Home
Back

Dear visitor, if you know the answer to this question, please post it. Thank you!

Note that this thread has not been updated in a long time, and its content might not be up-to-date anymore.

Driving in Japan & UK 2007/7/23 21:22
Hi all,

I was wondering what the deal is with driving/hiring a car in Japan. I recently found out that Japanese people can legally drive in England as we drive on the same side of the road as they do. Does it work the other way round as well?

My boyfriend & I are thinking of hiring a car and driving around Japan on our next trip, to get a different experience.

thanks
by furan  

... 2007/7/24 09:09
I recently found out that Japanese people can legally drive in England as we drive on the same side of the road as they do.

The fact that both countries have left-hand traffic is not the reason why Japanese people can drive in England (with an international driving permit).

Here are details about how to drive in Japan. You will need an international driving permit:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2024.html
by Uji rate this post as useful

Driving in Japan 2007/7/24 09:09
Furan,

It's all explained here...

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2022.html
by Dave in Saitama rate this post as useful

Try it, it's fine 2007/8/3 03:08
(Also from the UK) We've rented a car in Japan before, and it was a great experience. We were in Hokkaido, so I'm sure that the level of traffic was light compared to Central Honshu, but the whole process of getting the documentation, checking and signing for the car, etc, was really easy even though we couldn't really say much more than Hello; we've got a reservation; yes, no and thank you.

We had a satnav, which was a huge bonus, because even though we had a good road map, I think it would have been pretty challenging navigating when maps, and lots of road signs, were all in Japanese script.

Roads were good, and other drivers were generally accomodating (more so than in my native London). The car was practically new.
by Winter Visitor rate this post as useful

ta! 2007/8/3 16:30
Oooh, thanks for that, I'd actually been really put off by the info that I'd read, it sounded really difficult, but I'll look into it a little more now, it's definitely something we'd like to do. Failing that, we'll invest in a couple of push bikes! Hehe!
by furan rate this post as useful

reply to this thread