Japan Top 10

The winter came suddenly in Japan. More snow than in many years, as far south as Shikoku. If you are not used to drive in winter conditions, and do not have snow tires, stay off the roads. That is the simplest advice.

If you have snow tires, you still need to drive carefully. The roads are slippery and there is so much snow that the roads can not be kept clean all the time. And it is warm enough for the snow to melt, but when it meets the snow again, or at night, it will freeze and create ice slicks. Which is more dangerous in the mountains, where it of course happens more often.

If you are renting a car and plan to go anywhere outside the Kanto plain, including the mountains in Gunma or Tochigi, make sure to get snow tires. They are extra in the Tokyo area, but included in the rental if you rent a car closer to the snow areas. It can be a considerable cost but not risking your car to slip off the road is worth it.

Of course, you already know I wrote a whole chapter about winter driving in my book “Driving In Japan”. And another whole chapter about driving in the mountains. You can read the table of contents of “Driving In Japan” here, and get the book from this link.