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No parking and no stopping

The check asks where you may not stop or park, and the exact distances. In Japan many places are banned for both stopping and parking, and a few are banned only for parking.

Key rules

• Stopping and parking are both banned in an intersection and within 5 m of its edge.
• Both are banned within 5 m of a road corner.
• Both are banned on a crosswalk or bicycle crossing and within 5 m before and after it.
• Both are banned on a railway crossing and within 10 m before and after it.
• Both are banned on the left of a safety zone and within 10 m before and after it.
• Both are banned within 10 m of a bus or tram stop sign, but only during the service hours.
• Both are banned in tunnels, on steep slopes, near the top of a hill and on tram tracks.
• Parking only is banned within 3 m of a driveway or garage entrance, 5 m of a road-work area, 5 m of fire equipment or a hydrant, and 1 m of a fire alarm.
• Do not park where less than 3.5 m of road is left on the right side of your car.

Numbers to remember

Common traps

• "Stopping" and "parking" are different: the 3 m driveway and 1 m fire alarm rules ban parking only.
• The bus stop 10 m ban applies only during service hours.
• The distance is counted from the edge of the crosswalk or intersection, not from its centre.
• Waiting at a red light or stopping to avoid danger is not a violation of the no-stopping rule.
• A police-station permit can lift a parking-only ban, but not the no-stopping places.

In Japan you park on the left edge of the road, and a car beside another parked car is not allowed. Distances like 5 m and 10 m are fixed by law, so learn the numbers.

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