Skills in Japan: Ten Tips for Driving in Japan
On the road between Fukushima and Niigata Prefectures, August 2019.
After a long application process and lots of waiting, you finally discover you are going on the JET Program to teach English and experience Japan firsthand. At last, you are moving to the land of great public transportation, which can take you anywhere you need to go around the country. Or so you thought. Surprise! You are going where no tourists on trains and buses have gone before. You are told you will have to drive for your placement. What about bicycles? Nope, that’s impossible and dangerous in the snowy winter, which by the way lasts nearly half the year. Well, you will not let this little glitch in your plans stop you, and you eagerly continue submitting the acceptance documents for your new life.
Around this time three years ago, I was getting excited and ready to go to Japan. Over a month before I left for my new job, I learned that I would need to drive myself to work for my placement. Despite the slight sinking feeling, I went ahead and bought the convenient car from my predecessor. This feeling stemmed from my lack of experience. I had never owned a car, rarely drove since I started college, and had not been on a freeway since my driving test when I was sixteen. Now I would have to navigate my lack of driving experience on the left side of narrow, winding roads in Japan.
It’s been over two years now. I’m not ashamed to say I still fear driving on freeways and at the speeds and heavy traffic of highways in the US. If I tried driving there, I cannot guarantee I won’t become confused and start driving on the left side of the road. But I can proudly say that I have little fear of driving in Japan, navigating roads that seem impossible for two cars to pass, creeping out of blind corners while trying to see through fogged-up street mirrors, and taking my turn to cross countryside bridges. Just don’t ask me to drive in a major city like Tokyo or Osaka. I’ll brave the wildlife and tractors of the country roads anytime.
If you are considering getting a car in Japan or trying out driving a rental car, here are ten tips from my experience and people I have talked with since coming to Japan. Whether you are coming on the JET Program or for some other purpose, I hope you find something helpful.
If you are applying to the JET Program, before you are even accepted, you need to consider the question of whether you will drive or not. When I applied, there was a checkbox that asked if I had a license and am willing to drive. If you have a license but are thinking “I hate driving. I want to go to Japan so I don’t have to drive to work!” then do not check that box. If you tell them you are willing to drive, there is a chance you will have to drive or at least it may be challenging if you cannot drive. It will not affect your acceptance into the program. It may just change where you are placed.
You may want an international driving permit even if you are not sure about getting a car right away. With this permit alongside your home country license, you can legally drive in Japan for one year. This includes rental cars if you want to go on a trip somewhere with limited public transportation. You never know what will change once you come to Japan. These days, I enjoy driving. Now that’s a big change from my college life. I’m glad I came prepared for the change.
You will hit the side mirror at least once in the first month. Until you get used to the dimensions of your own car in relation to the narrow roads and awkward power and light poles that stick out into the road, there is a great danger of hitting some part of your car. My second week of driving, another car was coming towards me on a too-narrow road, so I slowed down and edged closer to the side to let them pass. I went too far. Luckily the mirror was just bent inward, and I only had to bend it back. I’ve heard worse outcomes from this situation.
Beware the “gaijin traps.” Gaijin trap is the name my friends give to the ditches alongside roads everywhere that are the perfect size for your car wheels to get stuck. Being a gaijin, or “foreigner” in Japanese, we are not used to things that are not as common in our home countries, such as these ditches, so we are not prepared to evade them. I suppose these troughs keep the road from flooding, so they are not there purposely to trick us, except the ones on country and forest roads that are covered up by undergrowth, hiding their dangerous depths. Never trust the side of the road unless you can see the solid cement.
Learn to use the mirrors. They are not always clean and are sometimes foggy, but a lot of blind corners and sharp curves in Japan have mirrors so you can see if traffic is coming before pulling out. I was not used to such contraptions, but now I know how to use my own judgment when driving and make the most of the distorted reflections in the mirrors. I just had to get used to them.
You must learn to back-up at most parking lots. I had a roommate in college who always did this (note: she was not Japanese), and we thought it was strange. Then I came to Japan, and discovered not backing in is strange. There is an exception: Pull in at convenience stores. Is it the shape of the convenience store parking lots that discourages backing into spots? Or is it quicker to pull in and back out compared to back in and pull out? I suppose there is a reason for it, but I also suspect part of it is habit. That’s just how it is done here. Learn to properly reverse your car into parking spots for everywhere else if you want your car to fit in.
Figure out how to defog your car before driving on a humid, rainy day. My second week here, incidentally around the same time I also bent my side mirror against a light pole, I had to pull over, avoiding the gaijin trap, to wipe down my windshield and figure out the heating system and defog button. Obviously, I was not used to driving and certainly not in high humidity. There was another time last year when I entered a tunnel in Yamagata prefecture on a hot, sunny day, and came out in Fukushima prefecture in pouring rain. My windows instantly fogged up after coming out of the tunnel, and I had to find a safe pull-out to wipe them down because the defog was not doing it quick enough. Always be prepared with defog wipes you can buy in most home stores.
The driving test is a whole other article on its own, but for now I’ll just say that if you are from the US, except for a few chosen lucky states, you will have to take a practical driving test to get a Japanese license. If you plan to get a Japanese license and keep driving in Japan after your international permit expires, be prepared to exaggerate and up your acting game during the driving test. You not only need to search for invisible kids on the not-actually-blind-corners of the driving range test, you need to show that you are looking carefully. Don’t pull a muscle when turning your head sharply and leaning forward enough to prove to the instructor that you are looking for what may not be there.
Don’t expect to pass the first time of the test. The first time I took it, the car they gave me was hard to control. I had to go super slow, but this car’s accelerator wouldn’t move unless I pushed harder, at which point it suddenly would jerk forward. I suspect them of doing this on purpose to throw off my ability to perform the test well. The second time, incidentally, I drove a much smoother car. Along the same lines, take the second test on your birthday. It was probably just coincidence, but the second time I took that blasted test happened to be on my birthday, and the test instructor said “Happy birthday. Goukakushita (‘you passed’)” before giving me the documents to finish up the license transfer process.
If you can, wait to get a car. Moving to Japan may change or at least temporarily throw off your usual habits and lifestyle. Wait until you adjust and are sure you want a car. I did not try this myself because of my work situation, but I know some people who decided to first explore their area on foot and use public transportation before making the decision to get a car. Owning a car can be one of your biggest expenses in Japan. Give yourself time to make a more informed choice.
Despite my misgivings at first about hearing that I will have to drive in Japan, I have come to appreciate it as one of the perks about my experience here. I did not expect myself to become so attached to being able to stay late at a friend’s house without worrying about the last train or bus, or the ability to freely travel to mountains and less-visited areas of the country. If I did not have a car, would I know the difference? Probably not. I probably would have made the best of my situation without a car and still be enjoying my time here. However, just knowing I learned how to drive in Japan and can get myself to places on my own has given me extra confidence. It also makes me wonder, what other fears might be holding me back from better experiences?
I wish you luck with your own car experiences in Japan.
By Kate Linsley