Check Nippon Rent-a-car, Toyota Rent-a-car, and Orix rent-a-car at first. Then Nissan Rent-a-car and Eki-Ren (JR Rent-a-Car).

https://www.nrgroup-global.com/en/

https://rent.toyota.co.jp/eng/

http://car.orix.co.jp/eng/

https://nissan-rentacar.com/english/

https://www.ekiren.co.jp/phpapp/en/

You won't go wrong with any of the national rental companies. Efficient, professional, polite, as you would expect in Japan. One area that may cause some issues is ability to converse in English. Most staff don't, as non-Japanese customers still form a tiny part. Most can offer a sheet in English with explanations, and usually you can book online in English as well. But some knowledge of Japanese will be a great help. I also find they sometimes have difficulty in getting authorisation for non-Japanese credit cards. As you normally get full insurance cover, you can usually pay in cash as well. Also you must have International Driving Permit (IDP), though it's often met with incredulity by counter staff, who probably haven't seen one before.

I have never had issues with my credit card, but of course, I can only speak for myself.

An IDP is required. The staff always want to see it whenever I picked up my car.

I never had problem with my credit cards with Nissan, Toyota, Orix, OTS... They always expected and asked for my IDP.

>> Also you must have International Driving Permit (IDP), though it's often met with incredulity by counter staff

Probably because your reservation was made under a Japanese name.

Thanks alot for the recommendation and tips.

While on this topic, the reason why i'm renting a car is to visit places further out of a city area where while train is available, we are travelling with a 5yo and we think it might be good to take a scenic (albeit slower) route and also make pit stops for food, toilet etc or even a random playground that we happen to pass by.

I did a quick search on e.g. Toyota site and was quoted the following:

Total Amount (tax included): 24,300 JPY(consumption tax included: 1,800 JPY)

Hourly Rate: 18,900 JPY

4WD 0 JPY

One-way 0 JPY

Booster 1 2,160 JPY

Exclusion of liability compensation system Join: 1,080 JPY (tax included) / 24 hours = 3,240 JPY

Can someone explain what is 'hourly rate' and am i right that the total amount i pay is 24,300 jpy? Seems quite expensive to rent a car too?

What class of car and what duration is your quote for? Toyota calculates based on 1, 6, 12 and 24 hour periods. Any time over 24-hour multiples will be charged as hourly rate.

"Total Amount (tax included): 24,300 JPY" exactly what it means. Comprised of the following components:

"Hourly Rate: 18,900 JPY" = basic rental charge based on the "hourly rate" formula

Booster, insurance.

24,300 total for 3 days is the standard non-discounted rate with the options you picked.

Nissan and Times are usually cheaper than Toyota. I have rented from both multiple times with no issues whatsoever.

On Japanese broker sites, they offer great deals sometimes. For example, I have been Nissan via Rakuten with free insurance. Jalan also offers discounted plans. You will need to use the Japanese site though to see these discounts.

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