Japan on an Australian Licence — the IDP Catch & a 0.03 Alcohol Cliff

Here is the part most guides bury: Australia and Japan both drive on the left, so the single hardest adjustment for most foreign drivers — the side of the road — simply does not apply to you. The wheel is on the right, you keep left, and the roundabouts turn the way you already expect. That alone makes Japan one of the easier countries for an Australian to take the wheel.

The real obstacle is the licence rule, and it is strict. Japan only recognises an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention. Australia issues exactly that, but your plain Australian licence on its own is not enough — without the IDP you will be turned away at the rental counter, and driving without one is treated as driving unlicensed. Get it from the NRMA, RACV or your state auto club before you leave; it cannot be arranged in Japan.

Alcohol is where Japan is far tougher than home. The limit is 0.03, against Australia’s 0.05, and enforcement is severe — not only the driver but passengers who knowingly let a drinking driver take the wheel, and even the bar that served them, can face penalties. There is no sensible “one beer” margin; if you are driving, don’t drink.

Speeds feel slow after Australian highways — 40 km/h in towns, 60 on rural roads, 100 on expressways — and the expressway tolls are genuinely expensive, often more than the fuel for a long trip, so budget for them. A 10 km/h overshoot runs around JPY 9,000 plus a demerit point. The other quiet challenge is signage: while major routes carry English, side roads and parking signs are kanji-only, so offline maps with Japanese place names saved are worth setting up first. Our Japan driving guide has the toll and signage detail, and the Driving Permit Checker confirms the exact IDP you need. Emergency police is 110.