Renting A Car In Japan

[TM7GTR]

Hi all,

I did a quick search and couldn't find a hell of a lot of info (that wasn't scattered all over the place) about renting a car in Japan?

I'd like to know if I need an international licence, or translation of my current licence? (If so, where would you go about doing this, and does the translation have to be done professionally?)

Is there a minimum age in order to rent something? (I'm 21)

That should get the ball rolling.

[kaneryan]

to get an international licence you need to go to NRMA and as long as you have a full licence.. bang pay the money and you have a international licence..

unsure about the rest!

[GH05T]

i rented a cube in japan, my travel agent mate organised it for me but it was not expensive.

they had allot of other options, sporty stuff big stuff small ext.
was easy though however why not talk to a travel agent simply about arranging it.

also sat nav will be in Japanese. i know this sounds obvious but it caught me a little off guard.

driving in japan is awesome though, everyone speeds but is super polite and courthouse. there is literally no angst or trouble driving around.

[flavzz]

Hired a car a couple of times here in Japan. If you can't speak Japanese I would recommend getting it through someone who can. They like to spend a fair while going through all of the insurance details and that makes life very difficult if you can't understand the language. Bigger places may have English speaking staff. Or as suggested using a travel agent would again simplify the process.

As GHO5T said the actual driving is pretty straight forward once you get going. However it doesn't hurt to do a little research on some of the local road signs and rules which a quick Google search will provide.

Yes you will need your international licence. The standard one issued in Australia covers Japan no problems. No translation needed, they will just photocopy it. I'm not sure about the age limit. To give you an idea I hired a kei car for around $60 a day in a rural area. Good luck!