Tight Travellers

Ey up! We just got back from exploring Japan’s hidden gems, road trip style.

26 days on’t road, 2 tight travellers and 250+ destinations saved!

If you’re planning on hiring a car and getting off the beaten track in Japan. Here’s everything you need to know.

Get Prepared

Starting with before you get there. Make sure you have your international drivers license before you set off, you’ll be scuppered without it! Us British folk can pop down to local shop to get ours. You’ll need a 1949 permit for Japan (these are valid for 12 months).

Driving Etiquette

Being British wins again, driving in Japan is a piece of p*ss. It’s just like driving at home; drive on the left, steering wheel on the right, terrible lane discipline.

Pedestrians always have right of way! Self explanatory.

The Japanese don’t believe in ‘give way’ or roundabouts. Instead, there will be traffic light every 100 yards and more stop signs than you can shake a stick at. Sometimes, there may be 2 stops signs at 1 junction – what a faff.

Always stop and wait for the car in front of you to clear a railway line before crossing. Yes I know, there are barriers to stop traffic when a train is approaching, but this is common practice in Japan.

There is zero tolerance for drinking and driving. This isn’t South East Asia, where tourists think they’re the bollocks jumping on a scooter after a pint.

Toll Roads

Check if your rental comes with an ETC card. These are used for toll roads so you don’t have to fumble about wi’ cash. These just sit in a slot in’t glove box and talk relentlessly, no need to faff with em.

Using an ETC card does give discounts on toll roads, but you also don’t know how much you’re racking up. We recommend you drive the proper tight traveller way and set your Google Maps to ‘avoid tolls’. Enjoy the scenic route!

Filling Up

A lot of the petrol stations we stopped at were full service. Meaning that workers will run outside to greet and direct you to the pump. If inside, open the petrol cap, and let them do the rest. Specify fuel type, just to be safe; ‘mantan’ means full tank, that’s about the extent of our Japanese so make sure to download Google Translate to help you out! It is normal to hand your cash / card over before.

More often than not, they don’t just fuel your car. They will clean your windscreen, or every window if your car is as filthy as ours was. We even managed a free sweet treat at one point!

Roadside Stations

There are many michi-no-eki (roadside stations) across Japan, and they ain’t minging like in the UK. Restaurants, vending machines, clean bogs, onsens, free WiFi, foot baths, coin showers, shops. You name it, they’ve got it!

You can even car camp at these stations for free. Perfect for tight travellers like us. If you do spend the night, note – they tolerate car camping, not camping. Don’t start setting up ya table and chair, start cooking in the car park, and washing pots in’t sink. This is very frowned upon.

Driving in Winter

If, like us, you’re crazy enough to embark on your trip in winter here’s what we learnt on our trip!

Check your insurance policy. For us, we weren’t insured to drive in Hokkaido because of the weather.

Make sure you have everything you need to survive the snow. Our rental was already equipped with snow tires, but we were given snow chains too!

Like with everything else, the Japanese are extremely efficient when it comes to clearing roads. There’s no sheer panic when snow starts falling: abandoning your car on’t main road, clearing supermarket shelves, and bulk buying salt. We drove up North and to the Alps in Feb / March – not a flurry on’t road, yet 6 feet of snow walls at either side.

And that’s everything you need to know, all in one document! If you’re feeling adventurous, check out our free road trip planner or download our digital road trip map!