Japan accepts only a 1949-convention International Driving Permit, which excludes several European licences entirely - they need a Japanese translation instead.
A 1949-convention permit or nothing: this is the country where the paperwork genuinely stops people driving.
- Only the 1949 Geneva permit is valid. Licences from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco, Slovenia, Estonia and Taiwan cannot use one - they need an official Japanese translation from JAF or their embassy, arranged in advance.
- Expressway tolls are high. Tokyo to Osaka costs more than the train, which is why the expressway passes sold to visitors with an ETC card exist and are worth checking.
- The alcohol limit is 0.03 %, enforced as zero tolerance. Penalties extend to the passengers who let a driver drink and to the bar that served them.
- Traffic drives on the left and the car is right-hand drive, which catches drivers from continental Europe and the Americas at every junction for the first hour.
- The cities are the wrong place for a car. Parking is scarce, expensive and reserved; a car earns its keep in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kyushu and the mountains, not in Tokyo.
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