Renting a Campervan in Hokkaido on a Taiwan or Hong Kong Licence: Translation for Taiwan, International Permit for Hong Kong [2026]

If you drive on a Taiwanese licence, you need the original licence plus its Japanese translation. If you drive on a Hong Kong licence, you need an International Driving Permit in the Geneva Convention format. These are two separate procedures, and an International Driving Permit issued in Taiwan cannot be used to drive in Japan. In the Metropolitan Police Department’s guidance, Taiwan is listed among the countries and regions whose licence holders may drive with a translation, and Hong Kong is listed among the special administrative regions to which the Geneva Convention applies (checked 2026-10-05).

This article follows a Taiwanese or Hong Kong licence holder from start to finish of renting and driving a campervan in Hokkaido, in the order: check your licence, prepare documents, confirm before booking, pick-up day. For how the rules differ across nationalities overall, see our article summarizing by nationality whether you can rent with a foreign licence. Here we focus on Taiwan and Hong Kong only.

Conditions can change. Before you leave, recheck the latest wording on the source pages below.

What do Taiwan and Hong Kong licence holders each need in order to drive in Japan?

The differences are in the table. The one point to remember: Taiwan needs a translation, Hong Kong needs an International Driving Permit.

	Taiwanese licence	Hong Kong licence
What you carry to drive in Japan	Original Taiwanese licence + Japanese translation + passport showing your latest date of entry	International Driving Permit in the Geneva Convention format + passport
How long you can drive	Within 1 year of landing in Japan, and only while the Taiwanese licence is valid	Within 1 year of the permit’s issue date and within 1 year of landing in Japan
International Driving Permit	Cannot be used in Japan	The required document for driving
Metropolitan Police Department classification	Listed among countries and regions where driving with a translation is allowed	Listed among special administrative regions to which the Geneva Convention applies

For Taiwanese licences, the Metropolitan Police Department mentions Taiwan only on the translation side, and Taiwan does not appear in its list of Geneva Convention contracting parties (kokugai04) (checked 2026-10-05). The page of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan also states clearly that a Taiwanese International Driving Permit cannot be used in Japan (Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, checked 2026-10-05).

What do I need to prepare to rent on a Taiwanese licence?

According to the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, you need three things to drive during a short stay: a valid Taiwanese driver’s licence, a Japanese translation issued by a designated body, and a passport showing your latest date of entry into Japan. You may drive only within 1 year of entering Japan and only while the Taiwanese licence remains valid (Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, checked 2026-10-05).

The Metropolitan Police Department’s guidance says the same. Translations can be prepared by the licence-issuing authority or the embassy or consulate in Japan, JAF, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, Zip Plus Co., Ltd., the Association for Foreign Drivers’ Support in Japan (a general incorporated association), and others. The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association and Zip Plus can prepare translations of Taiwanese licences only (Metropolitan Police Department, checked 2026-10-05).

If you renew your licence or any of its details change, you must get the translation again (Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, checked 2026-10-05). If you are travelling right after a renewal, check that the translation you hold matches your current licence.

Where do I get the Japanese translation? Before departure, Taiwan’s highway supervision offices are the quickest

If you get it while still in Taiwan, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association issues it at the counters of highway supervision offices around the island (Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, checked 2026-10-05). The guidance of Taiwan’s Directorate General of Highways, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, lists a fee of NT$100 for the Japanese translation (Directorate General of Highways, MOTC, checked 2026-10-05). Counter locations and whether mail applications are accepted can change, so check the guidance of your nearest supervision office before you go.

You can also get it after arriving in Japan. JAF accepts translation applications online only, not at a counter or by mail. The page says access from a network inside Japan is required. Translations for Taiwan and similar cases take 2 to 3 business days on average, and you collect them by net print at convenience stores nationwide. The fee for a Japanese translation for temporary driving is 6,000 yen (tax-exempt). The revision on 1 July 2026 shown on the same page applies to translations used when switching to a Japanese licence; the fee for a translation to drive while travelling stays at 6,000 yen (JAF, checked 2026-10-05).

Since an application in Japan takes 2 to 3 business days, trying to get it at the airport on pick-up day is not realistic. It is safer to get it while you are still in Taiwan. This is our own judgment based on the figures above, not a recommendation from any of the organizations.

Can Hong Kong licence holders simply get an International Driving Permit and rent?

The Metropolitan Police Department gives two conditions for driving in Japan on an International Driving Permit: it must have been issued in the Geneva Convention format by a contracting party to the Geneva Convention or similar, and it must be within 1 year of issue and within 1 year of your landing in Japan. Formats under other conventions, such as the Vienna Convention, are not accepted. When you drive, carry the permit together with your passport (Metropolitan Police Department, checked 2026-10-05).

The list of areas to which the Geneva Convention applies includes Hong Kong as a special administrative region (Metropolitan Police Department, updated 2026-07-02, checked 2026-10-05). So a Hong Kong driver who obtains an International Driving Permit in Hong Kong before departure, and confirms it is in the Geneva Convention format, meets the conditions for driving in Japan. We could not confirm how to obtain the permit in Hong Kong or the fee for this article, so please check the guidance of the Hong Kong Transport Department.

An International Driving Permit has a 1-year limit from the date of issue. If you get it too early, it may have expired by the time you travel. Count back from your travel date when you apply.

What should I ask the rental company before booking?

What the Metropolitan Police Department and the Taiwanese side set out is only the legal conditions for driving in Japan. Documents and conditions that a rental company requires on its own may differ from company to company. Moving Inn’s English page says that a 1949 Geneva Convention International Driving Permit is required, and that holders of licences from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco and Taiwan need a Japanese translation (checked 2026-10-05). Including when you rent from other companies, asking the points below by email before booking will save trouble on pick-up day.

• Can I rent with a Taiwanese licence + translation, or with a Hong Kong International Driving Permit?
• Do I bring the translation on paper, or is a screen acceptable?
• Are there other documents (such as a passport) to present together with the original licence?
• If there will be two drivers, do both need the same documents?

The relationship between vehicle size and Japanese licence classes is covered in our article sorting out whether a campervan can be driven on an ordinary licence, by vehicle weight and our article summarizing the licences accepted by each company. Which class a foreign licence corresponds to is best confirmed with the rental company.

If you want to see the rental process first, our article explaining in video how to rent at the Moving Inn New Chitose Airport branch is a good reference. For how insurance and deductibles work, see our article on rental insurance and coverage.

What do I bring to the counter on pick-up day?

What to bring	Taiwanese licence holders	Hong Kong licence holders
Licence	Original Taiwanese driver’s licence	International Driving Permit in the Geneva Convention format
Translation	Japanese translation (matching your current licence)	Not needed
Passport	One showing your latest date of entry	Carried together with the International Driving Permit
Other	Documents confirmed with the rental company	Documents confirmed with the rental company

As a checklist for the day before departure, here are five points.

• I have the documents that match my licence type (Taiwan = translation, Hong Kong = International Driving Permit)
• Taiwan: my translation matches the current details of my licence
• Hong Kong: my International Driving Permit is not past 1 year from issue
• I am within 1 year of entering Japan
• I have confirmed the licence conditions with the rental company I booked

What tends to be confusing on Japanese roads?

The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association’s guidance warns that there are major differences between Japanese and Taiwanese traffic rules (Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, checked 2026-10-05). A campervan has a larger body than an ordinary car, so it is reassuring to allow time in your itinerary to get used to it. If you are driving one for the first time, reading our article on the 7 points where people trip up when driving a campervan and our article on the flow from booking to return before departure will help you picture the pick-up.

Pages to read next

• Can you rent a campervan in Hokkaido on a foreign licence? Procedures by nationality
• Can you drive a campervan on an ordinary licence?
• Accepted licences by company
• How to rent at the Moving Inn New Chitose Airport branch
• The complete guide to renting a campervan in Hokkaido for the first time