We were in Hokkaido for 6 nights - 3 in Sapporo and 3 in Asahidake National Park. Not much to add, but we rented a car for a few days in Okinawa and it was very expensive. Spent maybe $15 in tolls. 0nce you're in a city, driving around is an absolute waste. Car-rental operators in Japan recently observed a very strange trend – a considerable number of their clients were renting cars but logging an unusually low mileage or not driving the cars at all. Answer 1 of 14: We've just returned our rental car after driving it for a week through Japan. There are also a variety There are car rental counters at most airports, but also near major train stations as well. Question. The highway tolls in Japan are quite expensive, rental prices are high (as you've discovered) and parking can also be a ridiculous price, especially if you're looking in well populated areas. I'm visiting Japan this summer with family and I want to do most of my travelling around your lovely country with a rental car. Fun2Drive JDM Car Rental and Tours in Japan near Mount Fuji. That being said, keep in mind that expressway tolls here are crazy expensive. Perhaps in the winter having Foresters, vans, etc. We're just back from a trip in Hokkaido - hitting up some of the national parks, where you can sometimes only see three buses a day. Press J to jump to the feed. Just review Japanese road signs online and you should be fine. I think a weekend was around $130 USD for a basic compact car round-trip, i used Times rental. Japan's leading car rental companies are Toyota Rentacar, Nippon Rentacar, Orix Rentacar, Times Car Rental (formerly known as Mazda Rentacar), Nissan Rentacar and Ekiren. I declined, as the prices charged in Europe / US for this can be 4x the cost of doing it yourself. Just drive at the same speed as everyone else and look out for police"). Did that last time I was around. Got questions? Japan is home to one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world and the extremes of Japanese history and modernity are absolutely worth thorough sight-seeing. Compare car hire in Japan and find the cheapest prices from all major brands. The only thing that struck me about this is that the prices seem very expensive compared to what I would pay for a rental in Europe, and I was wondering if I have been looking at the wrong websites. The worst part about driving in Japan is the tolls. Very quick (have NEVER seen so many staff at a rental place), AND they refunded ¥2000 to me because I returned the car an hour earlier than I said I would. Mind sharing which places you visited in Hokkaido? How many days did you spend in Hokkaido? Seriously though, it's not advisable to rent the entire three weeks. If you a German you need your original driver's id and a Japanese translation. With the near endless attractions the country has to offer, take advantage of a rental car and save time getting from point A to point B. Are you guys from one of the recognized countries or how did you deal with that? $130USD for 3 days. It will save you time, money, hassle and stress. Renting a car in Japan. GPS worked a treat, and we didn't really run into any problems at all. Got questions? Want to share your travel tips and experiences in Japan? Pick up was amazing - never had anything like it when renting in other countries. I suppose another issue you might have is your GPS system in a rental car may be Japanese only, not a huge problem if you have phone service but something to be aware of regardless. So I have just passed my drivers test at the age of 25 and will be getting a IDP for my upcoming trip to Japan in February and will need a car. I rented a car in Okinawa and I had the same experience... we checked the car together for any damages, he turned on the English navigation and we even arrived late for drop-off due to unexpected traffic jam. TOYOTA Rent a Car is one of the top car rental companies with its number of cars and locations.An instant reservation is available both online and over the phone.From family holiday to business use, you will find the perfect car for your next trip. You can rent an ETC card from them, too, so you don't have to mess with cash at (the majority of) toll booths. It's relatively straightforward if you're in-country - in the UK you just go to one of the larger post offices with some passport photos and you can get one in about ten minutes for about £5. Edit: last point: the rental company offered to fill the car up for me on return. Take a look at our extensive car rental location map to find the best rental cars near you. The car provides greater proximity to the regions visited thanks to total flexibility. … If you are unsure where to park just ask someone for help. Fuji and drove down the Ito peninsula. The process of renting a car in Japan may seem daunting, but it really couldn’t be simpler. I think renting a car in Japan is often advised against. are easily accessible by public transport. A couple of quick things: My impression from my visit was that most of the tourists were from other Asian countries (esp China and Korea). I have 3 full days planned for Sapporo in January. Tokyo to Hamamatsu at 250km, for example, is a 13,000 yen round trip in tolls alone, not counting gas and rental. Renting a car in Tokyo Help! The cities have these pay lots that lock your wheels in with a pop-up bumper. Happy to answer a few questions over DM. How can I find car rentals near me in Japan? Press J to jump to the feed. That car price seems expensive to me as well. If you were to go to Hokkaido or Kyushu yeah that would make more sense. In general, that's true - especially for classic Tokyo / Kyoto itineraries. Renting a car in Japan. First off, let’s take a look at your driver’s license. Pretty much all road signs are dual lingual and the ones that aren't often have symbols that are understandable. In general, that's true - especially for classic Tokyo / Kyoto itineraries. Also can you read Japanese, have experienced left side traffic? In general, that's true - especially for classic Tokyo / Kyoto itineraries. In addition to the usual stuff, they gave me a "driving in Japan guide", talked me through the key rules, and some unofficial ones ("Speed limits are low here... everyone ignores them though. Never, ever, ever, has a rental car company done that for me before. I heard from my friends used ToCoo before not really sure if their price is better than others or not. Looking into offering Subaru STIs, Lancer Evos, and other fun cars that would be nice to take a trip around the island for a few days with! Conventional wisdom on this sub is that renting a car is not necessary for a trip in Japan, and can be a lot of hassle. www.japan-experience.com/car-rental-japan. If you have an International Driving Permit (IDP) issued in line with the Geneva Convention, you’ll be able to rent a car in Japan—but not from all companies (lookin’ at you, Niko-Niko). Book online today with the world's biggest online car rental service. It's probably more hassle than it's worth around Kyoto / Osaka / Nara. For these the signs are a different color than the other exits. This was in the Fuji and Izu area. It can be quite the hassle too - the cities are a nightmare to drive in, paying tolls is going to be in Japanese, parking is going to be in Japanese, your Sat Nav is going to be in Japanese... and, of course, driving doesn't save any time on the shinkansen routes. You won't have any problem renting a car as long as you have your IDP. We start our travels in Tokyo and plan to ride down to Hiroshima (and back up again) over the course of 3 weeks. First things first – you need to ensure you can legally drive in Japan! The Japanese drive on the left side of the road. Overwhelmed with your itinerary? Not sure if that's representative of the whole country, but I think you should be able to find a weekly rental cheaper than the prices you quoted. Finding parking shoudn't be an impossible task, but you will have a hard time understanding the pricing if you can't read Japanese, so don't be surprised if the price is more or less than you thought it would be, (Also keep coins and 1000 yen notes on hand) paying for and using the lot shouldn't be the actual issue, just use common sense. /r/JapanTravel is for any and all looking to visit Japan as a tourist — including those who have already been. For the amount you would pay for 3 weeks of rental cars you could probably buy a decent used car. Also be aware of highway tolls. Love the Japanese approach to service. In addition to the usual stuff, they gave me a "driving in Japan guide", talked me through the key rules, and some unofficial ones ("Speed limits are low here... everyone ignores them though. View Japanese culture at its most authentic by … They don't list every business but most of the major ones are … How many days did you have the car? Please read before renting a car in Japan. The website provides a step-by-step guide on how to use the site, but essentially, you choose the area you would like to rent the car from and it will bring up a list of rent-a-car businesses in the area. I'm sorry I ment Hiroshima not Kyoto. All sights etc. Have you tried this site: http://www2.tocoo.jp/en. Loved Sapporo - great food, great bars. I spent about $100 USD in tolls on a round trip drive from Tokyo to Mt Fuji. Good stuff. Many of the bigger rental companies are tied up with major hotels, offering convenient packages. Personally speaking I rarely rent above category B/C. Posted by u/[deleted] 2 years ago. Conventional wisdom on this sub is that renting a car is not necessary for a trip in Japan, and can be a lot of hassle. at that rate i would suggest picking up a crapper from an auction or a real cheap one and paying the temporary insurance, or running the gauntlet and hope you dont hit anybody. We were somewhat constrained as my wife doesn't really like changing hotels frequently... we based ourselves out of Sapporo (no car - trips around city and Otaru) and Asahidake National Park (car - trips to Furano / Biei and hikes in the NP). Otaru can be pretty too, nice distillery up that way too. It would be more advisable to do the long legs by train or plane. I'd check with the agency. Rent a Car and basically provides an online comparison and booking service in English (they have a Japanese site also for Japanese speakers). By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. Had a friend rent a car in Okinawa for a week and I think it cost about 30,000 Yen. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the JapanTravel community. Thanks for reading! I figure that's $88 a day U.S. Like you wrote, fairly expensive. Do you know how old I have to be to rent a car? Japanese car-sharing service Orix discovered this recently after finding out that many of its customers were renting its cars but not driving them. You can get an IDP through your national automobile association before … Maybe you're happy with all of that, and if so, go for it. Question. Tolls and parking will not seem exorbitant if you are from a major city, I found urban parking in Japan to be $1-$2 USD per hour or per day, and a half day's driving was around $12 USD in tolls. In the past 72 hours, the cheapest rental cars were found at ORIX Rent a Car ($37/day), Nissan Rent-A-Car ($44/day) and Times ($46/day). I will be travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka while stopping at Shirakawago in between. Renting a car for 3 weeks is going to cost you A LOT. . Nothing stops you from taking short detours, making changes to your program as you wish, making an impromptu stop at the sight of a small pottery store or a sake brewery. Use Tableog to find the best places - and be prepared to queue :). We are based in Sapporo. Where do you rent cars where they don't do that? Drawbacks of Renting a Car in Japan Driving in Japan is Expensive Before you start making a list of amazing Japan road trips you want to take, you should consider that the cost of driving in Japan is high. In Japan I did pay extra to not have a boxy compact, but would not usually pay extra for a "fun" car - only time I do this is when visiting family in Florida in February, when the season is so dead you can get a convertible for the week for $70 more than a class B/C. Also, they're really anal about damage to the car so dings you would get away with in the US will potentially cost you here. Instead, we opted for the freedom of renting a car. What you need to drive Valid License. We've been running JapanWifiBuddy.com for a couple of years and have been looking into opening up a rental car company, particularly specializing in more "interesting" cars than you can get at the standard rental companies. Some rental companies also provide English-capable nav systems. Doing some research it seems like US citizens need an International Permit in order to drive in JP as a tourist? Try to find a rental place on the outskirts of Tokyo to make it easier for yourself. There were so many things that should have been obvious but weren't, despite our preparations, that we decided to write a post on them. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. So, I'm summation... if you're planning on going off the beaten track, don't be afraid to rent a car - the freedom to explore was incredible! doh. Parking was a non-issue for us, as everything away from Hokkaido's cities is so spread out and has its own parking. They then did an exceptionally thorough walk around the car looking for pre-existing damage, helped us load up our bags, showed us how to use the GPS, and set our first destination. Are you saying I should wait untill I'm in Tokyo and then go the outskirts to try and rent a car? However, I checked out the rates on return... turns out they charged exactly the same as the petrol station I went to before drop-off. The steering wheel is on the right side of the vehicle. Loved it. Answer 11 of 14: I am planning to rent a car in Japan for my summer vocation this year, dont know if anyone has any suggestion?? And despite some trepidation, absolutely loved it! Archived. Answer 1 of 14: I am planning to rent a car in Japan for my summer vocation this year, dont know if anyone has any suggestion?? Featuring trusted car brands and the amenities you need, a car rental in Japan for your vacation or business trip will ensure that you make the most of your time. /r/JapanTravel is for any and all looking to visit Japan as a tourist — including those who have already been. As far as the highways are concerned make sure you only use the ETC marked toll lanes if you have an ETC system, otherwise you need to use the lanes marked 一般　(which should be the only lanes that don't have ETC written in big letters above them). I'm not at home (in the US) so I don't think I could get an International Permit in time for my trip. Did this around Mt. Be aware that some smaller highway exits are ETC only and aren't staffed. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. We're just back from a trip in Hokkaido - hitting up some of the national parks, where you can sometimes only see three buses a day. Also parking is limited and expensive. The route will take me crisscross from north to east untill we hit Hiroshima, I'm not planning to drive it around, unless it's necessary, inside urban areas. Overwhelmed with your itinerary? However, if you're getting off the beaten track, having a car can make your trip much, much easier. This rental car booking agency will be happy to help, though. Hi there! Renting a car in Japan: What you need. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the JapanTravel community. It included pretty comprehensive insurance, which I'm sure pushed the cost up a bit - normally if renting in the US / Europe, I'd decline all of the additional insurance, as I have a separate annual policy - but figured it would be easier in this case to take the comprehensive cover + English language assistance package offered... We had the car for 3.5 days. Im going to Mt Fuji and spending a few days there, im still deciding do i catch a train for 1 hour towards Mt.Fuji then hire the car closer just so i dont get stuck in Tokyo Traffic which will put me behind 2hours. Fuelling the car was beyond easy - just drove in to any full service station, asked for "regurar maantan", handed over my credit card, and all done. City driving is crowded but with GPS its nothing to worry about and while the streets are narrow its nothing that European drivers haven't had to deal with before. In the US, it's pretty much the same, except you need to pop in to your local AAA branch to get the IDP, for about $20. As far as driving in Japan is concerned you should be fine, Highways are indeed expensive but cheaper for a groups than Shinkansen tickets would be. Our general feeling was that we loved the NP and the hiking there, but frankly didn't think that Furano / Biei were that interesting. The cheapest I could come up with were (I kinda need a roomy 4x4), rent.toyota.co.jp RAV 4 - at 14040 Yen a day + 46000 one way, nipponrentacar.co.jp Subaru station - at 16848 Yen a day + unknown one way, Europcar Mazda 4WD - at 1176 Euro per week. Good points, all, but the downsides include so many and such confusing tolls, parking nightmares, and Japanese-style driving in traffic, which seems to have many rules and conventions that I haven't ever quite grokked. I found I had to pay 200-400 yen each 30 min of driving, roughly. Since you are staying for 3 weeks you might be able to get a monthly rental for cheaper. Conventional wisdom on this sub is that renting a car is not necessary for a trip in Japan, and can be a lot of hassle. Despite what others here have said about being able to read Japanese, I don't see you having any problems there when it comes to actual driving. Transit is very comprehensive there. Planning to do this exact thing for a future trip in Hokkaido or Okinawa. They seem to have access to all the rental companies and a quick look suggests there are some reasonable discounts to be had. If we did it again, we'd probably do it in more of a roadtrip style (i.e. Experience the NSX, Either the … Very happy to share my experience renting etc if helpful. Certainly in Hokkaido, you can get an unlimited tourist ETC card for the toll roads, which worked out at about ¥1500 a day. I'm looking to rent a van in Tokyo (Shinjuku region specifically) for my trip in a couple weeks and been having trouble getting confirmation that ones are available. Not exactly cheap at about ¥ 9000 / day, but it included English GPS, English phone assistance, comprehensive insurance, and an unlimited tourist ETC card that covered all expressway tolls. And if you're rental car is just sitting in a parking lot for several days at a time, that's a huge waste of money. Just drive at the same speed as everyone else and look out for police"). Having driven in Japan many times into Rural parts Nihonmatsu and down towards Kyoto it is not that enjoyable when you begin to hit traffic and begin to hit tolls and your money just dissapears. Driving was a little frustrating at times, side roads are often too narrow for a car to be going each way (pass each other) and not have one get off the road, but you just have to drive off the road. Drive Generations of the GTR on Mountain Passes near Mount Fuji, Japan! Need advice? Parking can be a NIGHTMARE in urban areas. It may be 100-200 yen to park, but the machine to rent the spot is all in kanji and the menu system is too complex to just guess at, it might have 15 buttons on it. more stops) and travel out further to the north / east of Hokkaido. But my personal advice (after experience renting a car and driving it in both city and rural area) would be to take the shinkansen to Hiroshima. It explains the certificate required for driving in Japan, traffic rules, road signs, and car accident guidelines.
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