Renting a Car in Japan

There are a vast number of reasons why one may need to rent a car in Japan. Luckily, there are many options available, from small hatchbacks, vans and trucks – offered by a number of the domestic manufacturers, all the way through to the luxury premium rental market, including Mercedes Benz, Audi, Porsche & Ferrari to name a few.

Perhaps the best known, with the most number of locations across Japan is Toyota Rent-a-Lease, with a wide array of vehicles to choose from at reasonable rates. English service is also offered at a few select locations.

How do I rent a car then?

In the case of TRL, there are three ways: via the internet (Japanese only), by phone or in person. Simply select the model of vehicle desired, the location from which you wish to collect it from, and the length of period for which it is required. Other information required will be a contact number, number of passengers etc.

Collection

Vehicles will be prepared with a full-tank of petrol (gasoline) supplied a short period before the time of actual booking. Before taking possession of the vehicle, individuals will need to supply a valid drivers license of the driver of said vehicle and pre-pay all rental fees up-front – 5% discount for payments made by credit card.

Individuals will also be presented with details of the insurance/compensation system for any misdemeanours/accidents that occur during the rental period.

Lastly, before taking receipt of the vehicle, you will be asked to inspect the vehicle for any damage. It is important you check properly, so you are not left liable for any damage upon returning the vehicle. Make sure to do a full inspection of each body panel, taking particular attention to skirmishes on the wheels, bumpers, front wings (fender), the rear three-quarter panels and the interior seats. The following terminology may also come in handy:

• キズ (ki-zu) – Scratch/blemish
• 凹み (heko-mi) – Indentation

• 穴 (ana) – hole
• シミ (shi-mi) – stain

Returning the vehicle

Prior to returning the vehicle, individuals will need to refill the tank. It is quite common for the rental shop to ask for proof of this, and so obtaining a receipt from the petrol station (gasoline stand) is highly recommended.

Upon returning the vehicle, shop staff will inspect the vehicle for any damage and check that the vehicle has been refuelled. Additional fees may apply for any discrepancies with either.

Lastly, simply sign off on the printed document and obtain your receipt of payment.

Additional Notes

Multiple drivers can be registered to drive a rental car, providing a copy of each drivers’ drivers license is presented at the time of collection

ETC card readers and navigation units are a standard option on vehicles within HV・P・W・RV・V class. ETC cards however are not supplied.

The Shaken Certificate

All personal data has been removed from the above shaken certificate

Having established what is shaken, it may also be of benefit for car owners to understand what details are contained on the shaken certificate itself. Listed below is the original Japanese and a brief English explanation of each.

自動車登録番号 – Obviously, the number plate easily identifies each individual vehicle from the next, however they also indicate more information with regards to the type of vehicle and which local municipality each vehicle is registered with.

登録年月日・交付年月日 – These dates are displayed using the Japanese dating system showa or heisei, and relate specifically to the date with which a vehicle was either first registered, or last transferred.

初度登録年月 – Similar to the above, dates are displayed using the Japanese dating system showa or heisei, and indicate the date when the vehicle was first registered.

自動車の種類 – Specifically highlights the type of registered vehicle; small vehicles, normal vehicles or large vehicles.

車名 – Stipulates the manufacturer of the registered vehicle. Displayed in either chinese characters, katakana or romaji.

乗車定員 – Displays the number of passengers with which the registered vehicle is legally allowed to transport.

車両重量 – This highlights the vehicles curb weight; i.e. with no passengers in transit. This figure is used to configure the weight tax applicable at the time of shaken.

車台番号 – This is basically the vehicles VIN no. (chassis no.) used primarily for vehicle identification.

長さ・幅・高さ – The vehicle dimensions will be listed three rows down. These are not only required when applying for a parking space, but are essential in ensuring that vehicles will fit their designated parking space, particularly tower parking spaces in urban areas of Japan.

型式 – This highlights the vehicles particular grade. Grades differ depending on interior and exterior packages, drivetrain, engine size etc. This is also used to help dealers calculate the amount of acquisition tax levied upon purchase.

総排気量 – Indicates the engine capacity of the registered vehicle. Also used to calculate the amount of automobile tax payable per annum.

所有者の氏名・住所 – Displays the name and address of the legal owner of the vehicle. Names can be registered in either Chinese characters, katakana or romaji.

使用者の氏名・住所・本拠の位置 – Displays the name, address and the registered location of the legal user of the vehicle, if different to the legal owner. In the case the legal owner and user are the same, this will be indicated with an asterisk.

有効期限の満了する日 – Displays the expiry date of the vehicle inspection test using the Japanese dating system heisei.

備考 – Displays additional notes with regards to the issuing municipality, previous taxes paid, emission standards, mileage at the last recorded shaken and legal requirements for noise pollution.

NB: It is a legal requirement to carry the shaken certificate in the car at all times while driving. Failure to do so will result in points on ones license and/or a maximum fine of JPY500,000.

Pre-Paid Petrol Cards

Gas Station Image courtesy of Themny

It’s fair to say that most small businesses like ourselves are driven by providing great service to each and everyone of our customers, giving that little bit extra, in creating a happy and memorable experience. And so, it’s always a privilege to receive such a great endorsement from our customers every time they recommend us to a friend or colleague.

A friend of mine would like to buy a nice used car shortly. They gave me a list of their requirements, but its all in Japanese and I can’t read it. Please contact him directly to discuss the matter further.

- Excerpt from Mr.R, Tokyo, Japan

Now, being based in Japan, where the culture is on the ritual of gift-giving, we thought of a few ways in which to show our appreciation for such an endorsement, and after some severe head scratching, we settled on the idea of presenting pre-paid petrol (gasoline) cards.

The Gasoline Stand (ガソリンスタンド)

The main petrol stations utilised nationwide in Japan are; Eneos, Esso, Idemitsu, Shell and Cosmo, in order of the number of filling stations currently in use. Each oil company listed have their own card schemes, described below, for use on their own forecourts throughout Japan.

Eneos offer gift cards, which are available for purchase online in denominations of 500, 1,000, 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 yen.

Esso offer two options, in the form of a debit/credit card and a speedpass, a handy key fob which deducts the amount directly from the users credit card upon touch.

Idemitsu also offer gift cards, available for purchase online or at forecourts in denominations of 500, 1,000, 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 yen.

Shell don’t offer pre-paid cards at present, instead opting for a debit/credit card by the name of starlex, with associated point schemes.

Cosmo don’t offer a pre-paid card at present, however do offer a wide variety of debit/credit cards with associated point schemes.

(More details can be found by clicking on each image above, Japanese only)

Mobile Snapshots

Click the image above to view our instagram feed!

Just like many others in our industry, we have a strong passion for photography, and are blessed that we live in an age with a plethora of hardware from which we can literally ‘point-and-shoot’ at our desired subject.

Possessing the skills to exploit all the different angles and lines of the car however, is a different matter. Highlighted below are the cameras we use, the purpose for each camera and the location where some of our images are stored publicly online.

Nikon DSLR

Reserved mainly for taking images of our clients vehicles for use in sales material, posting some of the post-production images over on flickr.

iPhone

This is our fun camera, snapping mobile snapshots of cars, travel, food & drink, personal interests and all things Japan, uploading them to Instagram via the app.

We’ll be sharing some of our unpublished photo collections in a later post. In the meantime, feel free to simply like, comment or follow our image feed over at instagram.

Leasing a Car

In normal circumstances, leasing a car has many benefits over the direct purchase of a car, especially for those who are living in Japan on a short-term basis of two-to-three years. As has been written about numerous times by umpteen individuals, the main benefit is to spread the cost through lower monthly payments, offset by a pre-calculated residual value, meaning the user, in theory, only pays for what they use.

In addition to the car itself, it is also common to include the costs of all applicable taxes throughout the lease, periodic maintenance and even in some cases, voluntary insurance into the monthly lease fee.

Sounds simple enough, yes? Pay a pre-determined fee for the pleasure to drive the car of your choice for the period of ones stay in Japan. So, what options are available?

Choosing an Open or Closed Lease

This really depends on whether the lease will be a corporate or personal lease. Open end leases, or finance leases as they are commonly referred to, are no longer available for corporate lessee’s to take advantage of.

The main advantage of an open-ended lease is that the lessee has the option to buy the vehicle upon the completion of the lease for a pre-determined price, agreed by both parties before the lease commences, giving the lessee an increased equity in the vehicle over the term of the lease.

The Downside to Leasing a Car

As is commonly known, the user has no equity in the vehicle under the closed lease system. While this is fine to some, others may decide they wish to own their own vehicle instead, with the possibility to export their car back home under the personal export scheme.

Another point of contention is the monthly/yearly mileage cap included in most contracts. While most companies are fairly lenient about this, using a lease car to travel outside the Kanto plain on a regular basis may not be a good idea.

The biggest issue however, is finding a provider who will lease a car to non-Japanese citizens. While the likes of Sumitomo-Mitsui offer great value on their leases, the lessee signing the contract has to be able to understand the contract independent of any third-party.

Early Termination Costs

By far and away the biggest risk with leasing a car in Japan are the early termination costs. Unfortunately, for those leaving Japan earlier than their stipulated term of agreement, the cancellation fee can be, in some cases, more than the vehicles current residual value.

How is this Calculated

Common practice is to take said car to be examined by an accredited evaluation centre of the lessor’s choice.

While this may not be so exuberant, in the case of a sub-lease, where a leasing company sub-contracts the lease to another lease company, the lessee may find the cancellation fee to be excessive, due to the sub-lessor including their profit margins from the original lease into the cancellation fee.

Regardless of a corporate or personal lease, always make sure you fully understand how the lease works, who is the owner (lessor) of the vehicle, and what penalties, if any, are due if the lease agreement is broken before signing any contracts, to avoid being out-of-pocket to the sum of seven figures or more.