How to recognise Japan in a street photo

Dropzone #4 · 30 October 2026

Japan

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How to tell

1. Kei van, yellow plate: Tiny boxy white van with a yellow number plate is a Japanese kei (small-engine) vehicle.
2. Tall perforated noise walls: Panelled sound barriers lining an elevated expressway are typical of Japanese urban highways.
3. Left-side driving: Traffic keeps left, narrowing it to Japan, UK, Australia or similar countries.

The first thing worth checking is which side traffic flows: everyone keeps left, which immediately removes Korea, Taiwan and China, the usual East Asian lookalikes. Then the little white van ahead is the giveaway, a tall, square kei van, a class of tiny vehicles Japan taxes lightly, with a yellow plate marking that class. The long perforated sound walls, crash barriers bolted on concrete, and slim curved streetlights all fit Japan's urban expressways. Even the rooftops beyond the barrier, with antennas and flat tops, look suburban Japanese. A habit to carry elsewhere: in Japan, scan for vehicle shapes and plate colours first, since kei cars appear in almost every road photo.

Easily confused with

• South Korea: Korea drives on the right; Japan drives on the left.
• Taiwan: Taiwan drives right and lacks boxy kei vans with yellow plates.

Remember: Boxy kei vans with yellow plates on the left mean Japan.