How to rent a car in Japan

Renting a car in Japan for us is a cautionary tale with a happy ending. Today, this post’s purpose is to share our personal experience, so you don’t repeat the same mistake like us when you want to travel by car in Japan! Our pain will be your gain 😉

To share a little backstory, we originally were suppose to have a car when we ventured to the Fuji mountains. It was suppose to be an exciting cherry blossom road-trip all the way to our amazing onsen stay at Kozantei Ubuya 旅館.

Instead, we ended up getting rejected at Avis/Europa Narita Airport and ended up taking a verrry expensive taxi to our hotel. Since Miki confidently thought we didn’t need anything to rent a car in Japan, this was a pretty accurate anime reaction from angry Paul

Step 1: International Driver License

First and by far the most important step… apply to get an international driver license permit before your Japan travel! For U.S. readers, simply go to your local AAA and it’s a simple application that takes no more than 30 minutes to do.

Unlike renting a car in London, Bangkok, Dubai, Sydney, and Munich, you are required to have this permit to get any car anywhere in this country. If you don’t have it, it’s not end of the world. You just need to find creative ways to get to little towns in Japan. In our case… we took the bus!

Step 2: Rent from Japan’s local car rental companies

Especially in Sapporo, U.S. companies like Hertz and Avis commonly run out of car inventory. For us, the simplest way to get a car was to use the country’s biggest car rental company called NIPPON Rent-a-Car

The website is straightforward and easy to use. Plus, it has a unique fleet of subcompact cars that you can only get in Japan. For us, we rented the Honda N-Box which is a super cute car that drives like a toy. We even got a fun “British Green” for our exterior color.

Step 3: Take the scenic routes whenever possible!

You definitely get a different lens when you drive yourself around a foreign country. Take advantage of this opportunity to see the local side of Japan that you normally can’t do on a train or bus. Whenever possible… take the scenic routes… make random stops!

Here we stopped to checkout a strawberry/melon farm

Stopped in the middle of an empty road to gaze at these giants

Drive to a cable car gondola up the Sapporo mountains

Curious to see the source of our onsen water in a small village

Or even drive directly to our Park Hyatt Niseko hotel. In Sapporo, you can even park for free right in front of the valet lot.

Overall, renting a car in Japan is a fun experience. Just be aware of the necessary steps you need to take in order for you to rent a car in this country. Having a car definitely gives you more of a local lens and makes the journey to your destination(s) extra special.