Spain on a Japanese Licence — The Side Switch Is the Whole Job

Spain is one of the easiest countries in Europe to drive — good motorways, clear signage, and a relaxed pace once you’re out of the cities. For a Japanese visitor that’s mostly good news, because it means the trip comes down to a single real adjustment rather than a long list of hazards.

The one thing that matters: you’re now on the right

Japan drives on the left; Spain drives on the right, and this is the adjustment that actually catches Japanese drivers — not the speed limits, not the signage. The first hour is the danger window. Pulling out of a service station, joining a roundabout that now flows anticlockwise, glancing the wrong way at a T-junction — your reflexes are tuned for the opposite side. Take that first hour somewhere quiet, not the Madrid ring road, and consciously check every turn until right-hand traffic stops feeling alien. After a day it becomes second nature.

The IDP is genuinely required here

This isn’t a tick-box. A Spanish rental desk and the Guardia Civil cannot read a Japanese-only licence, so you carry an International Driving Permit as the certified translation alongside it. Sort it in Japan before departure — you can’t obtain one in Spain. Confirm exactly what you need with our driving permit checker before you book the car.

Speeds, alcohol and the fine

Spanish limits are higher than home — 120 km/h on motorways against Japan’s 100, 90 on rural roads, 50 in town. The alcohol limit is 0.05, looser than Japan’s strict 0.03, but Spain enforces hard, so don’t read the higher number as permission. Camera coverage is among the densest in Europe: speeding about 10 km/h over typically costs EUR 100. You can estimate any penalty with our speeding fine calculator.

Petrol runs about $1.70/litre, the emergency number is 112, and the country-wide rules are on our Spain driving guide. Carry the IDP, your Japanese licence and passport, and keep a warning triangle and reflective vest in the car.