On Friday, my wife and I decided that we’d rent a car to go to Costco, rather than take the train all the way to the Kanazawa store in Yokohama, dealing with the crowded Seaside Line and a sick toddler, and spending money to have most things delivered. In the end, it cost us about the same, it was faster, and we could run around and do some other errands, such as take our daughter to the doctor for her stomach virus.
Well, we rented the car in the morning, and it cost us less than 4000 yen for a small car. We got a Nissan March (could’ve chosen a Toyota Vitz, but I wanted the instrument panel in front of me, not in the middle of the dash) and it was lavender. Since we were driving only a short distance, we didn’t have to fill it up with gas, and only paid a bit for the gas at the end.
So, when we rented the car, we had to show driver’s license and health insurance. I have a Japanese driver’s license, so I can only drive in Japan! They did a check on the car, walking around it to make note of any current damage. Once all of that was done, we strapped in the baby car seat and went on our way.
Driving in Japan is a bit different. Although the rules are mostly the same as in Canada, we have to drive on the left side of the road in Japan, with the steering wheel on the right. This is actually an easy adjustment for me. The only difficulty I have with the car is that the turn signal and windshield wipers are opposite. Many streets are very narrow in Japan, and a big problem for me is blind corners. Far too many of them! And then there are all the people who stop on the street and turn on their hazard lights. It’s not easy to get around those cars because they occupy most of the lane. But otherwise, it’s fairly easy to drive if you have a car navigation system. We didn’t get one. Our route was quite direct, so we relied on my iPhone’s Google Maps app instead.
Parking is something I have to get used to in Japan. In Canada, we’d normally just park in a space driving forward. In Japan, everyone backs into a parking space. Easy to get out, but not so easy to get in.
When returning the car, I drove back to the rental shop by myself. For some reason, I find it easier to drive alone.
Renting a car in Japan is fairly easy, and some places will accept cash. Most places prefer credit cards, though. But since I don’t have a credit card, I need to find a place that doesn’t require them. Where we rented the car, the staff was quite nice. We’ll probably be renting from them again. And now, some car pictures!
Our car for the day, a lavender Nissan March. Yes, I left the wipers on when I turned it off.
The March is a fairly basic looking car inside. The steering wheel on the right side is easy to get used to.
Have you experienced renting a car in Japan? Share your experiences in the comments!
We rented once on a trip to Hokkaido. (No reason to ever drive in Kyoto.) I never got a license, because it’s a nightmare for Americans, and my wife was a “paper driver.” We were a bit unprepared for the driving; at one point she was driving on a Sapporo sidewalk. On the mountain roads, we’d make sure nobody was around, then I would drive for awhile. I can’t remember what kind of car it was, except that it was a hatchback. (I opened the trunk at one hotel and our Yubari melon fell out, cracking on the asphalt. People walking by were wondering why some Japanese lady was yelling at an apologetic gaijin.)
Incidentally, I’ve always been a fan of the March.
I’ve heard about the difficulties for Americans to get a license in Japan. As a Canadian, it was quite easy for me, thanks to a reciprocal agreement between the two countries for sharing driving safety records.
I’ve used rental cars in Japan quite often now. They’re often not too expensive and offer a car navigation system for free as well.
When traveling to certain spots in Japan you’ll need a car anyways (e.g. Okinawa or Yakushima).
I’m driving every day to work anyways, so I’m used to driving in Japan now.
I guess it’s no problem for you. I’ve only rented cars when using the trains or buses are inconvenient. Can’t move furniture on a train
My husband is Japanese, and has a car, and thanks to the agreement with Australia, swapping my license over wasn’t a big deal either. That being said, I don’t drive that much here if I can get away with biking or on foot. Narrow roads, people parking in the middle of them, drivers in the opposite lane wandering into mine, young and old on scooters who want to overtake me on the left… one less car on the road might help
I can understand your concerns about driving. One of the things that really irritated me last week were the people parking on the side of a 2 lane street, and I had to go around them into the oncoming lane to pass. Dangerous.
I had no idea you can still rent a car without navigation! I don’t even ask when making reservation. That’s scary
It was a pretty small rental shop. They had car nav systems available, but we didn’t ask for one. Our route was pretty straightforward, anyway.
When I visited Romania, I saw the smallest rent a car center in Brasov. But even if they had approximately 10 cars in their offer, they were real professionals.
If you’re in a foreign country the navigation system is very important, otherwise it’s very easy to get lost.
Definitely a must. When I first drove in Japan, I really needed the car nav system. But not the most recent time.