Driving in Hyogo

Road rules

Unlike most countries, Japan drives on the left side of the road (steering wheel on the right side). Those from the UK and some other countries that were once under its influence (i.e. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Jamaica, Ireland etc.) will have no problems adjusting as it is on the same side. Otherwise for those use to driving on the right side, try to always keep this rule in mind. This may come as a challenge at first but you will eventually get use to it.

Another challenge for nearly everyone are the narrow streets and exposed drainage gutters. Use common sense and don’t speed nor try and fit into an area where the probability of getting stuck is high. Not only will you find it hard to backtrack, you may also damage your car. Watch out for the power poles as not all are on the sidewalk and do stick out on the road like a sore thumb.

Speed limits are in kilometers per hour. Officially between 40km to 60km per hour (km/h) while highways and expressways are 70km/h or 80km/h. Speed limits can be as low as 30km/h in residential neighborhoods but this is clearly appropriate as some streets are very narrow. But the vast majority of Japanese drivers don’t adhere to these speed limits since they are ridiculously low. Most drivers follow the “practical/real world speed limit”, which is on average up to 30km/h over the official speed limit. For many, speeding is a way of life, with many cases of overtaking and cutting off other drivers especially in the rural areas. However, in the eyes of the police, speed cameras, and insurance companies, the official speed limits are the only speed limits, and if you get caught, be ready to pay up. Having said this, the police seem to generally permit a variance of 10km/h to 20km/h over the speed limit, though they will be a lot less lenient if you are in an accident. Obviously, keeping to the official speed limit is the safest option all round.

If you are caught speeding, you can expect a fine and a number of traffic violation points to be added to your license. If you are in an accident you will also receive points. The points are on record for one year, and are then cleared. However, if you collect six or more within a year your license will be revoked for 30 days. Also, if you are caught at more than 30km over the prescribed limit, you will receive a heavy fine and your license may be revoked. Both of these events will have serious repercussions at your school and your CO. Remember, you’re employed as a public servant and are supposed to be examples of good conduct to the public. If you are caught speeding at 40km over the limit, you could face a criminal charge.

Most rules of the road are probably the same as in your home countries, but there are a few notable exceptions:

• Flashing yellow light: This means ‘Give Way’. You should slow down, and then carry on through if traffic is clear. Many Japanese drivers speed through these like the lights are out, but be aware that occasional late night police checks will ticket you ¥70,000 if you run through a yellow without slowing down.
• Flashing red light: This means ‘Stop’. You should come to a complete stop once. Many Japanese drivers treat this as a give way sign, but it is in fact a stop sign.
• Especially in the rural areas, normal traffic lights in the day time will change to flashing yellow or flashing red signals at night.
• Unless there is clear signage and markings, there is no legal parking on the side of the road. If you are parked on the roadside, you can be ticketed, towed, or even arrested depending on where it was. Every piece of land in Japan is accounted for.
• Bicycles have virtually no rules, and will often ride upstream into on-coming traffic, at night and without lights. Be wary and slow down.

Road Types

Getting around will seem pretty daunting at first. For tips on navigating your local area, talk to renewing JETs, your predecessor, and the locals. The road system in Japan is fairly straightforward, and the roads are broken down into the following categories:

• Local roads: Free, single lane, can be slow, windy, and full of traffic.
• Prefectural road (都道府県度): Can be local and arterial roads which handles more traffic at times and connect different towns/cities across the prefecture. They are indicated by a blue hexagonal signs with 県道 on the top, number in the middle and prefecture name at the bottom. In Osaka and Kyoto, you will see 府道, Tokyo 都道 and Hokkaido 道道.
• National road (国道): These roads are often the long and main thoroughfares connecting city to city, prefecture to prefecture. They are indicated by a blue roundish sign with 国道 on the top, number in the middle and the word ‘ROUTE’ on the bottom.
• Highways/Bypasses: Can have small toll charges but certain parts are free. They are usually fast flowing, free of traffic lights and usually limited to certain urban areas to skip the urban center itself. They provide the best balance between price, speed and convenience. They have names such as “Himeji Bypass” and “Hamate Bypass”.
• Expressways (高速道路): Fast, convenient and mostly traffic-free. Expressways extend to all corners of Japan and are often have a toll collection point (ETC) at the entry/exit points of the road. These roads are usually indicated with a green rectangle along with the ‘EXX’ (X being a number) and their road signs are in green rather than the usual blue you commonly see. They have names such as “Chugoku Expressway”, “Kitakinki-Toyooka Expressway”, etc. As it can be quite expensive, it is usually cheaper to take the train than to travel long distances on the expressway. But that often means longer travel and wait time and lack of convenience with a car.
• Urban Expressway (都市高速道路): These roads usually cover around the major urban centers for easy access but come with heavy toll charges. These roads are indicated by green shield with a number in the middle (sometimes a letter comes before) and the name of the road above (i.e. 神戸線 and 新神戸トンネル). Although a massive time saver, you can save a lot of money by avoiding these roads.

Traffic Information

• JARTIC has a good site for getting very detailed traffic information on the expressways and major highways in Kobe & Osaka.
• NEXCO (the major operator of Japan expressways) offers a similar site called iHighway that also features traffic cameras.
• DoRaToRa is also another traffic site that is easy to use and understand with English and other languages available.

The Himeji Bypass

• If you’re coming from the Harima area (west of Kobe), the Himeji Bypass, also known as the Kakogawa Bypass and Dani-Shinmei Road, runs between Himeji and Kobe. The name changes as it passes Kakogawa, and from Akashi it is called the Dani-Shinmei, but keep in mind that it’s still the same road.
• It is usually fast and free flowing, but is prone to traffic jams during holiday periods such as Obon, New Years, and Golden Week.
• Onramps for the Himeji Bypass can be hard to find, especially coming out of Kobe. In Himeji, the onramp is to the south of the castle, between Himeji Station and Himeji Port. In Kobe the onramp is at the western end of Prefectural Route 21 in Tarumi-ku. Route 21 runs parallel to National Route 2, but one block northward. Don’t try to follow Route 2 in search of the bypass, as you will end up on a very slow road to Himeji.
• There are also connections to it from the Bantan Renraku Road (E95) just east of Himeji and the San’yo Expressway (E2) around Tatsuno/Taishi.
• The road runs almost parallel directly north of National Route 2.
• The road is partially tolled, with kei cars being charged ¥390 and regular cars at ¥480 (from Himeji JCT to Myodani IC).

National Route 2

• National Route 2 runs from through the southern part of Hyogo, going all the way from Osaka to Fukuoka, passing through major areas like Amagasaki, Nishinomiya, Kobe, Akashi, Kakogawa and Himeji.
• As it’s a major arterial road, it can be slow with heavy traffic jams especially during peak hours.
• No toll charges.

Expressways

There are of course numerous roads into Kobe, but for those who live a long way off, the Chugoku (E2A), Sanyo (E2), and Maizuru-Wakasa (E27) Expressways are the fastest and easiest ways to get to Kobe. Though they are convenient, fast, and traffic free, they can also be very expensive. If you also have an ETC card, there will be a slight discount during weekends.

Coming east on the E2 Sanyo (山陽自動車道) (coming from Osaka, Kyoto along the E1 or E2A)

• From Kobe Junction (神戸JCT), continue along the E2 Sanyo (山陽自動車道) and take the Kobe-Kita Interchange (神戸北IC). This is a small turn off which comes up quickly on your left – don’t miss it or you will have to drive a long way to turn around. Continue onto 六甲北有料道路 (rokko-kita-yuuryou-douro) or “Rokko Kita Toll Road”, heading towards Sannomiya and Mt. Rokko.

Coming south on the E27 Maizuru-Wakasa (舞鶴若狭自動車道)
(coming from Tajima region (off the E72), Tamba, Tamba-Sasayama, Sanda)

• Coming from the Tajima area (Toyooka and surrounds), take the E72 Kitakinki-Toyooka (北近畿豊岡自動車道) and at Kasuga Junction (春日JCT) merge onto the E27 Maizuru-Wakasa (舞鶴若狭自動車道) heading towards Osaka/Hiroshima.
• At the Yokawa Junction (吉川JCT) merge onto the E2A Chugoku Expressway (中国自動車道) heading towards Osaka. Take the next exit at the Kobe-Sanda Interchange (神戸三田IC). Continue onto 六甲北有料道路 (rokko-kita-yuuryou-douro) or “Rokko Kita Toll Road”, heading towards Sannomiya and Mt. Rokko.

Coming west on the E2 Chugoku (中国自動車道) (from Harima region)

• Take the Kobe-Kita Interchange (神戸北IC) which is the last exit before the major Kobe Junction (神戸JCT) that connects with other expressways.
• After you get off the expressway, pay the toll at the exit gate, and then take a right at the fork heading for Mt. Rokko and Sannomiya. This is the 六甲北有料道路 (rokko-kita-yuuryou-douro) or “Rokko Kita Toll Road”.

六甲北有料道路-Rokko Kita Toll Road

• When exiting any of the above mentioned expressways, this is the road to follow to get to Kobe. Follow the road for a while, ignoring all of the turn offs. You’ll need to pay a couple of minimal tollgates.
• You will next come to Urban Expressway Route 7, with a green shield saying “Hanshin 7” and a right-side turnoff. If you take this exit, you will end up in Suma-ku (about 20 minutes west of Sannomiya). This is a good way to get to the bridge to Awaji Island and is also a shortcut to Suzurandai.
• If you are going to Sannomiya, do not take this turnoff and continue on the same road, following the signs to Rokko and Sannomiya.
• You will have the choice of two tunnels, the Rokko Tunnel (六甲山トンネル) or the Shin-Kobe Tunnel (新神戸トンネル).
• The Rokko Tunnel is less expensive but not as convenient as the Shin-Kobe Tunnel. The Rokko Tunnel will drop you in Nada-ku, quite east of downtown Kobe. It’s then a long 20 min drive into Sannomiya along National Route 2.
• The Shin-Kobe Tunnel is more expensive, but it drops you in central Kobe about 5 minutes from Sannomiya. This is the most direct way into Kobe.

For additional information on navigating expressways, see the NEXCO West site.

Parking in Kobe

• There is NO free parking in Kobe (well kind of). Either you pay around ¥1000 per day at a car park or make friends with a Kobe-ite so you can use them for their parking space (hope that they have one).
  • The exception is to park over at IKEA Kobe on Port Island for free during store opening hours (until 7pm during weekdays, 8pm during weekends) and take the Port Liner back to Sannomiya Station.
• Kobe Police are quite alert and will tow and fine you! You can even be arrested for parking illegally in Japan, so use your head. And remember that every piece of land in Kobe is accounted for!
• Parking overnight in outlying suburbs or neighboring cities can be less risky.
• Police clear roads in central Kobe at about 6 am.
• If you are driving from Himeji to Kobe, it is usually cheaper and/or more convenient to just park in Himeji and take the train into town.

Parking in Himeji

• There are a lot of cheap parking garages in Himeji, and it’s small and fairly easy to drive around.
• There are some cheap car parks within walking distance of Himeji Station, ranging between ¥400 to ¥600 a day. You can find some for ¥300 as long as you come back before 6pm.
• Watch out during peak periods such as festivals as parking becomes even scarce.

My BoE won’t let me drive!

It is important to realize that more than anything else your contracting organization (CO) feels responsible for your well being and are often afraid that something bad will happen. We are all adults, but accidents do happen and people here do feel responsible for us. Quite a while ago, there was a serious car accident involving two JETs from Hyogo Prefecture. One of those JETs was killed. The other had a cracked skull. Because of events like these, some COs are wary of letting you drive.

As far as the technical question goes, CLAIR’s official policy is as follows: According to your contract, your school/BOE can tell you not to drive during work hours or commute by car to work, because you are their legal responsibility during that time. In your personal time, as long as you have a valid license and insurance, your school can’t tell you not to drive.

Note: There have been cases in the past where it was stipulated in a JET’s contract that he was not allowed to drive at all. This is extremely rare, but if this clause is in your contract and you signed the contract before coming to Japan, it unfortunately may be difficult to change.

Drink Driving

Most of you have heard by now that drinking and driving is a serious issue in Japan. Still, this is one issue that can not be emphasized enough. We received notices from the Hyogo Board of Education about their policies towards driving after drinking and would result in serious consequences, such as losing your job on JET.

Driving under the influence of alcohol (酒気帯び運転, shuki obi unten)

Driving under the influence is the lesser of Japan’s two drunk driving charges. Even if a driver shows no signs of drunkenness, if the amount of alcohol in their body is greater than the set limit, they are guilty of DUI. The level for DUI is .15 milligrams of alcohol in one liter of exhaled air during a breath test. The penalty for DUI is up to one year in prison or a ¥300,000 fine. In addition, if the breath test shows .15-.24 milligrams per liter, six points are tacked on to the offender’s license resulting in at least an immediate thirty day license suspension. If the breath test shows .25 milligrams per liter or more, thirteen points are tacked on to the offender’s license, resulting in at least a ninety day license suspension.

Driving while intoxicated (酒酔い運転, sake yoi unten)

Driving while intoxicated is the greater of Japan’s two drunk driving charges. Regardless of the amount of alcohol in the blood, if a police officer believes that the driver is not able to drive properly through an assessment of speech or actions, the driver is guilty of DWI. The penalty for DWI is up to three years in prison or a fine of up to ¥500,000. In addition, those convicted of DWI lose their license, and may not apply for a new one for two years.

Drink driving and bicycles

Riding a bicycle is counted as driving a “light vehicle” in the eyes of the law. DUI does not apply to “light vehicles,” so a person riding a bicycle may not be arrested for DUI. However, DWI does apply to light vehicles, so if a bicycle rider is visibly drunk, they can be arrested for DWI.

Driving in Winter, what do I need to prepare?

During winter, snowfall occurs quite frequently, especially in the northern area of Hyogo (Tajima and Tamba). As such, drivers are required to prepare and take certain precautions when driving in the snow. The list below is a helpful guide on what to do.

• Winter tires – studless, as studs are now illegal in Japan. Tread should be soft, with many wide rivulets clearly visible.
  • You cannot use the expressway if you do not have winter tires as there are checkpoints at every onramp or at a service area during heavy snow. Those checking will hand you a certificate if you are deemed to have appropriate tires.
• Use low viscosity winter oil. This makes it easier to start your car.
• Replace wiper blades with snow-blades. Helps in snowstorms.
• Make sure to carry extra anti-freeze. In addition to its regular uses, it can be added to your wiper fluid to prevent ice from building up on your windshield.
• Refuel often to guard against condensation in the fuel tank.
• Do not use your hand break/emergency break when parking – it can seize up and render your car immobile. Just leave the car in parking gear instead.
• Keep a small shovel in your car should you get stuck in the snow away from home.
• Give yourself extra time in the morning before work to clear the snow off your car and/or clear the driveway. It can become quite tiring but the earlier, the less rushed you’ll need to get it done.

Driving in ice and snow:

• When slowing down, especially going downhill, for a manual transmission, try to use the gears more than the breaks. Down shift slowly, well before stop lights, etc. This is called engine breaking and prevents your tires from slipping. If you do this correctly, you shouldn’t need to use your foot brake at all to stop.
• When driving uphill, leave a large amount of space between you and the car in front of you so you never have to come to a complete stop.
• Drive much more slowly than you normally would. Ice and snow seriously reduces your ability to stop.
• On this note, having 4WD helps you accelerate but it does nothing to help you stop. I have seen many a 4X4 spun out in the ditch coming back from the mountains.
• If you must brake suddenly, pump the brake (pushing it up and down rapidly) rather than jamming it. If you do start to slide, take your foot off the brake and try pumping it again. Do not use the handbrake! This will put you in a full slide.
• If you begin to spin, steer the opposite direction that the car is rotating. If the back of the car is rotating to the left (counter-clockwise), steer right. Conversely, if the back of the car is rotating to the right (clockwise), steer left.
• Triple your normal following distances. 10 car lengths is the bare minimum.
• In blizzards and fog, low-beam (dipped lights) give better visibility than high/full beam.
• In blizzards serious enough that you cannot even see you your own hood/bonnet, slow down but do not stop since following cars may collide into you. Only pull over if there is a safe space to do so.
• If you get stuck in ice or snow, and your wheels are spinning, do not push the accelerator hard. This will dig you in deeper. Instead, try to move the car as slowly as possible, using 2nd or 3rd gear on a manual transmission, or change into L gear on a automatic transmission to give you a better chance of gripping. Also try moving to and fro, changing the direction of the wheels, to find some grip. And if all else fails, get out and dig!