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通行止め vs 車両通行止め in Japan: Can Pedestrians Pass?

Updated: 2026-10

The 通行止め (tsūkōdome, road closed) sign bans all traffic: pedestrians, vehicles and streetcars. The 車両通行止め (sharyō tsūkōdome, no vehicles) sign bans only vehicles (車両), which in Japanese law means cars, mopeds and light vehicles such as bicycles. The key difference is whether pedestrians may pass. The knowledge test often swaps these two signs, and the "no entry" sign 車両進入禁止, to make false statements.

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Legal definitions and comparison table

The meaning of each sign is set in Appended Table 1 of the Order on Road Signs, Lane Lines and Road Markings (道路標識、区画線及び道路標示に関する命令). Regulatory sign 301, 通行止め, prohibits "the passage of pedestrians, vehicles and streetcars"; sign 302, 車両通行止め, prohibits "the passage of vehicles". Article 8(1) of the Road Traffic Act (道路交通法) forbids using a road closed by such signs.

Both signs have a white background with a red border and a red diagonal bar. The 通行止め sign also carries the blue characters "通行止", while the 車両通行止め sign has no text (National Police Agency Rules of the Road, Appended Table 3). An easy rule: if there is text, even people on foot cannot pass.

Point	Road closed (通行止め)	No vehicles (車両通行止め)
Who is banned	Everyone: pedestrians, vehicles, streetcars	Vehicles (車両) only
Appearance	Red border and bar + blue text "通行止"	Red border and bar (no text)
Pedestrians	May not pass	May pass
Cars and mopeds (原付)	May not pass	May not pass
Bicycles and other light vehicles (軽車両)	May not pass	May not pass
Streetcars (路面電車)	May not pass	Not covered (not a 車両)
Person pushing a bicycle	May not pass (pedestrians banned too)	May pass (treated as a pedestrian)

What counts as a "vehicle": bicycles and mopeds too

Article 2(1)(viii) of the Road Traffic Act defines a vehicle (車両) as "an automobile, a motorized bicycle (原動機付自転車), a light vehicle (軽車両) or a trolleybus". Light vehicles include bicycles and handcarts. So on a road with the 車両通行止め sign, not only cars but also mopeds and bicycles are banned.

If you read 車両 as "car", you will picture only automobiles. On the test, 車両 is a much wider word that includes bicycles. Streetcars, on the other hand, are not 車両, so the 車両通行止め sign does not ban them.

A person walking and pushing a bicycle or a two-wheeler is legally treated as a pedestrian (Article 2(3)). You may get off and push your bicycle along a 車両通行止め road, but not along a 通行止め road, because pedestrians are banned there too.

The third look-alike: no entry for vehicles (車両進入禁止)

The red circle with a white horizontal bar, 車両進入禁止 (sign 303), prohibits vehicles from entering a one-way road against the permitted direction. It usually stands at the exit end of a one-way street (一方通行).

Only entry from the side the sign faces is banned; traffic from the other side may pass. The sign that bans vehicles from both directions is 車両通行止め, not 車両進入禁止.

通行止め: nobody may pass (pedestrians, vehicles, streetcars)
車両通行止め: vehicles may not pass from either direction; pedestrians may
車両進入禁止: vehicles may not enter from the side with the sign; the other direction is fine

Supplementary signs "〜を除く" and pedestrian roads

A supplementary sign (補助標識) under the main sign changes who or when the rule applies. For example, a 車両通行止め sign with the plate "原付を除く" (except mopeds) lets mopeds through. The test also checks this reading.

On a road closed to vehicles for pedestrian safety (歩行者用道路), any vehicle that may use it, because it has a police station chief's permit or is excluded from the ban, must go slowly (徐行) and pay special attention to pedestrians (Article 9).

Where there is an unavoidable reason set by Cabinet Order, such as getting in and out of a garage, a vehicle with a permit from the police station chief may use a closed road (Article 8(2); Enforcement Order Article 6). The driver must carry the permit.

Tricky test questions and answers

These questions come with a picture of the sign. Mix up the sign's name and your answer flips.

Example 1 (通行止め sign): "この標識がある道路は、車は通行できないが歩行者は通行できる。" (On a road with this sign, vehicles cannot pass but pedestrians can.) Answer: False (×). 通行止め bans pedestrians, vehicles and streetcars. The sign that bans only vehicles is 車両通行止め.

Example 2 (車両通行止め sign): "この標識がある道路は、自動車も原動機付自転車も軽車両も通行できない。" (On a road with this sign, cars, mopeds and light vehicles cannot pass.) Answer: True (○). Vehicles include mopeds and light vehicles such as bicycles.

Example 3 (車両進入禁止 sign): "この標識がある道路には、どちらの方向からも車は入ることができない。" (Vehicles cannot enter this road from either direction.) Answer: False (×). Only entry from the direction the sign faces is banned.

Example 4: "「車両通行止め」の本標識に「原付を除く」という補助標識が付いている道路は、原動機付自転車も通行することができない。" (On a road with a no-vehicles sign plus an "except mopeds" plate, mopeds cannot pass either.) Answer: False (×). "〜を除く" removes that vehicle type from the ban.

Practice sign questions in your language

For 通行止め, 車両通行止め and 車両進入禁止, your score depends on naming the sign correctly from its picture. menkyopass's license conversion (外免切替) drill lets you practice sign questions with explanations in Vietnamese, English, Chinese and Japanese (the first mock test and 3 topics are free; all questions are a one-time ¥2,980).

Practice questions using this term

If a Closed to Vehicles sign has an auxiliary plate reading 'except mopeds,' motorized bicycles (mopeds) still cannot use the road.

FAQ

Q. Can I walk along a road with the 通行止め sign?

A. No. 通行止め bans pedestrians, vehicles and streetcars. The road you may walk along is one with the 車両通行止め sign.

Q. Can I ride a bicycle on a 車両通行止め road?

A. Not while riding. A bicycle is a light vehicle and counts as a 車両. If you get off and push it, you are treated as a pedestrian and may pass.

Q. May I drive out of a road that has the 車両進入禁止 sign?

A. Yes. The sign only bans entering from the side it faces, usually at the exit of a one-way street. Coming from the other end and leaving the road is not banned.

Q. How do I tell the two signs apart?

A. Both have a red border and red diagonal bar, but 通行止め has blue text "通行止" and 車両通行止め has no text.