Driving in Japan

Armed with my International Driving Permit obtained in the UK, I am able to drive.

In Japan everyone drives automatics on the left side of the road. The roads in the city look very similar so it seems hard to learn where you are based on landmarks. Also people drive slowly in fear of being booked for speeding. The narrow side streets make micro cars very popular since they are narrow and have cheap insurance. Since you can’t make much use of high performance, it seems best to have a practical car that’s good for shopping.

We have a Suzuki Wagon R micro car which has a 660cc petrol engine, 4WD and automatic gearbox. The gear shift is American style using a level near the steering wheel and the parking brake is via a push pedal rather than a hand brake lever.

For me, this car is very slow, easy to drive and very practical since it is a boxy design with a large amount of headroom and the seats fold flat to give a large rear boot space.

Driving on the road is straightforward as long as you look out for the traffic lights which are high up in the air on the far side of a crossing. When you turn at traffic signals, there is often a green light for people to cross the road so you have to watch out for them and wait.

On the side roads, solid lines across the road mean you need to give priority to vehicles coming from the side roads.

In contrast to the UK, cyclists must use the pavement. But they use shopping bikes with bells rather than racers and mountain bikes.

Filling up with fuel is interesting since the attendants shout greetings and offer great cusomer service, wiping down your windows etc.