Japan Driving Guide

Renting a car unlocks the Japan that trains can't reach — and then the road starts speaking kanji. Stop signs shaped like nothing back home, parking lots with steel flaps that grab your wheels, three pump colors and a fuel called "light oil" that is definitely not for your little car. This app decodes all of it, completely offline. DRIVE Seventy plain-English entries on how driving here actually works. Driving 101: the left side, what documents you need, the zero-tolerance alcohol rule, real speed limits. Renting: the counter flow, insurance options translated into plain English, why you want the ETC card, kei cars and what actually fits your luggage. Rules of the road: the full-stop culture, railroad crossings, why nobody turns on red, center-line colors, the hazard-light thank-you. Expressways: toll tickets, purple ETC lanes vs green general lanes, service areas worth planning a trip around. City driving, countryside single-lane etiquette, wildlife hours, winter rules — and a calm, step-by-step chapter for accidents, breakdowns and the day you put the wrong fuel in. ROAD SIGN DECODER The 36 signs and road markings that actually matter to a visiting driver, drawn as clear illustrations and filterable by category: the inverted red stop triangle, no-entry circles, the yellow warning diamonds, the mysterious painted white diamond on the asphalt, ETC-lane purple, route-number "rice balls" and more. Tap any sign for what it means — and what to do about it. PARK & FUEL The two stops every driving day includes. Parking Decoder: the kanji on every signboard (full, vacant, monthly-contract, hourly, maximum charge), how flap lots and gate lots work, and why that empty "monthly" lot is not for you. Pump Decoder: the nationwide nozzle colors (red regular, yellow high-octane, green diesel), full-service phrases, self-service walkthrough including the static pad, and the famous kanji trap that puts diesel into kei cars. PRE-DRIVE CHECKLIST Twelve things sorted before you take the wheel — documents, child seats, ETC card, offline maps, cash — with your progress saved on the device. PHRASES 30 sentences for the rental counter, the gas station, parking machines, police stops and trouble. Tap any one for a full-screen version you can simply show. Plus full-text search across the whole guide, and a star list for the things you want to remember. Works on a mountain road with no signal. No account, no ads, no network access, and nothing about you is collected. This is a reference guide — rules change and vary, so posted signs, officials and your rental company always have the final word.