Can a Japanese Driver Drive in Greece? — IDP Recommended + the Side Switch

Greece is one of the great self-drive countries — the islands reward a car, and the mainland mountains are off-limits to anyone relying on buses. For a Japanese visitor the licence question has a clean answer, but there is one habit you’ll need to break on day one.

The verdict: yes, with an IDP in your pocket

A Japanese licence holder can drive in Greece. Your licence is accepted for tourist visits, and an International Driving Permit is recommended to carry alongside it. The IDP is not always demanded by police, but car-hire desks frequently ask for one, and it spares you any argument over a non-Latin-script licence. Arrange it in Japan before departure — you can’t buy one once you land.

The real adjustment: Greece drives on the right

This is the thing that actually trips up Japanese drivers, and it has nothing to do with paperwork. Japan drives on the left; Greece drives on the right. Every instinct you have at a junction, a roundabout or a petrol-station exit is now mirrored. The first hour is when mistakes happen — pulling out onto the wrong side, glancing the wrong way before a turn. Pick up the car somewhere quiet rather than in central Athens, and stay deliberate until right-hand traffic stops feeling strange.

Roads, speeds and the bits the numbers don’t show

Limits are 50 km/h in towns, 90 on the open road and 130 on the motorway. The figures are ordinary; the conditions are what catch people. Greek road quality varies a lot, drivers can be assertive, and once you’re off the toll motorways you’ll meet mountain roads with tight bends and the occasional ferry timetable to plan around. Drive to the road in front of you, not to the sign. A typical 10 km/h overspeed costs around EUR 40, and both fixed and mobile cameras are in use.

On drink-driving, Greece sits at 0.05 BAC — looser than Japan’s 0.03, but not a licence to relax; treat it as zero before you drive.

Before you collect the keys, check the full picture on our Greece driving guide, confirm your documents with the Driving Permit Checker, and price any penalty with the Speeding Fine Calculator. The emergency number across Greece is 112.