Why Are Visitors Afraid to Drive in Japan?
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2024
- Driving in Japan can be a daunting experience for foreigners, especially if you're not used to driving on the left side of the road. But with a little preparation and some common sense, you can navigate the Japanese roads with ease. Speed limits are strictly enforced in Japan, so be sure to obey them. The speed limit on highways is usually 100 km/h, and the speed limit on normal roads is usually 60 km/h.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
00:00 Why are Visitors Scared of Driving in Japan?
00:41 1. Navigation System to Drive in Japan
02:34 2. Driving on the Left-Hand Traffic in Japan
03:09 3. Driving on Narrow Roads in Japan
04:05 4. Parking your Car in Japan
05:28 5. Traffic Lights in Japan
06:07 6. Driving on Mountain Roads in Japan
06:46 7. One-way Streets in Japan
07:16 8. Driving on Japan's Highways and Toll Roads
08:08 9. Driving around Road Construction in Japan
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Great video ! You explain how to drive in Japan so well, lots of useful info with video footage. I'm impressed at your driving skills. Thanks Chris
This was definitely confusing but helpful. I’m thinking about renting a car we I go in the fall
I highly recommend driving in Japan. It's a unique experience and something you don't get by travelling in Shinkansen
Thanks! You just drove through the area that I intended to visit. Thanks a lot!
These are great things to keep in mind for when I end up visiting Japan someday. Fortunately I've had experience with driving on the left and on narrow roads when I've rented a car twice in the UK. I found that after the first hour (less than that during the second trip) that it became more natural.
I have been waiting for you to make this video. Thank you for it! It was really informative but I think it might have convinced me not to drive in Japan although I would LOVE to explore freely the countryside.
What a beautiful country. Lovely video. Thanks Chris for all your efforts. Does little princess enjoys visiting Japan?❤
Our princess loved Japan!
Man, you are right about how crazy the drivers are through the windy mountain roads! I went on a trip through the mountains of Yamagata with a friend of my homestay family, and the father was driving so fast through each turn, the tires would screech loudly! I thought I was going to die!😱😆
Hi Chris. Great video on driving in Japan. I believe this will help ease some of the anxieties people have about driving in Japan. Those toll booths are very confusing indeed. Thanks for sharing and take care.
Thanks James!
What is confusing you about Japanese toll booths?
Great driving video from Japan.
Thanks for the video. This is super scary stuff. Another video I saw showed how most accidents in Japan involve pedestrians, bicycles, and motorbikes in crowded areas. I could totally see myself hitting someone in these situations. I think that we'll stick to public transportation and taxis...
What do you mean, backing in a parking space is lot better, that itself is not difficult, and makes it 10x easier to get out.
At least in the USA I would say most drivers are not used to backing in to parking spaces. Most people park head in.
Congratulations in not having an accident in the making of this vlog.
I've been to Japan and wouldn't drive there. I'm too chicken. Even walking around Tokyo is confusing. If you're used to streets in a grid fashion and street address numbers numbered sequentially, forget it. I needed to figure out the general direction I wanted to go and hope for the best.
Omg Chris, you must be really smart! My brain would short circuit tryna narrate this video and think about how to drive properly at the same time 😢😢😂😊
I’m driving in Japan right now. I have an off-road modded Jimny so it’s a little tricky being a manual. However, I don’t understand their signals. Luckily I’m following a guide to the trails, but I was hoping you knew what that red with the green arrows meant. We went right through it and it tripped me out.
i was nervous about ETC, but nevermind them just get toll ticket and pay by cash at the exit(some with toll staff some with self service machine booth.)
also study the road using google street calmed me down before hitting the road.
Try driving through a musical road. Pretty cool.
My fear is driving on the other side of the road and car.
Don't forget to purchase insurance!
I'm from Australia going to drive in my first trip to make the best of it and i feel like apart from navigation i will feel pretty at home
Easy for aussies, we are on the same side of the road 🥰
How much did it cost to rent a car in Japan? Where would recommend getting a car from?
I was in Japan 2022 December I rented a car for 3 days but the thing I hate most is parking all parking in Japanese language + there parking lots are complicated.
Their parking lots are definitely over complicated!
The same reason UK citizens crash first day of their driving in USA.
It would be nice if you can explain some of the difficulties. For example when coming to a light with green arrows on the bottom, if the light is red but the direction of the arrow you are going is lit up, I would assume I can still go. But if the arrow is not lit up and the light is also red, I need to stop. But if the light is green, then I can go regardless if the green arrows are lit up or not. Is this correct? And for ETC lanes where you described as the need to pay cash anyway in some cases, wouldn't there be a risk to smash the poll as newbies would just assume a rolling stop then go?
yea srly. "you might see this confusing thing" .... proceeds to not explain what it means. lol now i have to find another video.
I don't think you should drive in Japan if you can't grasp the obvious meaning of the traffic lights.
@@harrygatto nice try buddy. I rented an R34 GTR this winter to go Tsukuba Attack and Daikoku and had no issues at all. And I lived in Japan about a decade ago and had my drivers license in the Osaka region while owning a Toyota Soarer twin turbo and have never had issues driving there. Only asking as a refresher since I haven't driven in Japan for such a long time. But nice try.
@@dennischen8887 Not trying anything, if you can't understand the obvious meaning of the lights as described in your original post then you shouldn't be driving here; try running a red light, having an accident and tell the cops you couldn't understand the meaning of the signal lights, good luck with that. ETC lanes are clearly marked so I don't understand why you think a driver using the non ETC lane would not understand that they had to stop and pay.
R34GTR and a twin turbo Soarer? Are you trying to impress me?
Anyway, I hope we are never sharing the same stretch of road.
@@harrygatto I have never gotten into an accident my entire life. Just asking some simple questions for confirmation. You sure are judgmental. If you cared to read what I wrote, I haven't driven in Japan for 10 years and was simply asking ahead of time to prevent any issues. But no worries, I drove just fine this Jan. You seem like a bitter ole gaijin criticizing everything and everyone especially other foreigners in Japan. Get off your high horse.
Do they ever honk?
This is very similar to driving in New Zealand with a few differences.
NZ is where I first had to drive on the left side (being from Canada). But the difference is that besides the actual driving, the rest was easy because all the signage, parking instructions, etc. was in English.
2:52 for most Audi & BMW drivers, they won't have the issue with indicating turns as they rarely if ever signal a turn back home. 😉
I find the reason most North Americans are afraid to drive in Japan is due to their own lack of driving skill and I respect that so PLEASE DON'T make it seem easy for them when it's NOT EASY! In Japan the rules are much less forgiving than in the USA and Canada. Yes, I know that Mexico is part of North America but that's a whole other topic.
In Japan, the fault in a collision is almost always placed higher on the larger of the two involved so driving a car, you really need to pay attention to the pedestrians, cyclists, scooters and motorcycles. Even if they ran out into the road, you still be part at fault. Yeah, try wrapping your litigious culture around that for a second. Also, don't even think of turning on the music and driving around like you're back home because you're NOT and you will be distracted.
Don't make a left turn at a red light after coming to a stop. You have to wait for a green light or left arrow to make a left turn in Japan.
If you think the Japanese are kind and patient with you as a foreigner so you'll be fine, be aware that the Japanese, not because of road rage, but because of bad habits, tailgate pretty much everywhere and when the inevitable happens, people die especially when there's a large truck involved in the mix. I am talking from nearly 30 years experience in Japan including 39 total years driving in North America, Japan, Europe, the Caribbean and South America.
Here's a check list of things that if they make you unsure of, uncomfortable of or don't do back home, then DON'T drive in Japan.
-- IF you stay, park or camp out in the passing lane (left lane on highways in right side traffic countries) because you don't see the need to keep right, DON'T DRIVE IN JAPAN. DON'T EVEN THINK of brake checking someone in Japan because you WILL BE CHARGED if it leads to any sort of traffic issues, collision, injury and/or death. Practically EVERY vehicle has a camera and if not, there are cameras EVERYWHERE in Japan. Police have a 99% conviction rate in Japan.
-- IF you can't be bothered to study ALL the road signs types, i.e. no parking, no stopping, no u-turn, stop sign, etc., DON'T DRIVE IN JAPAN.
-- IF you must drive around all the time with the music BLARING AS LOUD AS YOU CAN GET IT, please DON'T DRIVE IN JAPAN!
-- IF you must do other things while driving, DON'T even think about driving in Japan because you'll end up being fined if you don't end up injuring or killing someone. Drinking and driving is even worse. When in doubt, use this rule, 24 hours from bottle to throttle. In other words, wait at least 24 hours from your last alcoholic drink until you get behind the wheel. If your were blind passed out drunk, give it two full days and consider your life choices a little better.
-- IF you need a football field wide lane to drive in or get on the horn as soon as someone gets a millimetre into your lane, DON'T DRIVE IN JAPAN. The roads can get VERY NARROW and you'll need to read the traffic flow and know when to go first or wait. You can also very easily roll off the road and into a field which depending on the time of year maybe be flooded like now for rice planting.
-- IF you're useless at backing a vehicle down a VERY NARROW road, DON'T DRIVE IN JAPAN. You'll need to do that at some point and the 'gutters' are open in a lot of places so you can drop a wheel or two into them and be stuck.
If you're renting a car because you'll be going out into the inaka (countryside) be aware that gas stations may not be as easy to find and their hours very limited. The roads are paved but can be challenging and VERY dodgy by North American standards. Speaking of standards, light 'standards', telephone poles are concrete AND are placed sometimes right in your lane of travel so don't expect them to move which means you will need to cross into oncoming traffic sometimes.
Overall, Japan is a very safe place to drive if you know how to drive and can leave your pride and attitude at home. Share the road, be kind to others and don't forget to wave a thank you to other drivers as you are let in or given way. 😊
Wow! Thanks for sharing these extra detailed tips!
Yes, good advice. The last paragraph is extremely important and may save your life or at least keep you out of jail and, believe me, you do not want to get on the wrong side of the law in this country.
I've been driving for 60 years, have had a driving licence in 7 different countries and have lived and driven in Japan for the last 26 years.
For google map, can we attach our phone to the windscreen?
What's answer of Red Light Above + Green Arrow light under? 🤣 Can somebody tell me
Scared of driving cuz seeing supercars overtake very fast
Reverse parking must only be difficult for Americans. Europe and Australia/NZ do it every single day 😁 LoL
As an American myself, most Americans are idiots, when I got my commercial driver's license, the most difficult thing was realizing how dumb everyone else is... Especially other truck drivers...
dont forget your IDP if you want to rent a car in Japan.
Thanks for the reminder
Driving in Japan which is easy but parking not that’s easy.
Parking spaces are tiny!
Nothing difficult about it, most cars have parking sensors or cameras these days anyway.
Visitors are not scared to drive in Japan. Do a research before posting