Self-Driving in Japan During Winter & Car Rental Snow Tire Guarantee Plans
Do you need snow tires for self-driving in Japan during winter? This article will explain this question and also introduce how to ensure you rent a vehicle equipped with snow tires when renting a car in Japan. Most parts of Japan experience snowfall in winter. In areas with heavy snowfall, such as Hokkaido and Tohoku, rental cars in winter will definitely have snow tires. However, in places like Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Kyushu, rental car companies usually do not install them by default, but they can be added as an option when renting.
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Self-Driving in Japan During Winter
When traveling in Japan, self-driving is becoming an increasingly popular method, and even in winter, many people still opt for self-driving tours in Japan. However, during winter, most parts of Japan except Okinawa have a chance of snow. Areas like Hokkaido, Tohoku, and Chubu Hokuriku experience very heavy snowfall, making road conditions very complex. For people from southern regions with no experience driving on snow, it can be extremely dangerous. Therefore, I never self-drive in Japan during winter and do not recommend it.
The map below shows the winter snowfall map for various regions of Japan.
However, if you are very confident in your driving skills and insist on a self-driving tour in snowy areas of Japan during winter, then remember you must rent a vehicle equipped with snow tires (studless tires, known in Japanese as “スノータイヤ” or “スタッドレス”).
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1. Snow Tire Equipment for Winter Car Rental in Japan
In areas with very heavy snowfall like Hokkaido, Tohoku, and Chubu Hokuriku, major rental car companies usually have all their vehicles equipped with snow tires during winter without the customer needing to request it. Of course, some companies may require the customer to request it at the time of rental.
Below are the periods when major Japanese rental car companies like Toyota Rent a Car, Nippon Rent a Car, Times Car Rental, Nissan Rent a Car, and Orix Rent a Car install snow tires in major snowfall areas during winter.
Note: The above chart is based on historical data compiled by Rakuten Travel Japan. For the latest information, please refer to the rental car company’s official website.
The chart below, compiled by ToCoo! Car Rental, shows the major snowfall areas and the periods and regions where snow tires become mandatory equipment for vehicles.
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2. Precautions and Useful Information for Winter Self-Driving in Japan
For individuals without experience driving on snow, if you plan to self-drive in snowy areas of Japan during winter, it is essential to understand the precautions for snow driving beforehand. Recently, Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited (NEXCO Central Japan) has launched a Chinese version of the “Winter Snow Driving Guide” on their website. It compiles matters requiring attention when driving on snow in Japan, including necessary equipment for winter driving, road sections requiring special attention, knowledge about snow tires and tire chains, and how to deal with possible highway control measures, etc.
Additionally, Japanese expressway companies have dedicated websites providing real-time highway traffic conditions, where you can find information about snow locations and road closures. The following are two major websites:
Japan Car Rental Snow Tire Guarantee Plans
In areas with average snowfall, such as Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, etc., snow tires are generally not standard equipment for vehicles. If you need snow tires installed, you must make the request when renting the car. However, if renting directly through the rental car company’s website, these requests may not be guaranteed to be fulfilled. After booking, you might have to wait for the rental company to confirm snow tire availability, which sometimes isn’t promptly replied to. Occasionally, there might not even be such an option during the booking process, requiring additional contact with the rental company, which can be troublesome.
Therefore, if you want a 100% guarantee to rent a vehicle with snow tires without the hassle of contacting the rental company, you can rent through a car rental agent that offers Snow Tire Guarantee plans. For example, Rakuten Travel Japan and ToCoo! Car Rental have respectively launched such snow tire guarantee plans, ensuring that the rented vehicle is equipped with snow tires.
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1. Rakuten Travel (Japanese Website) Car Rental Snow Tire Guarantee Plan
Rakuten Travel Japan’s car rental service features a dedicated webpage for snow driving rental plans that can search for plans including snow tires. Simply set the rental period and pickup location on this webpage to search for rental plans offering vehicles pre-equipped with snow tires.
To successfully search for rental plans that include snow tires, you must follow these steps:
1. After entering the Rakuten Travel Japan car rental webpage, click on the banner in the image below to enter the dedicated snow driving rental plans webpage << or click here directly.
2. In the search box at the bottom of the dedicated snow driving rental plans webpage, select “スタッドレス確約” (Snow Tire Guarantee), then set the various rental conditions, including pickup and return date and time, pickup location area (出発場所), vehicle type (ボディタイプ). If you only want to search for specific rental companies, you can set the company in the レンタカー会社 field. Finally, click the “プランを検索” button to search.
Update: The dedicated snow driving rental plans webpage on Rakuten Travel no longer has the “スタッドレス確約” (Snow Tire Guarantee) option and cannot directly search for vehicles with snow tires installed. If snow tires are needed, you must check the “スタッドレス” (Snow Tires) option in the additional options of the search results and search again to find vehicles equipped with snow tires.
3. In the previous step’s search, you cannot select a different return location. If you need to return the car to a different location (one-way rental), you can select “乗捨利用（エリア検索）” or “乗捨利用（空港店検索）” in the search results, then choose the return location, and click the “再檢索” button to search again.
4. If the search result looks like this, it means that during your rental period, no rental companies in the selected area offer vehicles equipped with snow tires. The reason might be that there is no snow or little snow in your rental area at that time.
5. If there are rental companies in the selected area offering vehicles with snow tires during your rental period, the search results will look like this, no different from general search results.
6. After clicking the “予約” button to enter the rental procedure, you will see this item “スタッドレス” included in the standard equipment, which means snow tires.
The subsequent steps for car rental are the same as the general steps for renting a car through Rakuten Travel Japan. For detailed instructions, please refer to “Rakuten Japan Car Rental Tutorial & Latest Rental Discounts“.
2. Rakuten Travel (English Website) Car Rental Snow Tire Guarantee Plan
In addition to the Japanese version website, the overseas version website of Rakuten Travel Japan, Rakuten Travel, also provides car rental services. You can also search for rental plans that include snow tires by setting advanced search conditions on the website. The Rakuten Travel website has Chinese, English, and Korean versions, making it more user-friendly for foreign travelers unfamiliar with Japanese website operations.
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3. ToCoo! Car Rental Snow Tire Guarantee Plan
Besides Rakuten Travel Japan, another major Japanese car rental agent website, ToCoo!, has also launched a similar Winter Car Rental Snow Tire Guarantee plan. By setting the conditions and searching within the dedicated Snow Tire Guarantee plan webpage on the ToCoo! website, you can find rental plans that provide vehicles equipped with snow tires.
To search for rental plans that include snow tires on ToCoo!, follow these steps:
1. After entering the ToCoo! website homepage, click on the Snow Tire Guarantee plan banner in main page to enter the dedicated Snow Tire Guarantee plan webpage << or click here directly.
2. Set the various rental conditions, including pickup and return date and time, pickup location and return location, vehicle type, then click the “Find car deals” button to search.
3. All search results are rental plans that include snow tires.
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4. Purchasing Snow Socks
Besides installing snow tires, there is another option: fitting your tires with snow socks. Snow socks are tire covers made from special fabric that provide excellent grip even on snow. Compared to traditional metal snow chains, they have the advantages of being lightweight, flexible, easy to install and remove, and offer a quieter, more comfortable ride. If not damaged, snow socks can be reused.
Snow socks can be added as an option when renting through ToCoo!, costing 9,900 yen, plus an additional 2,000 yen shipping fee. Besides purchasing through ToCoo! when renting, you can also buy snow socks directly from Rakuten Ichiba, where the price is similar.
