my spidey senses told me to follow the flow of traffic, which consistently moved at 65km/h (with the exception of switchback mountain roads) - a lot like Canada!
After reading a few other blogs about driving in Japan, I now know why. The Japanese police use photo-radar. They hang cameras above roads - apparently to catch egregious speeders. Every country defines egregious differently - 70km/h is, apparently, the magic number in Japan (20km/h above the limit).
Interestingly, the Japanese public call photo radar traps "mouse traps". Driving with the flow of traffic turned out to be a good call (IMHO).
Fuel
Gas cost us about CAD$140/L. We used full service gas stations because we couldn't read the pump signage... and I don't enjoy standing in front of machinery with a Google Translate Camera in my hand.Staff at full service shops even guide you back onto the road after your fill-up so you get safely underway.
Repair and Roadside Assistance
Most rental car agencies provide an option for 24/7 roadside assistance. Ours did, and it was included in our low-low price.Insurance
Rental car insurance (CDW) is included in all rentals; however, deductibles (excess) can be further reduced if you pay more. Note that your fancy North-American or EU credit card's insurance policy won't cover you in Japan, so don't count on it.IF you're unsure, read the fine print. If all else fails and you feel exposed, you can always buy coverage from a 3rd party - I like rentalcover.com - policies are simple and fully international - buying directly from them usually saves some money.
Fun
You can access the Japanese alps by train, but if you want to hike/bike, you're going to want a car to access remote areas. In general, cars can get into cool places! |
| Oceanside scenery heading towards Kanazawa |
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| Fall in the alps - Mt Norikura |
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| Dammed rivers |
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| Picturesque towns with no train station |
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| Rolling hillsides and small villages |
Great Post. Excellent advice. Having driven in a half dozen "wrong side of the road" countries I can attest that the first few days of driving are fraught with small driver errors. It's only good luck that nothing serious ever came of these errors.
ReplyDeleteCross your fingers, close your eyes and hit the gas was not our motto ;)
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