Driving in Japan

[janita]

Hi,

we will drive in japan from 18 september till 30 september.
I have a few questions

1) is it really only 80 km/h at the highways and 40km/h at smaller ones? And does people really do so or does most people drive faster? Will the police control our speed?

2) where can i see how much the fees are on the highways?

3) as i'm from belgium, my international drive license isn't good enough for Japan. So the JAF need to translate my document in japanese. My ambassade told me they do it rather quickly (max 24h) but i was wondering if this is really 24h or they do it at the exact moment and 30min later we can leave that place and drive eligable.

4) google maps is giving some time how long to drive, is this more or less correct or is there a lot of traffic jam in Japan? Are there some times we better avoid it?

We are not planning to really drive in the big cities. We want to hire a car in Tokyo and return it in Tokyo but these are the only moments driving in Tokyo. Besides that we will be some days in Kyoto, but will only drive to our hotel and back to the road (so not to visit something inside kyoto). We'll visit a lot of other places ofcourse, but this are the only big cities we will do.

Thanks for answering.

[Nyororin]

On the regular roads, yes - they will often enforce the limit. It`s usually 45km/h.
But I would follow the flow of traffic. If everyone is going 60, then go 60.

On the smaller roads, well, I doubt you`ll WANT to go over the limit as some are literally only the width of the car without even enough room to open the doors.

As for the expressway, it`s really anything goes. The posted speed is usually something like 60 - but you will encounter 130+ regularly without any enforcement. However, should you be in an accident over the limit, EVERYTHING will be your responsibility and likely paid out of pocket.

You can easily see the highway fees on Google maps for where you are going. It`s not a flat fee, so changes based on distance.

I don`t know about how the license translation works. Hopefully someone can answer that for you.

Traffic really isn`t as bad as people think. Once outside the city or even in it but not during rush hours, it is pretty clear. The thing with calculations on mapping programs/navigation systems/etc - they calculate based on the posted speed limits. Even when it is normal to go at least 100 on the expressway, it will calculate at 60, etc.

[MMM]

Just curious, janita, why the need to rent a car? Are you going places trains don't go?

[Firebird]

1) the limits are low and as Nyorin stated you would not want to drive faster on some of the smaller roads. People do usually drive faster than the limit. I haven´t seen a speed control in my month driving in Japan bu i didn´t risk beeing fined because i don´t know how much the fines are. I guess go with the flow and keep the limit in high traffic areas on the outskirts of big towns.

2)I have only been on the highway once so i don´t know. Highways are expensive so i tried to avoid them.

3)My license was translated in like 2 hours but my situation was different. I got my original license stolen and had sent a new one directly to the ambassy, the day it arrived i could pick it up with the translation, so i guess there are ready to print quickly. But i´m not 100% sure how long you will have to wait. I´ve never gor checked by the way (but i wouldn´t want to drive without either).

4) There are traffic jams around the big citys during morning and afternoon rush hours and during Holidays. Anywhere outside the huge citys i didn´t have problems (even Hiroshima was ok). Generally i´d say you should be alright.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by MMM

Just curious, janita, why the need to rent a car? Are you going places trains don't go?

I know that you are a huge fan of the train service, and push it whenever travel in Japan comes up...
But in some cases it is a LOT cheaper to rent a car, plus you get the freedom that you do not with a train. Most of Japan outside of the cities does not have train service.
Imagine a 4 person family renting a car for the day to travel from, say, Tokyo to Nagano. That`s 9000 a person - but a car is 10000/day at the high end.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

I know that you are a huge fan of the train service, and push it whenever travel in Japan comes up...
But in some cases it is a LOT cheaper to rent a car, plus you get the freedom that you do not with a train. Most of Japan outside of the cities does not have train service.
Imagine a 4 person family renting a car for the day to travel from, say, Tokyo to Nagano. That`s 9000 a person - but a car is 10000/day at the high end.

That's why I asked the question. Yes, a car can give you more freedom, but it can also be a headache. They drive on the other side of the road in Belgium. There is the car rental, but there is also highway fees, gas, parking, etc. that has to be paid for. Not to mention navigating the highways in an unfamiliar country.

I think sometimes people aren't aware how advanced and easy the metro Japanese train systems are.

[GoNative]

Up here in Hokkaido the speed limit on most roads is 50 or 60. On the toll roads it's normally 80 though I've done up to 140 and still had people overtake me. I've found that if I stay under 20 over the speed limit I don't get pulled up or set off cameras.
I've been pulled over for speeding a few times but just act as though I can't speak a word of Japanese and just repeat sorry in english. Every time the cop has just tried to tell me in english to slow down and let me go.
Did get done going 31 over the limit with a speed camera once and had to go to court to get my fine. Thing is it's just impossible on good, open country roads to just sit on 50 km an hour!! It's a ridiculous speed limit.

[steven]

Jeez... you know, I drive every day but I have no idea where to start on this.

Driving through Japanese cities can be a very stressful and confusing experience (driving through any city is like that for me though). Your car will most likely come with a navigation, but I doubt it will speak/read in anything but Japanese. To type in a location you at least have to know hiragana, but just knowing that would probably make it impossible. Inputing phone numbers is going to be your best bet for that.

In my experience MOST people drive faster than the posted limits. Some people go exactly that speed and some people might even go slower. On the toll roads, like Nyororin hinted at, anything does go. You will occasionally get stuck behind someone going like 60 or you might have someone behind you who wants to go 180 (which is uncommon, but they do exist). I'd say a good, but fast speed, to go on the toll roads would be around 100-120. It's kind of an unspoken rule that going past 120 has bigger consequences if you get caught. Another thing, entering big cities can be a dangerous affair. You will often hit a brick wall of traffic in that you might go from 120 to 0 VERY quickly.

Look out for hazard lights (or emergency lights or whatever you want to call them)... if you see a lot of cars in front of you doing that then it means you need to slow down because traffic has stopped up ahead. This is especially important to pay attention to in tunnels or around curves. A quick hazard light flash usually means "thanks for letting me in" or "I'm sorry" and stuff like that.

I'm not sure about the logistics of doing so, but see if you can't get an ETC card or something like that... that will allow you to not have to stop at toll road gates and will also provide discounts. For example, on the weekends you can go any distance (on a given road) for 1000 yen, which is fairly cheap. Otherwise you're looking at high costs... I've never done it, but I'd guess one way from Tokyo to Nagoya (maybe Nyororin knows about this) would cost about 4000-5000 yen. From Nagoya to Osaka maybe about the same. Some roads do cost more than others, and in big cities you have multiple options. Some roads you CAN'T use your ETC card... so it's a good idea to keep some change in the car just in case (which I'm sure you'll have plenty of while travelling).

As far as the reality of time/distance and what is written on google maps/navigation systems, I have found that it usually takes LONGER in BIG CITIES and LESS TIME in the COUNTRY SIDE. This has to do with traffic and traffic lights. I think my navigation system has some how figured out my average speed on toll roads so its estimations have improved recently. So if you decide to use your navigation depending on whether or not the person who drove the car before you was fast could change the time estimates it gives you.

My driving experience has led me to beleive that there will be a traffic jam MOST of the time at all hours of the day when entering a big city. I've driven at ungodly hours and still ran into that "wall of traffic" that I was talking about earlier. Sometimes it's not there, though... so you never know. Usually the "wall" lasts longer on weekends/holidays.

If I were you, I'd really study the rulebooks (if you can find any) as they might save you from making a mistake (which wouldn't be a mistake in your own country) that could cost you time and money.

This is very important:
There's NO drinking and driving in Japan. I'm sure you've read about it before, but this is serious. I can't imagine what would happen to you if you were to be caught. I'd imagine you'd be sent home and not allowed back to Japan or something to that degree. Plus you'd probably have to deal with the embassy and all kinds of fines and apologies and the whole nine yards. When I say "drinking and driving" I don't mean sippin' a beer while behind the wheel, I mean like having a beer for lunch and then going for the drive hours later in the afternoon. They are seriously super strict here about that. This is the ONE bad thing about driving while travelling in my opinion. If you want to have a drink you honestly can't.

And just for a little warning, Japanese rental cars are gross... they are "clean", but they seriously reek of cigarettes... like honestly. I'd imagine even someone who smokes feeling sick sitting in one of those cars. Even if you get a "non-smoking" car, it will still smell of cigarettes... just to a slightly lesser (mroe tolerable) degree. I can't imagine any harm would be done by doing so, so you might just want to make sure you get a "non-smoking" car... even IF you smoke. It might cost you a little bit more, but it could save you and whoever rides with you a huge headache.

"I think sometimes people aren't aware how advanced and easy the metro Japanese train systems are."

While I agree with the overall sentiment that using train would be a better thing to do, I have to admit that there are some things about it that aren't as good as driving. (although while traveling the good outweighs the bad).

1. Even though it's fairly simple and in English, it is STILL stressfull (less stressful than driving in a city, more stressful than driving outside of a city).

2. Carrying heavy luggage in a train/subway is a pain in the...kaboos. (but this can be fixed by using "kuroneko/black cat" or any similar mail service, which are very cheap)

3. They're expensive (even with a pass... a car is cheaper)

4. Sometimes a car is faster (for example Nagoya to where I live is about a 2 hour dive. Taking the train would cost I don't know how many times more and take about 3-4 hours).

5. You're generally stuck to wherever the rails take you (although the pass does include some busses and other public trans I think)

6. You can fall asleep and miss your stop

7. You can get separated from someone (although if you're responsible and careful this probably won't happen)

8. Train stations (in big cities) can be crowded and hot.

9. Sometimes you have to run through a train station to catch a train

But to be honest, MMM is pretty much on the money. While I've heard of some of these things i just listed being factors in peoples' travels, I'm sure they are in the minority. Most of the time it's smooth sailing. Pretty much everything is in English and the employees are very good at speaking English (even in the countryside they're generally pretty good... although I'm not sure if the guy who works the gate in my town can even speak Japanese... or is even living for that matter... I think he's not a people person, which is very uncommon for JR, which has great employees in my experience). If I were to list all of the dangers or downsides of driving in Japan while traveling from another country, I could go on for days!

[janita]

Well, thanks for all this information.

We are going by car because it gives more freedom. If we would stay 50% of the time or more in big cities, we wouldn't rent a car, but we are leaving tokyo the moment we receive the car (first spend 2 days in tokyo without a car) and return the car the moment we arrive back in tokyo.
I'm pretty sure we can do most stuff by train, but i believe it's sometimes easier by car.

About the no drinking, no driving rule ... I don't drink ;-) and i'm pretty sure my boyfriend also won't drink the day he's driving, so that's not a problem.

We are watching for using our gps system from belgium and buying a japanese cart. Like this we can have the information in our language or in english.

@Nyororin : in my google maps it isn't noted down how much the fees are for highways. I see that the green roads are highways and the yellow aren't. And when i type from "tokyo to kyoto" (just to give an example) google maps is telling me we have to pay a fee but it's not telling me how much.

[GoNative]

Up here in the little town I live in to be honest we drink and drive all the time. I'm not talking about getting drunk but a beer or two over dinner and then driving home is pretty much normal. Certainly would be stuffed if we got caught but in around 6 years of driving up here I have never been pulled over to test for alchohol. One of the benefits of being in a little town up on inaka island I guess!