Japan has such good rail that renting a car looks unnecessary, and for the Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka corridor it is. Away from the shinkansen lines the calculation reverses completely, and the practical obstacles are administrative rather than about driving.
The licence rule that stops people at the desk
This is worth resolving before you book anything, because rental counters check properly and will refuse the car.
Japan accepts International Driving Permits issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention only. Permits issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention are not valid here, which affects drivers from a number of European countries.
Separately, holders of licences from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco, Slovenia and Taiwan cannot use an IDP at all. They need an official Japanese translation of their home licence, issued by JAF or their embassy, which can be arranged in Japan but takes a day.
Sort this at home. Arriving in Sapporo with the wrong document turns a driving holiday into a train holiday.
The tolls
Japanese expressway charges are genuinely high — around 25 to 30 yen per kilometre. A few long legs will exceed the rental cost itself.
| Route | Approx toll |
|---|---|
| Tokyo → Kyoto | ~¥11,000 |
| Tokyo → Nagano | ~¥6,000 |
| Sapporo → Furano | ~¥3,500 |
| Fukuoka → Nagasaki | ~¥3,000 |
The fix for visitors is a regional expressway pass. Hokkaido, Tohoku, Central Nippon and Kyushu all sell them, exclusively to foreign passport holders with an IDP, giving unlimited expressway use for a set number of consecutive days. On a touring route they pay for themselves in two or three days. Buy at the rental counter on collection.
Ordinary national routes are toll-free, slower and often considerably more scenic.
Where the car earns its place
Hokkaido above all — the island is the size of Austria with thin rail coverage, and the national parks are effectively unreachable otherwise.
The Japan Alps and Nagano, for mountain roads and onsen towns off the rail lines.
The Noto Peninsula and Sea of Japan coast.
Shikoku's interior and rural Kyushu, where trains trace the coast and leave the middle empty.
Okinawa, where the bus network is slow and the island is spread out.
Actually driving
Japan drives on the left. Standards are disciplined and courteous, roads are immaculately maintained, and major signage carries English. Speed limits are low by European standards — typically 80 to 100 km/h on expressways, 40 to 60 elsewhere — and enforced.
Two practical points:
Navigation by phone number. Rental car systems accept a telephone number as the destination and this is far more reliable than an address, since Japanese addressing runs by block rather than by street. Collect phone numbers for your hotels before you set off.
Parking is paid and often mechanical. City parking runs ¥300–600 an hour, frequently in tower garages that lift the car away. Rural and roadside parking is usually free.
Costs
| Item | Typical |
|---|---|
| Compact car, per day | ¥6,000–9,000 |
| Fuel, per litre | ¥160–185 |
| Regional expressway pass, 5 days | ¥12,000–20,000 |
| ETC card rental | ~¥300 total |
Take the ETC card if offered — it lets you use the automated toll lanes rather than stopping at the manned booths, and the discount on some routes covers the rental fee.
The sensible shape
Shinkansen between the major cities, then pick up a car for the Hokkaido or Noto or Kyushu portion and drop it before returning to the corridor. That uses each network where it is strongest and avoids paying ¥11,000 in tolls to travel slower than the train.