Traffic-signal trainer

Standard 3-lamp · Green

You may go straight, turn left, or turn right (when turning right, yield to oncoming traffic and pedestrians). Called 青 (blue) in Japanese; the actual colour is bluish-green.

⚠ Danger point：Green does NOT give right-turn priority — wait inside the intersection while oncoming traffic flows.

Standard 3-lamp · Amber

The rule is STOP at the stop line. You may continue only if you are already so close that stopping safely is impossible.

⚠ Danger point：Amber is not speed-up-and-beat-it — rushing amber is an instant fail on the test and a major accident cause.

Standard 3-lamp · Red

Stop completely at the stop line. Note: in Japan you may NOT turn left on red — the opposite of the US right-turn-on-red rule.

Vertical signal (snow country)

Snowy regions (Hokkaidō, Tōhoku…) mount lamps vertically to shed snow. Order is fixed: red on top, amber middle, green at the bottom. Meanings are identical to horizontal signals.

Red + right arrow

The classic 3-over-1 layout. Red is lit but the green right arrow allows a right turn — and a U-turn (legal since the 2012 law change). Going straight or left is still forbidden.

Red + straight arrow

Only going straight is permitted. No left or right turns.

⚠ Danger point：Right-turners may NOT enter the intersection to wait! The red light still applies to you — entering the waiting area = running a red. One of the most common dangerous mistakes by foreign drivers.

Red + left arrow

Only a left turn is permitted. Still yield to pedestrians on the crosswalk while turning.

3-over-3 (all arrows)

Red stays lit and the three arrows control movement (common at large or time-offset intersections). You may only move in a lit arrow's direction; all three lit = all movements allowed.

⚠ Danger point：Don't panic-brake at the ever-lit red — read the arrows. And a lit arrow for one direction never permits the unlit ones.

Vertical + side arrows

Vertical snow-country signals have no room below, so arrows mount in a side column. Meaning is identical to below-mounted arrows.

Two-row arrows (2段配列)

Big intersections with too many arrows for one row stack them in two. Reading is unchanged: lit arrow = permitted direction.

Arrows above the mains

A rare layout (clearance constraints under footbridges) with arrows mounted above; being phased out. Same meaning as normal arrows.

Flashing amber (single lamp)

Common late at night or at quiet intersections. Meaning: proceed with caution — no stop required, but slow down and check.

Flashing red (single lamp)

Equivalent to a 止まれ stop sign: come to a complete stop at the line, confirm safety, then proceed.

⚠ Danger point：Unlike flashing amber you MUST stop. Rolling through counts as failing to stop.

Two-lamp double amber flash

Two amber lamps flashing together — identical in meaning to a single flashing amber: proceed with caution (seen in Gifu etc.).

Two-lamp double red flash

Two red lamps flashing (alternately or together), mostly before rail crossings: same as flashing red = mandatory stop (Kanagawa, Mie…).

Red-blue two-lamp (alternating)

Just red and blue lamps, controlling single-lane alternating sections (tunnels, roadworks, narrow bridges): blue = your turn, red = wait for oncoming to clear.

Time-offset signal (時差式)

At intersections signed 時差式信号機, your side and the oncoming side change at DIFFERENT times — typically your green stays on longer so right-turners can clear.

⚠ Danger point：Never infer the oncoming light from your own! Before turning right, visually confirm oncoming traffic has actually stopped.

Pedestrian-separated signal (歩車分離式)

Pedestrians and vehicles get fully separate phases: all-red for cars while pedestrians cross (often diagonally), and vice versa. In theory you meet no crossing pedestrians while turning.

⚠ Danger point：All-red doesn't mean the signal is broken. And real pedestrians still jaywalk — keep checking when you turn.

Push-button signal (押しボタン式)

Normally green (or flashing amber) for traffic; it turns red only after a pedestrian presses the button. Common at mid-block crosswalks.

⚠ Danger point：Because it is almost always green, drivers tune out — it can turn red at any moment. Never treat it as always-green.

Niigata-style time-offset (green + right arrow)

When oncoming turns red, your green AND a right arrow light together — the arrow explicitly signals oncoming-is-red, protecting your right turn. Still confirm visually. Note: this style disappeared from public roads in early 2026; kept here as background knowledge (you may still see it in older materials).

左折可 (left-turn-permitted) plate

A white plate with a blue arrow reading 左折可 beside the signal: you MAY turn left even on red — Japan's only turn-on-red exception. Still yield to pedestrians and through traffic.

⚠ Danger point：Don't confuse it with a left ARROW signal: the plate is passive and always in effect — it never lights up.

Bus-only signal (バス専用)

Lamps or arrows marked バス専用 apply only to buses. Private cars follow the main signal — following the bus arrow = running a red.

Disaster-response type (normally-dark arrows)

On Tokyo arterials (Kanana/Kanpachi) a row of arrows hangs permanently dark — activated only in earthquakes etc. to route traffic for emergency vehicles. Don't be puzzled by an all-dark arrow row.

Advance-warning signal (予告信号)

Placed before curves or crests where the main signal is hidden; flashing amber warns signal-ahead. Ease off and be ready to brake.

Crossing signal (amber-amber-red)

A yellow-yellow-red head at rail crossings: alternating amber flash = you may pass WITHOUT the mandatory stop (the signalised exception to the always-stop rule); red = stop.

Crossing signal (alternating red flash)

Two reds flashing alternately = a train is approaching; stop at the line and wait, exactly as if the barriers were down.

Advance signal (amber-dark-amber)

Outer ambers alternate-flash with a dark centre (Yamanashi, Kōchi, Kumamoto…): main signal ahead — ease off and cover the brake.

Advance signal (amber-blue-amber)

An advance head that mirrors the main signal (Yamagata, Yamaguchi…): centre blue lit = green ahead; outer ambers flashing = amber/red ahead, prepare to stop.

Embedded arrow (組み込み矢印)

An old design that builds the arrow into the blue lamp's position to save lamps; today it survives mainly in Yamaguchi. Read it like any arrow.

Double same-direction arrows

A Tokushima speciality: two arrows pointing the same way lit together purely for emphasis. Meaning unchanged.