{"id":24179,"date":"2019-03-11T11:05:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T11:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkerten.com\/wordpress\/?p=24179"},"modified":"2022-10-23T07:50:04","modified_gmt":"2022-10-23T07:50:04","slug":"how-to-rent-a-car-in-japan-touchdown-from-hiroshima-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkerten.com\/wordpress\/2019\/03\/how-to-rent-a-car-in-japan-touchdown-from-hiroshima-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"How to rent a car in Japan? Touchdown from Hiroshima Airport"},"content":{"rendered":"

Self Driving a rental car is one of the best ways to explore Japan.\u00a0 In fact, it is one of the best destinations to drive in Asia. A lot of people think that Japan is crowded and it is hard to drive but it is actually not the case, especially if you are doing other parts of Japan other than the Tokyo area.<\/p>\n

Self Drive in Hiroshima, Kansai & Shikoku<\/a> – Choose Hiroshima Airport<\/h3>\n

My recent trip to Japan covered Hiroshima, Kansai area (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara) and Shikuko Island<\/a> and we choose to land in Hiroshima Airport, simply Hiroshima has a fewer crowd and the air ticket is cheaper to land there. The air ticket to Hiroshima from Singapore cost around SGD 650 (USD 441) including return with Silk Air no transit. The distance from Hiroshima to Osaka by car is about 4 hours drive so you roughly know where is Hiroshima.<\/p>\n

Our total stay is 9 days in Kansai and Shikoku Island.\u00a0 So if you do not know which airport to choose from for landing in the Kansai region, I highly recommend you to land in Hiroshima Airport<\/a>. It is way better than Kansai Airport.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Less crowd so it is easier for you to get use to the roads and test drive, especially in a new country.<\/p>\n

The benefit of car rental<\/h3>\n

The good thing to rent a car is you get to see the sightseeing spots that are hard to get to using public transportation. Thus, it saves times and money if you have 4 to 5 pax in a sedan car.<\/p>\n

This is what you need in order to rent a car in Japan<\/h3>\n

1. Valid license from your home country
\n2. On top of that, please also apply for an international driving permit<\/strong> before your trip – a must.
\n3. Online booking with car rental company<\/p>\n

Follow the steps for Online booking with Rentalcars.com<\/a><\/h3>\n

1. Click on the link above (Rentalcars.com<\/a>)
\n2. Search the car you want
\n3. Indicate the rental days (including arrival and return day)
\n4. Insurance – the default setting will include insurance, please uncheck and do not purchase online.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Special pro tips<\/strong>: Insurance – please remember to uncheck the insurance box (It is default with insurance). Only purchase the insurance coverage when you pick up your car at the rental car counter in Japan. This is to avoid paying twice for the insurance coverage because even if you have paid the insurance coverage online, the rental car in Japan will still insist you to purchase another coverage as they do not believe you have really done that online. Unless you print out and show them the proof of insurance. ( We experience paying twice!\u00a0 At the UK self-drive <\/a>and Japan Chubu self-drive<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Once you have touched down at the Hiroshima Airport, go to the car rental counter.\u00a0 There are several companies such as Toyota, Nissan, Times Car & Orix.\u00a0 Ours is Toyota so we go to Toyota counter and tell the staff we need to pick up our car.\u00a0 Show them the reservation.<\/p>\n

Mini Bus<\/h3>\n

Within 5 mins wait, the Toyota minibus comes and pick you up to the car rental office which is located about 5 mins drive from the airport.\u00a0 Their service is really good, they help you with the luggage too.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Car Rental Office<\/h3>\n

The car rental office is located about 5 mins drive from the airport.\u00a0 Nissan, Times Car and Toyota rental offices are located in the same area.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Toyota Car Rental Office<\/h3>\n

These days, most Japanese who work in the tourist industry speak English.\u00a0 If you have any question you wanted to ask and they cannot understand, please use google translator.<\/p>\n

This is what you need to do when you are at the car rental office.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Show your reservation<\/li>\n
  2. Show your driving Licence & Internation driving Permit<\/li>\n
  3. Tell him you want to purchase insurance coverage (I usually suggest to get comprehensive)<\/li>\n
  4. Apply for ETC card – to save\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. Credit Card<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    Great saving by ETC card<\/h3>\n

    ETC stands for Electronic Toll Collection<\/strong>. It is super useful to get an ETC card because by using ETC you get a discount and can pass smoothly through toll gates without preparing cash for toll payment.\u00a0 Most importantly, there is about a 20-30% discount if you use ETC card.<\/p>\n

    Just inform the car rental staff you need an ETC card in the car, they will insert the card into the car (in a hidden area), you won’t able to see it and you won’t be able to take out also.<\/p>\n

    It is a postpaid card.\u00a0 All used toll will get itemized and you can pay when you return the car.<\/p>\n

    We spent a total of 22920 yen (USD 206.50) for the tolls bill. Please note Shikoku Island has a lot of bridges linking all the small islands so it cost a little more this time.\u00a0 My Kyushu self-drive and Japan Central Region self-drive did not cost this much.<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    Our Rental Car – Toyota Prius Hybrid<\/h3>\n

    This is the first time we used the Hybrid car.\u00a0 What I like about the Toyota Prius Hybrid is, it is so fuel saving.<\/p>\n

    \"How<\/p>\n

    The total cost of petrol for 8 days in Hiroshima, Kansai & Shikoku<\/h3>\n