Foreign visitors should encounter few problems using Japanese expressways, since all important signs are written in both, Japanese and English. The speed limit for passenger cars is usually 80 or 100 km/h, except on some minor, one lane expressways where the speed limit is 70 km/h.

Below is some vocabulary useful for using Japanese expressways:

• Interchange (IC)
  In Japan, an interchange refers to an expressway entrance and exit, e.g. Tokyo IC.
• Junction (JCT)
  Like in English, a junction refers to a place where multiple expressways meet.
• Parking Area (PA)
  A parking area comes with toilets and one or more vending machines. Sometimes it also features a restaurant.
• Service Area (SA)
  Generally larger than parking areas, service areas feature toilets, shops, restaurants and a gasoline stand.

The use of most expressways is subject to tolls, which can be paid at manual toll gates by cash or credit card or by passing through automatic ETC (electronic toll collection) gates. The use of ETC gates requires an ETC card and a car that is equipped with an ETC card reader. ETC cards require ownership of a Japanese credit card and provide discounts during certain times of the day and week. Short term visitors to Japan can acquire ETC cards temporarily from some rental car outlets.

The table below shows approximate costs for a regular vehicle between selected major cities. Lower rates apply to light vehicles and motorcycles, while higher rates apply to trucks, buses and trailers.

Approximate Tolls (in yen):

	Kagoshima	Fukuoka	Hiroshima	Osaka	Kyoto	Nagoya	Aomori
Tokyo	27,500	23,000	17,000	12,000	10,500	8,000	14,000
Aomori	39,000	34,000	28,500	23,000	22,000	20,500
Nagoya	21,000	16,000	10,500	3,500	3,500
Kyoto	18,500	13,500	8,000	2,000
Osaka	18,000	13,000	7,500
Hiroshima	11,500	6,500
Fukuoka	6,000

Approximate Travel Distance:

	Kagoshima	Fukuoka	Hiroshima	Osaka	Kyoto	Nagoya	Aomori
Tokyo	1400km	1100km	850km	550km	500km	350km	700km
Aomori	2050km	1800km	1500km	1200km	1150km	1050km
Nagoya	1050km	800km	500km	200km	150km
Kyoto	900km	650km	350km	50km
Osaka	1000km	700km	450km
Hiroshima	550km	300km
Fukuoka	300km

Four public corporations were formerly in charge of expressway construction and maintenance. However, in 2005, the public corporations were restructured into the following six private companies:

• East Nippon Expressway (Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto)
• Central Nippon Expressway (Kanto, Chubu)
• West Nippon Expressway (Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu)
• Metropolitan Expressway (metropolitan Tokyo)
• Hanshin Expressway (Osaka and Kobe)
• Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway (between Shikoku and Honshu)