Road signs and markings

What the test asks about

• Road closed: no pedestrians, vehicles or streetcars. (教則 付表3(1)ア 1)
• One-way: never against the arrow. (教則 付表3(1)ア 31)
• Stop sign: stop at the line or the intersection edge. (教則 付表3(1)ア 40; 第5章 第7節 3(3))
• Red X: no stopping and no parking. (教則 付表3(1)ア 17)
• "8-20" plate: rule applies 8:00 to 20:00. (教則 第1章 第2節 2(6); 付表3(1)ア 備考; 付表3(1)ウ 72)
• "End" plate: the rule above stops here. (教則 付表3(1)ウ 78)
• "End" road marking: the marked rule stops here. (教則 付表3(2)ア 24)
• Yellow border, white stripes: vehicles keep out. (教則 付表3(2)ア 7; 第5章 第2節 7(3))
• Diamond on the road: crossing ahead. (教則 付表3(2)イ 38)
• Red circle with white bar: no vehicles may enter. (教則 付表3(1)ア 3)
• Closed to vehicles: bicycles included. (教則 付表3(1)ア 2; 第1章 注1)
• Car symbol sign: motorcycles may still pass. (教則 付表3(1)ア 4)
• Designated direction: only where the arrow points. (教則 付表3(1)ア 12; 第5章 第7節 2(7))
• Slow down sign: crawl, no stop required. (教則 付表3(1)ア 38; 第5章 第4節 4(1))
• One stripe = no parking; X = no stopping or parking. (教則 付表3(1)ア 18)
• Supplementary plates limit the main sign's rule. (教則 第1章 第2節 2(6))
• No-stopping box: don't enter if you'd stop in it. (教則 付表3(2)ア 8; 第5章 第7節 2(9))
• Yellow center line: never cross it to overtake. (教則 付表3(2)ア 2; 第5章 第6節 1(4))

Signs in this lesson

• No entry (車両進入禁止) Vehicles must not enter from this side, usually the exit end of a one-way road.
• No vehicles (車両通行止め) No vehicles of any kind may enter, including bicycles; pedestrians may.
• Road closed (通行止め) Pedestrians, remote-controlled small vehicles, all vehicles and streetcars must not enter.
• No motor vehicles except motorcycles (二輪の自動車以外の自動車通行止め) Motor vehicles other than two-wheeled ones must not enter.
• One way (一方通行) Vehicles must not travel against the direction of the arrow.
• Straight or right only (指定方向外進行禁止) Vehicles may only go in the directions of the arrows (here straight or right).
• Stop (一時停止) Vehicles and streetcars must stop just before the intersection (bilingual design with STOP).
• Slow down (徐行) Vehicles and streetcars must go slowly enough to stop at once (bilingual design with SLOW).
• No parking (駐車禁止) Vehicles must not park; brief stops are allowed; numbers, if shown, give the hours.
• No stopping or parking (駐停車禁止) Vehicles must not stop or park; numbers, if shown, give the hours.
• Days and hours (日・時間) Shows the days or hours when the main sign applies (8-20 means 8:00 to 20:00).
• End (blue band) (終わり) Shows the end of the section where the main sign above it applies.
• End of marking restriction (終わり) Shows the end of the section where the painted restriction applies.
• No-stopping zone (停止禁止部分) Do not enter this box if traffic ahead means you would have to stop inside it.
• No-entry zone (立入り禁止部分) Vehicles must not drive into this marked area.
• Crossing ahead (diamond) (横断歩道又は自転車横断帯あり) Warns that a pedestrian or bicycle crossing is ahead.
• No crossing the yellow line to overtake (追越しのための右側部分はみ出し通行禁止) Vehicles must not cross into the right side of the road to overtake.

Check yourself

10 questions from this topic, with the answer and the rule after each one.

Sources

• e-Gov: Japanese law text