Drive Japan with confidence
License rules, rental cars, tolls, winter roads and route notes — written for visitors and checked against official Japanese sources.
All guides
- Before you driveCan I drive in Japan with my licence? IDP and translation rulesTo drive in Japan you need a 1949 Geneva Convention IDP, or a licence from one of six places plus an official Japanese translation. Rules by country and validity.
- Road rulesJapan road rules for visitors: what you must know before you driveJapan drives on the left, you must stop fully at stop signs and railway crossings, and you cannot turn on red. Speed limits, drink driving, phones and accidents.
- Winter drivingDriving in Hokkaido in winter: icy roads, whiteouts and getting stuckIcy roads in Hokkaido can be about 10 times as slippery as dry summer roads. How to drive on snow and ice, what to do in a whiteout, and where to check road closures.
- Tolls & fuelJapan expressways, ETC cards and the Hokkaido Expressway PassHow tolls work on Japanese expressways, how to drive through ETC lanes, and how the Hokkaido Expressway Pass gives visitors unlimited expressway use for a flat price.
