Driving in Costa Rica on a Japanese Licence — No IDP, But You Switch Sides

Costa Rica is one of the most rewarding self-drive countries in the Americas, and for a Japanese visitor the documents are simpler than you might expect. The challenge you bring from home is the habit of keeping left.

Can a Japanese licence holder drive in Costa Rica?

Yes — and you do not need an International Driving Permit. A Japanese licence is accepted on its own for a tourist stay; carry your passport alongside it. The paperwork that worries many travellers is genuinely the easy part of this trip.

Crossing from left to right

Japan drives on the left; Costa Rica drives on the right. That is a full side switch, and the riskiest moment is your first day — pulling out of a petrol station, taking a junction, or glancing the wrong way out of habit. Be deliberate: spend the first hour on quiet roads rather than central San José, and consciously check your road position at every turn until right-hand driving stops feeling reversed.

Mountain roads ask more than the rules do

Beyond the side switch, the terrain is the real story. Roads to the coast, volcanoes and the Monteverde cloud forest are narrow, steep and pocked with potholes, with frequent single-lane bridges where you yield to oncoming cars. Many beach routes are unpaved and ford shallow rivers, so a 4x4 is the wise rental choice. Distances are short on the map but slow in practice.

Speed limits suit the conditions — 40 km/h in towns, 60 rural, 100 on the limited fast stretches. The alcohol limit is 0.05, looser than Japan’s 0.03 but still low, and enforced. A speeding fine for around 10 km/h over is CRC 53,000 (≈ EUR 95). Emergencies are 911; fuel sits near $1.28/litre.

Read the full rules on the Costa Rica driving guide, confirm the no-permit position with the Driving Permit Checker, and work out a fine with the Speeding Fine Calculator.