I've rented a car for a day trip in the past. Do you need a car? is the first question I'd ask. A car is no use at all in big cities - use public transport instead. It only comes in useful if you are touring Hokkaido, or other large rural areas like Tohoku, or isolated mountainous areas where public transportation infrequently goes or don't go there at all. The Noto Peninsula and Okinawa are 2 other areas where renting a car can make a lot of sense. You could save some money if you have passengers to share the cost with. First you'll need international driving permit plus your national licence. Second, most signs are in Japanese only (except major destination signs) and navigation in built-up area is complicated. You want to get a good GPS system, or bilingual road map, obtainable in large bookshops in Japan. Cost:Hokkaido, because of demand, is more expensive by around 30% plus mileage charge, otherwise unlimited mileage. Basic daily rental starts around 5,000 yen for a mini car, and 9,000 yen for a Sunny and 11,000 yen for a Bluebird. Basic insurance is included, and CDW is around 1,000 yen/day extra. There is a myriad of optional extras like excess waiver and personal accident insurance. 8% tax is on top. You are expected to return your car to where you picked it up. One-way rental is expensive and is charged according to the distance to the original pick-up location. Nippon Rent a Car, a major chain, has English info on their website: http://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/service/syasyu/index.htm Gas (petrol) is around 130 yen a liter or just over US$4.50 a US gallon. You pay through the nose on all tollways and some scenic roads. Parking is around 300-500 yen an hour in popular tourist areas. Many rural establishments have free customer parking. Most smaller rental cars are manual - stick-shift.
Traveling across the country just by car usually doesn't make sense. It is far better to take a train or fly to close to the place you want to be at, then rent a car for day trips.
Comments
Do you need a car? is the first question I'd ask. A car is no use at all in big cities - use public transport instead. It only comes in useful
if you are touring Hokkaido, or other large rural areas like
Tohoku, or isolated mountainous areas where public transportation infrequently goes or don't go there at all. The Noto Peninsula and Okinawa are 2 other areas where renting a car can make a lot of sense. You could save some money if you have passengers to share the cost with.
First you'll need international driving permit plus your national
licence.
Second, most signs are in Japanese only (except major destination
signs) and navigation in built-up area is complicated. You want
to get a good GPS system, or bilingual road map, obtainable in large bookshops in Japan.
Cost:Hokkaido, because of demand, is more expensive by around 30%
plus mileage charge, otherwise unlimited mileage. Basic daily
rental starts around 5,000 yen for a mini car, and 9,000 yen for
a Sunny and 11,000 yen for a Bluebird. Basic insurance is included,
and CDW is around 1,000 yen/day extra. There is a myriad of optional
extras like excess waiver and personal accident insurance. 8% tax is
on top. You are expected to return your car to where you picked it up.
One-way rental is expensive and is charged according to the distance
to the original pick-up location.
Nippon Rent a Car, a major chain, has English info on their
website:
http://www.nipponrentacar.co.jp/service/syasyu/index.htm
Gas (petrol) is around 130 yen a liter or just over US$4.50 a US gallon.
You pay through the nose on all tollways and some scenic roads. Parking is around 300-500 yen an hour in popular tourist areas. Many rural establishments have free customer parking. Most smaller rental
cars are manual - stick-shift.
Traveling across the country just by car usually doesn't make sense. It is far better to take a train or fly to close to the place you want to be at, then rent a car for day trips.