Before you go
This site offers information based on guidance from the police, national government bodies and others, to help you prepare before you drive in Japan (as of September 2026; it isn’t an explanation of the law). Where signs are placed and the rules they set differ from place to place, and they can change. When you drive, follow the signs on site and the official information listed at the end of this article.
You don’t need to learn every sign before you drive in Japan.
In 1963, Japan took much of its road sign system from the United Nations road signs.
This article looks at just three things first.
- A map of shapes and colors
- The two places you stop (止まれ signs and railroad crossings)
- Red lights and arrows
Shape and color tell you what kind of sign it is
A yellow diamond means “watch out ahead.” It uses a black symbol to warn you about roadwork, crosswinds, animals crossing, railroad crossings and so on.
Signs with a red ring on a white background have blue numbers or symbols inside. They show rules, such as speed limits and weight limits.
There are also signs with a white symbol on a blue circle, such as 自動車専用 (“motor vehicles only”) and 歩行者専用 (“pedestrians only”).
A white arrow on a blue background means one-way (一方通行). You can only go in the direction of the arrow. What you see at the exit end of that road is 進入禁止 (“no entry”), a white horizontal bar on a red background (more in “A Mini Japanese Dictionary for Road Signs”).
And then the red upside-down triangle. That’s 止まれ (“stop”).
The two places you stop — learn these first
The National Police Agency’s leaflet for foreign drivers shows 止まれ in a diagram as an example of a sign that differs from the one in your home country, and gives stopping at railroad crossings its own section.
First, 止まれ. It’s the red upside-down triangle. Here, you come to a full stop and check that it’s safe to the left and right.
Second, railroad crossings. Even if the warning signal isn’t sounding, stop before the crossing and check that no train is coming.
Start your preparation with these two.
There’s more in “Japan’s Stop Sign (止まれ)” and “Railroad Crossings in Japan.”
At a red light, you can’t even turn left
At a red light, you can’t go straight, turn right or turn left. Cars turning left stop too, and wait for the light to turn green.
Even at a red light, if a green arrow is showing, you can go in the direction of the arrow. If it’s a right-pointing arrow, you can also make a U-turn.
When the red light is flashing, come to a stop at the stop line before you go on.
At the left edge of the road or on the traffic light, there’s sometimes a plate with a blue left-pointing arrow on a white background. Where there’s one of these plates, you can turn left even on a red or yellow light, while watching out for pedestrians and others around you.
Start with these three
The map of shapes and colors. The two places you stop. Red lights and arrows.
Get these three in your head first, and carry on getting ready for your trip.
For driving on the left, turning right, and crosswalks, see “Your First 10 Minutes Driving in Japan.”
