Driving and Fuel Mileage Conversion in Japan

                                                                                         

Are you planning to drive while in Japan? You’ll definitely want to know something about mileage conversion, because gasoline is not sold by the gallon, and distances are not measured in miles. Having some knowledge of gas mileage conversion will help you to select the right vehicle for your needs and plan your fuel budget.


Getting Licensed

Unlike the USA, where it’s fairly easy to get a license to drive in most states, the process in Japan is very complicated and expensive. However, if you have held a US license for at least six months, you can usually get a Japanese license, although you’ll have to take a road test and a written test in order to qualify (or swim through an ocean of paperwork if you want to apply for an exemption)


Assuming You Succeed…

While Japan has excellent public transportation, assuming you have enough money to rent a vehicle, you should be aware that Japan uses the metric system – which will have a great bearing on mileage conversion. Fuel efficiency figures are determined in kilometers per liter rather than miles per gallon; therefore, considering that a kilometer is a little over 3/5 of a mile and a liter is just a little bit more than a quart, a typical gas mileage conversion chart can be confusing to the uninitiated. Using metric conversion tables, gas mileage can be figured more accurately in terms of the measurement system used in Japan.

If you know a given vehicle’s fuel economy in terms of miles per gallon, you can use the formula MPG/4.5x1.6; that is to say, multiply 4.5 (the number of liters in a gallon) by 1.6 (the number of kilometers in a mile) and divide that by the MPG figure to get kilometers per liter (KPL). However, it’s usually easier to simply use a mileage conversion table.


Budgeting

It’s important to know something of metrics and mileage conversion before you commit to renting or buying a vehicle in Japan. For all its natural beauty and vast forests, Japan has always been poor in natural resources; petroleum is substantially more expensive than in the U.S., but prices per litre can be misleading unless you are aware of it. Currently, gasoline in Japan averages around 160 ¥ per liter, which works out to well over $6 per gallon US. Knowing how to use a gas mileage conversion chart or figure mileage conversion in your head will help you manage your transportation budget more effectively.

About the author:
Wayne Hemrick is active in helping English language teachers with an interest in Japan, find jobs. In this article he talks about gas mileage conversion.


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