Thanks for coming back to the Sakura Town Sake Store blog!
Starting today We'll be updating the blog with a slightly different style!
Through this blog, we hope that you will come to love not only sake, but also Japan more. Also hope that you will come visit to Japan and experience wonderful journey in Japan, so we have decided to write articles that will be as useful and informative as possible when you visit Japan :)
Now for the first installment, let's travel to Japan by car.
Dear travelers to Japan!
Would you like to drive a car in Japan?
If you are traveling to the city center such as Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, it is not hard to get around by public transportation. However, If you want to travel to a more rural area, or to a more fascinating part of Japan that is not listed in the guidebooks, you will have a hard time just getting there by public transportation.
Stay tuned for further updates coming soon on how to use public transportation smoothly, how to buy tickets, and hidden spots in the countryside.
Okay, now to the main issue. When you want to drive a car in Japan, you first need a driver's license. But you don't need to worry about this at all.
Japan is a signatory to the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (Geneva,1949), so if you are from a member country, you can drive in Japan by getting an international driver's license issued in your country before leaving for Japan.
However, even if you are allowed to drive, the traffic rules may be very different from those in your country.
Notable differences are as follows
・Japan is a right-hand drive country.
・All cars must stop at red lights. Neither right nor left turns are allowed.
・When a green arrow is displayed at a red light, it is possible to turn in that direction.
・You must always stop before a railroad crossing.
・On-street parking is illegal on most streets.
・Please note that the traffic signal in Japan is placed at the back of the intersection, not at the front.
・The stop signs in Japan are inverted triangles, not hexagons.
There are still differences from country to country, but we have listed some typical examples. We wish you a safe and enjoyable trip to Japan and hope that you will not have any traffic accidents.
Have a beautiful trip!
