Ultimate Lifehack Guide to Car Rental in Japan

It goes without saying that you need a valid license to drive in Japan and to rent a car. For most people, the easiest way to have your license recognized is by getting an International Driving Permit. This can usually be applied for in your home country, and you just need to bring that permit, your license, and your passport to be valid. For residents of Switzerland, Germany, France, Taiwan, Belgium, Monaco, you can use your own domestic license with an authorized Japanese translation (issued either by the Japanese Automotive Federation or an embassy/consulate).

The International Driving Permit route is probably the easiest and most widely recognized, although if you are a foreign resident in Japan, note that you can only use an International Driving Permit to drive for one year from your date of entry to Japan.

While you can rent a car directly from the car rental companies themselves, using an Japanese car rental search engine that get the best deals when comparing across different companies.

Popular car rental search engines for Japan:

Popular car rental companies include:

You can choose to pick up from one shop and return at a different shop, but the further the distance between the two shops, the higher the one-way option top-up. Usually picking and returning within the same city, or even the same prefecture, should not incur an extra cost.

In terms of add-ons, you should get an ETC card rental (see the Highways section above) and also full-coverage insurance for your car. Insurance plans in for car rentals are usually two tiered, the base tier usually covers accident damage, but you would still be liable for a non-operation charge (around ¥20,000) that is incurred if your car can no longer move. The higher tier plan covers all liability including accidents and non-operation charge, so if you are worried and want a piece of mind, it might be better to get the highest tier insurance plan.

Cars in Japan are mostly right-hand drive, and car rental shops mainly only rent out automatic transmission cars. If you come from a country that uses left-hand drive, this is something you should take note of.

In terms of signage, the most important is probably the stop sign which is a red color triangle here in Japan. U-Turns are generally permitted at all Japanese junctions unless indicated by signage there. Discretionary turns on red without any green signal are not permitted.

The basic traffic light rules apply except for some exceptions. There may be the case of a red light with green arrows, as long as you are traveling in the direction of the green arrow, you may proceed. Additionally, there are discretionary junctions where the traffic light flashes orange or red. If your traffic light is flashing yellow, it means that you have the right of way to proceed, just watch out with caution as your cross the junction. If your traffic light is flashing red, you should give way to the other direction, and only proceed when it’s clear.

It is good manners to signal when changing lane or turning, and most Japanese drivers will typically signal. If you want to say thanks to a driver (for example if they gave way to you), you can let your hazard light blink twice to show thanks.

On a highway, if you see hazard lights on in front of you on multiple cars, be wary that it might mean a sudden stop is imminent. Once you see that, you should also pass the message on, and turn on your hazard lights to warn the cars behind you of the imminent stop.

For toll booths, you should generally come to an almost stop until the barrier opens up. Some barriers, especially at exits, might not open till your car comes to a complete stop.

Apart from cash-based toll booths, Japan has an electronic toll system known as ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) that allows the toll booth to charge cashless. Most rental cars come equipped with the ETC card reader, with the ETC card itself coming at a rental fee of around ¥330 per rental. You would typically then pay for the ETC card usage at the end of your car rental when you return the car. ETC tolls are generally cheaper than cash-based tolls, and heavy discounts can sometimes be given to ETC card users on certain roads, with certain exits being ETC card only exits. It is highly recommended to rent an ETC card with your car.

Along the highway, there are also michi-no-eki (道の駅) rest stops, that are known as Service Areas (SA) or Parking Areas (PA). Parking areas typically consist of a toilet, trash bins, and a small shop. Service Areas are much larger, usually also having large souvenir shops, food courts, and other amenities. Most Japanese cars come with an in-car navigation system that indicates if an upcoming exit has an SA or PA.

The most common form of parking is coin parking lots, these are usually small open-air lots between buildings, with individual lots marked out and a small metal ramp at the side of each lot. People typically reverse into parking lots, unless it is difficult to do so. Once you pass the metal ramp on the lot, the metal ramp will lift up to prevent your car from leaving until you’ve paid the parking fee. There is usually a small machine at the side of each coin parking lot, where you will key in your parking lot number and pay the appropriate fee. Most parking lots are time based, with a maximum fee cap at certain time slots of the day.

Parking rates in outside large cities usually range from ¥100 for an hour to ¥100 for 15 minutes. In cities like Tokyo or Yokohama, the price for parking can be as high as ¥300 for 10 minutes.

Many hotels in Japan also do not offer free parking. Some provide special rates at nearby coin parking lots, while others will just point you to the nearest overnight parking lot. Do check ahead if your hotel has free parking, or which is the parking lot that you should use.

Restaurants, supermarkets, and convenience stores in the more rural areas also usually have their own free parking outside their shop locations. Although you should not abuse these free parking areas to head to other shops or locations while leaving your car there.

The major gas station chains in Japan are Eneos (which bought over ExxonMobil Japan) and Idemitsu. Gas prices can differ slightly from station to station, although the difference is often less than ¥10 per liter.

The gas prices are usually prominently displayed outside each station, although sometimes these prices might be member prices or special prices for payment in cash. So don’t be surprised if the final price differs from what was displayed outside. Member prices are typically indicated as 会員価格.

Many gas stations are also self-service, and there are also operating hours for gas stations. So if you are in a rural area, you might be hard pressed to find a gas station late at night or on Sundays and public holidays.

Typically, you would park next to a pump and operate the touch screen. Choosing the gas type (usually Regular for car rental), and how much you want to fill. You would then choose payment type of card or cash, debit cards are usually not accepted. For cash, you would typically insert a large amount of cash first, and you will be refunded the remaining amount afterwards. For some pumps, you would be issued a refund voucher after pumping, and you would walk over to the refund station, scan the barcode on the voucher, and then receive your change back.

On the day itself, just turn up at the car rental shop, be sure to bring your International Drivers Permit, domestic license, passport, and also enough money to pay for your car rental upfront either via cash or card.

The staff will run you through the various terms and conditions of the rental, and big companies usually have some English supporting documents to go with it.

If you rented an ETC card, the staff will typically help you insert it on your behalf. After payment and signing the contract, the staff will go around the car with you to check for damage before letting you get on your merry way.

Typically, you should fill your car to full tank before returning it. Most rental car companies require the receipt of petrol payment as proof of this. If you don’t have the time to do so, then you can also pay a fee at the car company for them to top up the gas instead.

If you rented the ETC card, the staff will run through your ETC card usage and the amount to pay. Once you’ve settled that, you should be done with the rental!

Car rental is a great way to travel around the more rural parts of Japan, and discover a quieter side of life. Thankfully, the process is relatively straightforward and readily bookable online, so be sure to consider car rental as an option when planning your trip.