How to recognise Japan in Street View
Drives on the left
Japan is a favourite because its clues are consistent and everywhere: the script alone confirms the country in seconds, and the road furniture narrows down the region.
At a glance
- Driving side: Left.
- Language: Japanese, mixing kanji, hiragana and katakana.
- Plates: White for standard cars, yellow for small kei cars, green for commercial.
On the road
- Signs: Blue directional signs with white text, usually with an English translation beneath.
- Snow poles: Roadside poles with downward-pointing chevron arrows are common in the snowy north (Hokkaido and Tohoku).
- Streets: Narrow residential roads often have no kerb, just a painted edge line and a covered drainage channel.
Landscape & architecture
- Mountainous, heavily forested interior with rice paddies in the valleys.
- Dense overhead power and utility lines, even on small streets.
- Low-rise houses with tiled roofs; vending machines are a frequent giveaway.