Question to experienced drivers in Japan about engine idling and parking

**Context:**

I just finished doing my Driver’s Licence Conversion (外免切替) exam in Tokyo and now have a Japanese driver’s license. The driving lessons were extremely helpful in teaching me how to operate the car but not so much on how to handle real traffic / road. The other day I rented a car alone just to go driving around in the neighborhood to get a feel for driving on an actual road as oppose to a not-so-realistic driving practice course.

**Questions:**

**1st question:** When driving around using a car navi, where should I stop if I want to change the car navi’s destination but I’m already in the middle of driving?

I was guessing parking on the side of the street ( 路上駐車 ) but this seems to be very much looked down upon and will most likely get you a ticket. I was also thinking of going to the side of the road and turning on hazard lights but judging by a search on japanlife, no one seems to like people who engine idle on the side of the car with their hazard lights on.

My hometown in America has huge roads so you can easily park near a house or a store and change the destination but in Tokyo, the roads are mostly very narrow so I can’t just easily park as I would in America.

**2nd question:** When getting ready to park, do you use your hazard lights to indicate that you are going to start parking? If not, what do you usually do to indicate that?

10 comments
  1. > no one seems to like people who engine idle on the side of the car with their hazard lights on

    All the J-drivers do it. So feel free to do it too.

    When in Rome…

  2. >1st question: When driving around using a car navi, where should I stop if I want to change the car navi’s destination but I’m already in the middle of driving?

    >I was guessing parking on the side of the street ( 路上駐車 ) but this seems to be very much looked down upon and will most likely get you a ticket. I was also thinking of going to the side of the road and turning on hazard lights but judging by a search on japanlife, no one seems to like people who engine idle on the side of the car with their hazard lights on.

    >My hometown in America has huge roads so you can easily park near a house or a store and change the destination but in Tokyo, the roads are mostly very narrow so I can’t just easily park as I would in America.

    Find a reasonably safe area to pull over and just slap your hazard lights on for a few minutes. As long as you aren’t completely blocking a single lane road then it won’t be an issue. The animosity you see about it is people using it as a chance to sit on their phone and kill time, or have a nap. If you’re just fiddling with the Navi then don’t stress it.

    >2nd question: When getting ready to park, do you use your hazard lights to indicate that you are going to start parking? If not, what do you usually do to indicate that?

    Indicator on the side you are planning to park or hazards will both get your point across, I see both regularly.

  3. Pulling to the side and throwing on your hazards while you adjust your navi is no big deal as long as you aren’t obstructing traffic.

    The people getting the hate are the ones that park there for extended periods (more than a couple of minutes) in no-parking areas, treating their hazard lights like parking ticket repellent.

    > When getting ready to park, do you use your hazard lights to indicate that you are going to start parking?

    It’s a good idea to do so. Not everyone does.

  4. >judging by a search on japanlife, no one seems to like people who engine idle on the side of the car with their hazard lights on

    who is that guy ?
    The car navi doesn’t allow you to operate the monitor when driving so where else can you do it ?

    >When getting ready to park, do you use your hazard lights to indicate that you are going to start parking? If not, what do you usually do to indicate that

    This I am not so sure, usually you have to pull your car to the parking lot to park. So I guess people understand what your business in that area already

    Edit: format

  5. I wouldn’t stop in the road to change your Navi.

    You usually set it before you leave wherever you are. But if I need to make a change while driving, I just wait til I pass a conbini, restaurant, or store and pull into thier parking to fiddle with it.

    Basically just do it anywhere where you would park your car normally, unless you are in the absolute middle of nowhere on a road with good visibility etc. Then use your discretion and make sure you don’t pull over on a blind curve.

  6. As long as you are not blocking traffic on a congested road, stopping temporarily is not frowned upon. It’s much safer than fiddling with your Navi or smartphone while actively driving.

    And there is a difference between 駐車 (parking) and 停車 (pulling over). As long as you keep it below 5 minutes and stay in the car, ready to leave any second an emergency vehicle or some situation requires you to move out, it’s fine. You are not parking. (Waiting for a person who has not yet arrived is legally not considered to be parking, but I’ve never heard of anyone getting caught for that as long as they stay in the car.) If it is a 停車禁止 zone, marked by a cross and not by a slash, then don’t pull over to stop.

    When I am about to pull over on the road, I always use the hazards.

  7. On #2, if you are stopping for traffic to clear before backing or turning into a tight space, turn on your hazards, wait for traffic to clear then proceed.

  8. I must say I never understood why they use hazard lights when they want to park, because that won’t help you know in which side they’ll go. That’s so unproductive.

  9. First question: stopping at the curb and parking are different things. Parking is when you stop, exit the car and go somewhere. Stopping is when you stop with hazard lights, don’t exit the car and don’t do that for more than five minutes (in practice the time limit is not enforced). Therefore, you just stop at any place where stopping (not parking) is allowed and do whatever you need.

    This, by the way, is an important distinction with curb colours and no parking / no stopping signs.

    Second: yes, it’s a good tone to do that so that others don’t tail you and give you more space.

  10. I always put my hazards on while parking, though most people don’t.

    Definitely a lot different to driving US roads, the surface is miles better.

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