Germany to Japan: Girocard, DKB and N26, Telekom Roaming, Driving Licence and Plugs (2026)

Travel tips · from Germany · driving licence, bank cards, roaming, plugs, medicine · checked 19 October 2026

By Nobu · official sources checked on 19 October 2026 · Sources at the end

A German driving licence works in Japan only with an official Japanese translation; the Auswärtiges Amt says a German international driving permit is not recognised. Visa, Mastercard and Maestro marks are on the Seven Bank and Japan Post Bank ATM lists; V Pay and girocard alone are not. Roaming costs depend on your tariff. German Type C and F plugs need an adapter, and 230 V-only appliances a step-up transformer. Wurst and other meat cannot come in without an export-government inspection certificate.

Quick answers for travellers from Germany

If your route includes a stay in Tokyo, compare Tokyo hotels on Agoda. Driving with a German licence is covered below.

Driving with a German licence

Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) lets licences from six places, Germany among them (list as of 1 April 2026), be used “accompanied by a Japanese translation” from a designated body. For German licences it names the ADAC; embassies and consulates in Japan also qualify, legally certified translators do not, and JAF says it issues them too.

The Auswärtiges Amt adds that “der deutsche internationale Führerschein wird in Japan nicht anerkannt”. Carry the original licence and the translation together.

ADAC says the translation does not expire while the licence is valid and unchanged, but the NPA limits driving to “not more than one year after the date of the driver’s landing in Japan” or the licence’s validity, “whichever is shorter”; JAF adds that police may ask for your passport. Traffic keeps to the left (JAF). Road signs: Japanese road signs for foreign drivers.

German bank cards: what each bank charges when you pay or withdraw yen

JNTO says many rural places “may still only accept cash, even hotels”. Each bank’s own terms:

ATM operators may add a fee (DKB, ING, Deutsche Bank). Offered a charge in euros, choose yen (DKB). Paying by phone: home wallets in Japan.

Cash from a Japanese ATM

The Auswärtiges Amt says most Japanese banks’ ATMs do not accept foreign cards, but some European girocards and credit cards work at 7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Japan Post ATMs.

Seven Bank lists ten marks including Visa, Mastercard and Maestro, caps each withdrawal at 100,000 yen, or 30,000 yen with a magnetic-stripe card, and says some cards with these marks may not be accepted. Japan Post Bank lists eight marks including Visa, Mastercard and Maestro, may charge 220 yen per withdrawal and caps each at 50,000 yen. V Pay and girocard are on neither list (checked 19 October 2026). ATM hours: when banks close in Japan. Cash or card: Japan cash vs card in 2026.

Telekom, Vodafone and o2 roaming in Japan

From each network’s own page or price list, 19 October 2026:

German midnight is 08:00 in Japan in winter, 07:00 in summer, so one Japanese day can count as two Vodafone days. A Japan data eSIM on an unlocked phone is another route; if keeping your German SIM active for bank codes, turn off data roaming on that line.

German plugs and Japan’s 100 V

The IEC lists Germany as 230 V, 50 Hz, Types C and F, and Japan as 100 V, Types A and B; JNTO adds 50 Hz in the east, 60 Hz in the west. An adapter changes only the plug shape, not the voltage.

A charger rated 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz (as Apple’s USB power adapters are) needs only a plug adapter. An appliance marked 220–240 V only also needs a step-up transformer; Kashimura, which sells them, advises a capacity of two to three times the rated power for heating appliances such as hair dryers.

Adapters, chargers and hair dryers: Japan plug type and voltage.

Trains: Deutschlandticket, contactless and IC cards

Deutsche Bahn says the Deutschlandticket is valid “deutschlandweit in Bus, U-, S- und Regionalbahn”, not in Japan.

Since 25 March 2026, eleven Kanto rail operators, including Tokyo Metro and Toei, take contactless Visa, Mastercard and five other card brands at listed stations (“Tap to Ride”, adult fares only; 729 stations at launch). JR East is not one of the eleven.

PASMO lists ten interoperable IC cards, including Suica and ICOCA. Use them where operators and gates accept them; check rural routes and shinkansen tickets separately: IC cards in Japan: Suica, PASMO and ICOCA.

Medicine from Germany

Japan’s Narcotics Control Department (NCD) lists ingredients, not brands, so check the active ingredient on your pack. Thresholds are from the NCD list dated 12 December 2024; check the current NCD list and guidance before travel.

Narcotics and stimulants’ raw materials that need permission (for example codeine above 1%, pseudoephedrine above 10%, or Elvanse). Apply to the NCD office covering your arrival airport at least 14 days before travel (the Tokyo office takes no last-minute applications). MHLW says the permission is granted by “the directors of the Regional Bureaus of Health and Welfare” and must be received before you leave home. Carry the medicine yourself, not by post, and show the import certificate to Customs. Leaving with leftovers of these needs an export application (NCD). Psychotropics above the table amount follow the doctor’s-certificate rule in the table instead. When we checked on 14 November 2026, the NCD’s application page carried a notice that an email problem was stopping it from processing applications or issuing permits; check that notice before you apply.

Ordinary medicines above the personal allowance. A separate Import Confirmation, received before you leave home and shown at Customs. MHLW lists the Kanto-Shin’etsu Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare (yakkan@mhlw.go.jp; Narita, Haneda and others) and the Kinki Regional Bureau (kiyakuji@mhlw.go.jp; Kansai, Chubu, Fukuoka, Naha and others) as contacts. For more than a month’s supply of a psychotropic, the NCD also gives yakkan@mhlw.go.jp.

Uber, tipping and Wurst

Uber. For Uber Taxi, Uber Japan lists the meter fare (it says a 100-yen app usage charge is included), plus a booking fee of up to 680 yen and any facility usage fee: Does Uber work in Japan?

Tipping. JNTO says: “In Japan, it’s not common to tip for services such as those provided in bars, cafes, restaurants, taxis, and hotels.”

Wurst and other meat. Japan’s Animal Quarantine Service (MAFF) says meat products, including ham, sausage, bacon and jerky, cannot be brought in, even as souvenirs or for personal use, without an inspection certificate issued by the exporting country’s government (MAFF’s Japanese page, our translation). A certificate alone does not guarantee entry; ask the Animal Quarantine Service about your product from Germany before you leave (not checked here). Illegal imports can bring a fine of up to 3 million yen or up to 3 years’ imprisonment.

Before you leave Germany

• Order an ADAC translation before departure, or plan how to get one from JAF in Japan before driving.
• Take a Visa or Mastercard card plus a second card from another bank, unlocked for use outside Europe.
• Check each medicine’s active ingredient against the NCD list.
• Leave Wurst, ham and other meat at home.
• If you plan long shinkansen trips between cities, compare the Japan Rail Pass with single tickets before you fly.

Questions travellers from Germany ask