Turkey on a Japanese Licence — You Switch to the Right, and You Need an IDP

For a Japanese driver, Turkey changes two things at once, and the first is the one that matters most: you cross to the other side of the road. Japan keeps traffic on the left; Turkey is firmly right-hand. Everything that has become automatic — which way you look pulling out, how a roundabout unwinds, where the gear lever and mirrors sit — now runs in reverse.

That switch is most dangerous in the first hour and at low-speed moments: leaving a petrol station, turning across traffic, or glancing the wrong way at a junction. Take your first stretch on a quiet road rather than straight into city traffic, and say the direction out loud at each turn until it sticks. Pick up the car somewhere calm if the rental desk lets you choose.

The second change is paperwork. Turkey requires an International Driving Permit alongside your Japanese licence — arrange it through JAF before you fly, because you cannot get one once you arrive. Carry the IDP, your home licence and your passport together; rental desks and police expect all three. The Driving Permit Checker confirms exactly what your licence needs.

Speeds run higher than Japan across the board — 120 km/h on motorways against your 100, 90 rural and 50 in towns — so you are accelerating into faster traffic on the unfamiliar side. Turkish driving is also assertive: overtaking is bold and Istanbul’s congestion is severe, so leave more room than instinct suggests. Cameras, fixed and mobile, enforce the limits, and roughly 10 km/h over costs about TRY 2,000 (≈ EUR 50); the Speeding Fine Calculator estimates steeper penalties.

The alcohol limit is 0.05, looser than Japan’s strict 0.03, but the safe habit travels well — don’t drink and drive. Fuel is around $1.15/litre and the emergency number is 112. Read the full Turkey driving guide before you set off, and budget that first day for getting comfortable on the right.