Japan traffic rules and self driving car rental tips

The Complete Japan Driving and Rental Guide

Although Japan has prided itself as having the most efficient public transportation systems around large metropolitan areas around Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, less known sceneries are definitely worth and handy exploring by car. Here is a brief guide aiming at helping you drive comfortably on Japanese roads.

Speed Limit and Traffic Signs

Driving is on the left-hand side of the road in Japan. Even though Japanese drivers are renowned for their respect of the driving rules, you should pay attention to cyclists, some of whom happen to ride on the wrong side of the road.

Speed Limit

The speed limits in Japan are between 80 and 100 km/h on expressways, 30 km/h in side streets, 40 km/h in urban areas, and between 50 and 60 km/h elsewhere unless states otherwise.

Traffic Signs

There are mainly four types of traffic signs in Japan: regulatory signs, warning signs, information and direction signs. For each type, you can find below several signs that you may not familiar with.

A typical Japanese regulatory sign generally features a red circle with a white background and blue pictograms.

Speed Limit (90 km/h)

Minimum Speed Limit (50 km/h)

No Overtaking

Road Closed to Toll

Road Closed to Vehicles

Slow down (In Japanese and English)

Japanese warning signs feature a diamond shape and yellow background.

Crossroads

Bumpy Road

Wild Animals Crossing (Deer)

Succession of More Than Two Curves to the Right

Japan_Traffic_Sign_Railway_Crossing_Ahead

Railroad Crossing Ahead

Tram Crossing Ahead

Japanese information signs feature a green background.

Emergency Telephone

Rest Area/Parking Fuel Stand, Etc.

Direction signs in Japan feature a rectangular shape with a blue or green background.

Expressway Entrance

Destination & Direction

To read more about Japanese road signs, here is a more detailed booklet.

Seatbelt and Child Safety

Seatbelt Laws

Drivers and all the passengers are required by law to wear a seatbelt. Failure to fasten your seatbelt may result in a fine.

Booster Seat Laws

Children under 6 years of age must be seated in child seats.

Parking, Fuel and Toll

Parking

· Permitted Parking

In Japan, parking cost normally depends on the size of the city and the distance from the city centre. Parking in small towns and cities is usually free.

Paid parking can be expensive in big cities, costing several hundreds of yen per hour. Parking lots in national parks or near tourist attractions sometimes charge a flat fee (typically 200 to 500 yen per use). Urban hotels usually provide parking for their guests at a flat rate (typically 1000 yen per night), while hotels outside the large cities usually offer free parking.

· Forbidden Parking

Please do not park your car indicated with the “No Parking” signs.

Japan-Traffic-Sign-No-Stopping

Also do not park the rental vehicle in a place only allowed to use by renting on a monthly basis, marked by the “Kanji” of “月極 ” or “月極駐車場”.

Japan Monthly Parking Lot

In addition, it is against the law to park a vehicle in the following places in Japan:

- In a tunnel

- On, or within five metres of the edge of an intersection

- Within three metres of the automobile entrance of a garage, car-park or similar

- On pedestrian or cycle crossings and railway lines

- Within ten metres of a bus stop or a bus stop sign

- Within five metres of the edge of an area of road works

- Within five metres of a fire hydrant, water tank or other fire safety equipment

Forbidden parking in Japan will lead to a hefty fine.

Fuel Prices

The average gasoline price in Japan in January 2018 was 141.50 Japanese Yen per litre, while the diesel price was 118.40 over the same period of time.

Toll

Most of the expressways in Japan are toll roads and you must pass through the automatic ETC (Electric Toll Collection) gate or manual gate with ticketing machine. It is highly common to rent an ETC system with the car hire company when taking a self-driving tour in Japan, and it allows you to drive through the ETC gate without stopping. ETC gate feature white “ETC 專用” characters on a purple background.5

Japan ETC Lane (Image from takingflights.com)

Japan ETC Device (Image from demflyers.com)

Alternative to ETC tolling, you may proceed to the manual gate, which is recognized by the“一般” characters written with a green background. Cash or bank cards can be used to pay the toll fee before entering the road.

Traffic Violation

DUI Laws

The alcohol limit in Japan is BAC 0.03%. Drink driving above the limit can result in a maximum prison sentence of 3 years or a fine of about $480,000 Japanese Yen.

Traffic Fines

Speed cameras and speed traps are used to monitor driving speed in Japan. Drivers who exceed the speed limits up to 40km/h over can be fined from 9000 Japanese Yen to 35,000 Japanese Yen, and a 50km/h excess or more over will be viewed as criminal infringement and can result in a prison sentence up to 6 months, or up to 100,000 Japanese Yen fine.

Parking in the prohibitive areas will usually cause a fine from 10,000 to 20,000 Japanese Yen.

Driving Licence and Age Requirements

Japanese law requires that all drivers who do not hold a Japanese driver’s license must hold a country of origin driver's license and an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Convention on International Road Traffic. Driver’s licence must be held for at least 1 or 2 years (according to different car hire company).

The minimum driver age for renting a car at a Japanese rental office is 18 years old. This age may vary according to the state and car category rented.

Guest reviews

1 /

Sam Dewar

April 28, 2025

Destination: Akita

8Very good

Able to communicate in English.

Mildred Micah

Destination: Tokyo

10Excellent

Very satisfied

Cheryl

April 27, 2025

Destination: Sendai

Satisfied

Quintion Noel

Destination: Nagoya

Very satisfied, they proactively contacted us two days before the car pickup.

Chad Kipling

April 26, 2025

Very satisfied.

Megan Marjory

April 25, 2025

Destination: Ibaraki

Pretty good, but don't forget to purchase the ETC.

Tobey Crichton

April 24, 2025

Destination: Fukuoka

4Average

Good service, but the car was very old and the interior was worn out.

Upton Newton

Destination: Naha

2Poor

The location is very far from the airport, and you have to take a taxi back to the airport yourself. The only contact method is through LINE. After picking up the car, you're on your own. When returning the car, you also need to arrange a taxi back to the airport. The car provided was in poor condition, even the gear shift handle's chrome button was loose. You can only refuel at designated stations, which charge more than other gas stations.

Nick Dickens

April 23, 2025

Destination: Osaka

The service for both pickup and drop-off was quite good, without a long wait. The staff were all Chinese, which made communication easier. However, the car model is indeed a bit old.

Cash Stevenson

April 22, 2025

Destination: Kobe

Very good.

Archibald Samuel

Excellent service, very detailed communication.

Judith Gracie

April 21, 2025

The customer service responds quickly and provides excellent service.

Virginia Wilson

Jessie Galbraith

April 20, 2025

Virgil Hal

April 19, 2025

Very reliable car rental company, highly trustworthy.

Bruno Reynolds

Destination: Kirishima

Malcolm Symons

April 17, 2025

Not bad.

Antonio Lancelot

Extremely satisfied. I've rented cars all over the world many times, and this was my first time renting in Japan. The service provided by this company was impeccable—the staff were highly responsible and promptly responsive. They handled pickup and drop-off with shuttle service throughout, making it a worry-free car rental experience. Definitely a highly recommended rental company.

Harlan Law

April 16, 2025

A company run by fellow Chinese, communication is smooth, and the service attitude is excellent! Highly recommended and definitely worth supporting!

Dean Humphr(e)y

April 15, 2025

Eden Dutt

Destination: Shizuoka

The service attitude was great, they delivered the car to the airport.

Samantha Hornby

6Average

Overall satisfied, but the store is relatively far away.

Emily Cowper

April 14, 2025

Destination: Hokkaido

Very patient.

Osborn Nico(l)

Overall satisfied, friendly service, no hidden traps.

Brian Clara

April 12, 2025

The car had no major issues, but the pickup and drop-off service was delayed. The staff were very friendly.

Bernie Faraday

Picking up and returning the car was very quick, done in ten minutes. Great!

Clark House

Destination: Miyakojima

The car itself was fine, but the service was extremely disappointing. First of all, the booking page indicated there would be staff who spoke Chinese and could communicate via WeChat, but in reality, there were no Chinese-speaking staff, nor was there a way to use WeChat. This, however, is not a major issue. What was absolutely unacceptable was that I had a car pickup scheduled at 2 PM that day at the airport. When I arrived at the airport, I couldn’t find any staff from the rental company holding a sign at the entrance as stated in the reservation. I searched around the area but couldn’t find anyone. I immediately contacted the rental platform's customer service, and only then was I able to locate someone from the rental company. By the time their employee arrived, I had already been standing in the arrivals hall waiting for 45 minutes. Neither the staff who came to pick me up nor the staff handling the rental procedures expressed any apology for their lateness or failure to meet the customer on time. Their indifference to such poor service is completely unacceptable and unworthy of the high standards usually associated with Japanese service. You are a disgrace to Japan's service industry. By the way, the Indian employee handling the rental paperwork smelled horribly. I can understand the natural smell of curry, but the overwhelming stench of body odor and cigarette smoke was unbearable. Please pay attention to personal hygiene—this level of negligence is revolting.

Justin Maugham

April 10, 2025

The vehicle was in poor condition.

Gilbert Amelia

April 9, 2025

The pick-up and drop-off service is convenient overall. Next time I visit Hokkaido, I’ll rent from this company again.

Geoffrey Fanny

Greg Gunter

A.Gan

10Very good platform for car rentals.

Counter staff was very polite and helpful. Checkout was smooth.

Oliver Penn

April 7, 2025

Cecilia Arnold

April 3, 2025

Very satisfied, the service was appropriate and well-delivered.

M.Manson

April 2, 2025

8An efficient and good value rental

We got confusing advice on how to precede through the highway toll lanes. Wound up figuring it out by trial and error. The error was stressful!

Theresa Needham

April 1, 2025

Everything was good except the need for someone to pick us up at the airport arrival terminal.

Henry Reed

Very satisfied. The rescue service was very prompt.

Iris Gallup

March 31, 2025

The owner was very straightforward, the car was in great condition, and the whole self-driving experience was very enjoyable.

Simona Guy

March 28, 2025

The staff can communicate in Mandarin, provide thoughtful reminders, and inform about the nearby gas station's location.

Laura Larkin

March 27, 2025

Convenient

Belle Lynch

As always, Japanese car rental companies provide excellent customer service.

Miles Judson

March 26, 2025

It seems to be a personal company where individuals deliver the cars. The service is good, but the ETC rental fee is too expensive, and a deposit is required. It's not comparable to another company. Feels like they are a group that joined the platform with a few cars of their own, and the vehicle model and who delivers it are arranged ad hoc.

Astrid Owen

March 25, 2025

Excellent value for a car rental experience

Julie Maltz

March 24, 2025

Philip Goldsmith

Mandy Hawthorne

Thank you so much. Communicated via WeChat beforehand. The entire process of picking up and returning the car was smooth and pleasant! Xiao Lu at the store shared a lot of useful information, highly appreciated.

S!R

March 23, 2025

10Excellent service, very comfortable ride. Best value for money!

Highly recommended. This one was a bit outside of city circle but booked the car at a great discount! The staff were very nice and professional, service highly appreciated! Provided detailed instructions upfront and coordinated in a timely manner. No delay in pick/drop.

Sarah Whyet

The car rental company is easy to communicate with. The pick-up and drop-off service is very efficient. I will collaborate with them again next time.

Felix Hume

March 21, 2025

The car is very spacious. We were a group of 7 people plus luggage, and the cost-performance ratio was excellent.

Tim Richards

March 20, 2025

The process of picking up and returning the car was simple, with no upselling or unnecessary hassle. Very good.

Japan Car Rentals