Driving in Japan is a different challenge from driving anywhere else. Most of the road signs are home-grown, the drivers do not drive in ways that you expect, and there are rules of the road that you have never heard about.
The good thing is that there are not all that many of them. It is not too difficult to drive in Japan – once you have familiarized yourself with the rules, roadsigns and writing on the road.
I have written quite a bit about driving in Japan here, but it may be hard to find if you have to cruise between the pages. So let me give you a little guide to what I have written about driving in Japan.
By the way, if you are interested in the topic of driving in Japan, you are sure to be interested in my book “Driving In Japan”. You can read the table of contents here. And from this page, you can order the book directly from your favorite online bookstore.
1. The Road Signs
Japan has its own completely homegrown flora of road signs. Most of the streetsigns you will find in Japan are different from street signs in other countries. So here are some articles to guide you.
The Top 10 Strangest Road Signs You Will Find In Japan
10 Road Signs Pedestrians In Japan Must Recognize
The Five Most Common Road Signs In Japan
10 Kanji You Need To Know In Japanese Traffic
2. Japanese Traffic Culture
The driving culture in Japan is different from other countries, even other countries that drive on the left. It is firmly rooted in politeness, conflict avoidance, and the other values that shape personal interactions in Japan.
Five Things You Need To Know About Driving In Japan At Night
3. Read Up In Advance
I was completely taken aback when I discovered that “Driving In Japan” was the only book in its category on the market. So please use it.
Top 5 Books About Driving In Japan
Japan Top 10 