Driving in Japan

Written by Lee Barney

A big challenge (for those of us who have been driving on the right our whole lives) is driving on the left.   At first it just did not feel right.  But, when cars start coming at you in the same lane, it does not take long to be convinced that the left side is safer.

Big roads do exist, this is as large as a one-way roads get -- four lanes, and as wide as lanes get. 

Driving is Japan is more than just getting used to driving on the left side of the road.  A new driver in Japan is obvious because their windshield wipers go on just before they turn.  With the turn signals and window wipers on opposite sides, it is so easy to mix up and turn the window wipers on.  Don’t plan on making a turn (right or left) after stopping.  It is not permitted.  I have come to like this rule. 

Vehicle drivers must be diligent in watching for pedestrians, bikes, or motor scooters.  The scooters pop up anytime.  Fortunately, most pedestrians and bike riders follow the traffic rules too.  But it takes focus to keep watching out for those who might cross your path.

The narrow roads are dangerous.  What appears to be a one-way road often accommodates cars driving in both directions.  There are telephone poles encroaching a few feet in the roadway.   So on a narrow street you need to be prepared to give the right-of-way to a pole or another car.  And since parking space is in very short supply, a car or truck may be stopped on the street with its flashers on. So the traffic just flows around the parked vehicle, avoiding a head on collision with other cars and poles.  Sister Barney often feels like she could reach out and touch a parked car, a pole or pedestrians.

Japanese do not name their streets except their highways and an occasional main road. Instead, all directions are done based on cities, neighborhoods, and postal numbers for a set of houses.   Therefore using a map is tricky and in the days before a GPS (navigational systems; referred to in Japan as “navi”) one would get to a neighborhood and then ask a local policeman or store owner for directions to a particular household.  The “navi” is indispensable.  Navi’s do get confused when new toll roads are not in the Navi database.  At first we were tied to doing what the Navi told us to do.   But as I get to know my away around, I use a Navi to confirm the direction and to get to the ending location.  The other day I was driving to a new missionary apartment about an hour and a half away by normal roads.  But I was aware of a new toll road not yet in the Navi.  But I did not know how to get to the address once I got in the city.  So I ignored the navi until I got within 10 kilometers of the address.  [The nice thing about the Navi, is that when I don’t turn where she wants me to turn, she just causally says, “recalculating.”] In the case of the above trip, we were able to trim 30 minutes off the travel time.  But don’t try to outsmart the navi until you have learned your way around.

This is a two-way street with parking.
Really.

The first 12 months in Japan one can drive using a USA State issued license if you have brought an International Driving permit from AAA.  But the Japanese are really strict on the 12 month period. In my case I needed to be able to drive for 18 months.  Hence there was a need for me to go the Japanese DMV and get a Japanese drivers license.  That is another story.  Stay tuned.