Category: Japan Travel

Japanese car rental companies are numerous, and when renting a car in Japan, it can sometimes feel overwhelming to choose the right one or decide where to rent. Here, we’ll introduce the landscape of Japanese car rental companies to give you a basic understanding when renting a car in Japan, as well as compare some of the major rental companies to help you make an informed choice. Additionally, for the major Japanese car rental companies, this blog also has corresponding rental guide articles for reference if needed.   Table of Contents I. Car Rental in Japan: Number and Types of

Rakuten Car Rental is a Japanese car rental reservation service provided by Rakuten Travel. Through Rakuten Car Rental, you can make reservations with any car rental company in Japan, compare prices across different providers, and check vehicle availability all at once. Rakuten frequently offers various promotional car rental deals and continuously releases discount coupons, making it cheaper to rent through Rakuten than directly with car rental companies.   Table of Contents I. Latest Rakuten Car Rental Coupons II. Promotional Car Rental Plans III. Rakuten Car Rental Tutorial 1. Rental Process 2. Canceling a Reservation     Latest Rakuten Car Rental

Tohoku Expressway Pass is a highway pass launched in November 2015 by East Nippon Expressway Company Limited (NEXCO East Japan), targeting foreign tourists traveling in Japan by rental car. It covers expressways in six prefectures of the Tohoku region: Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Yamagata, Miyagi, and Fukushima.     Target Audience and Coverage   The Tohoku Expressway Pass is exclusively sold to foreign tourists renting cars in Japan and allows unlimited use of most expressways managed by NEXCO East Japan in the Tohoku region. The coverage includes expressways in the six prefectures mentioned above. For the full coverage map, please refer

The “San’in-Setouchi-Shikoku Expressway Pass” (abbreviated as SEP Pass) is the second highway pass introduced by NEXCO West Japan (NEXCO West Japan) for foreign self-driving tourists, following the KEP in Kyushu. It covers highways operated by NEXCO West Japan in the western Chugoku region (San’in, Sanyo) and Shikoku, including ten prefectures: Hyogo, Okayama, Hiroshima, Tottori, Shimane, Yamaguchi, Kagawa, Tokushima, Ehime, and Kochi.   With airlines now offering flights to Hiroshima, Okayama, Yonago, and Takamatsu, the San’in, Sanyo, and Shikoku regions in western Japan have become increasingly popular tourist destinations. Due to the scattered attractions, many visitors prefer self-driving tours in these

Kyushu is the region in Japan where autumn foliage appears the latest, usually around mid-November. During the major holiday in mid-November 2011, we chose to embark on a self-drive trip to Kyushu. Kyushu is not small, and it’s impossible to explore the entire region in just eight to ten days, so we focused on the northern part of Kyushu, starting our self-drive journey from Fukuoka. The itinerary included Fukuoka, Beppu, Yufuin, Mount Aso, Kumamoto, and Nagasaki.   This North Kyushu self-drive trip lasted eight days, with Fukuoka as the entry and exit point. On the first day, we arrived in

Hokkaido Expressway Pass (abbreviated as HEP) is a highway pass introduced in June 2012 by East Nippon Expressway Company Limited (referred to as NEXCO East Japan). It is specifically designed for foreign tourists driving in Japan, allowing unlimited use of Hokkaido expressways for a fixed fee when renting a car in Hokkaido.   Table of Contents Coverage Pricing and Validity How to Purchase     Coverage of Hokkaido Expressway Pass   The Hokkaido Expressway Pass can be used on all expressways in Hokkaido operated by NEXCO East Japan, including the Doo Expressway, Sasson Expressway, Doto Expressway, Fukagawa-Rumoi Expressway, and Hidaka

The “Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass” is a rail pass (JR Pass) jointly offered by JR Central and JR West, designed for foreign tourists exploring Japan’s Chubu and Hokuriku regions by train. If your itinerary starts from Osaka or Nagoya and includes destinations like Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Toyama, Kanazawa, or Gero Onsen—and you’re not driving—this limited JR Pass is a must-have for your travels.   When I visited Shirakawa-go for the illumination festival in 2018, my flight arrived at Kansai Airport. The original plan was to take the JR from Osaka to Kanazawa, explore the city, and then proceed to Takayama and

In the summer of 2009, I embarked on my first self-drive trip in Hokkaido. Over the next decade, I visited Hokkaido six or seven times, covering almost all its major tourist destinations. Except for winter trips, all my journeys were self-drive adventures. Hokkaido is vast, making it impossible to explore everything in one trip, so multiple visits are necessary. For first-time visitors to Hokkaido, I recommend focusing on the central region, with Sapporo as the base, and exploring key attractions like Otaru, Furano, Biei, Noboribetsu Onsen, and Lake Toya. If time permits, you can also include Hakodate in the southern

I often receive inquiries from netizens about Japan’s highway tolls, with the most common question being whether using passes like HEP, KEP, or SEP for their itinerary is cost-effective. To determine if an ETC Pass is worth it, you simply need to calculate the regular toll fees for your planned route and compare them with the pass price. Here, I’ll introduce 5 methods to check Japan’s highway tolls, explain how to estimate toll fees, and also cover Japan’s highway payment methods.   Japan’s highways are primarily operated and managed by three companies: NEXCO East Japan, NEXCO Central Japan, and NEXCO