Japan on an Irish Licence — No Side Switch, and Your IDP Actually Works

Most visitors to Japan spend their first day fighting the side of the road. Irish drivers get to skip that fight entirely — and that’s the real headline here.

Both Ireland and Japan drive on the left. The reflex that trips up American, German or French tourists — looking the wrong way, drifting into the wrong lane out of a car park — never kicks in for you. Roundabouts flow the way you expect, the driver sits on the right, and overtaking happens on the side your instincts already know. It’s a genuine, underrated comfort that lets you focus on everything else Japan does differently.

The second piece of good luck is the paperwork. Japan recognises only the 1949 Geneva Convention International Driving Permit, and several EU countries issue the newer 1968 Vienna version that Japan flatly rejects — German and Swiss drivers, for instance, get caught out by this. Ireland issues the Geneva permit, the right one, so your IDP works at any Japanese rental desk. Carry it together with your Irish licence and passport; it’s valid for up to a year. If you want certainty before booking, the Driving Permit Checker confirms it.

What does take adjusting is pace. Japanese speed limits sit well below Irish norms: towns are signed at 40 km/h, ordinary roads at 60, and even expressways top out near 100 km/h against the 120 you’re used to at home. Enforcement is relentless and camera-driven — fixed gantries plus unmarked mobile units — with very little tolerance. Around 10 km/h over costs roughly JPY 9,000 (≈ €55) and a penalty point; size up a specific overage on the speeding fine calculator. Expressway tolls are also steep, so budget for them on any long leg.

Alcohol is stricter than home, too. Japan’s limit is 0.03 BAC versus Ireland’s 0.05, and it’s enforced as a serious crime rather than a fine — licence confiscation on the spot, with detention possible. Don’t drink anything before driving.

Practical notes: the car must carry a warning triangle, petrol runs about $1.35/litre, and the emergency numbers are 110 for police, 119 for ambulance and fire. Kanji-heavy signage is the main day-to-day friction, so good offline maps earn their keep. For regional detail, see our Japan driving guide.