Self drive holiday
 

My travelling companion and I are planning a self drive holiday in Japan in early April; primarily to see the sakura, experience onsen at the highlands in central Honshu.
Some questions :
1) is it better to pick up car at airport or at train stations?
2) is driving a better option than taking trains and buses; money wise?
3) is it necessary to book accomodations far ahead? can we rely upon local tourist agency to find rooms at local inns for less than $100 per nite?

1. Depends on what airport and which train station. Check here for cheaper car rental rates.

http://www2.tocoo.jp/?file=rentcar_i...in&asp_id=0001

2. Depends on where you are going to, need you to be more specific for us to answer with any good advice.

3. In the time frame you are going yes generally and you can find an inn from a local tourist agency depending where you are but would be slim pickings if any available at that time of year. Just depends on where you are going. Central Honshu is a very large area.

Highlands in central Honshu would probably not have sakura till at least the middle of the month, again depending on exactly where you are going to.

Aloha!

I've rented cars or driven in England, Ireland, France, Hungary, Malaysia, and Japan. In Japan (where we have spent 36 months in the last 20 years) we have rented a car only on the island of Shikoku for 3 days, with less population and more remote destinations. I wouldn't rent a car in Japan unless I was going somewhere that trains didn't. You're driving on the left, following signage not always in romanji, and paying a steep price for gas and tolls. If at all possible, take the train!

I can give you some price information.
Gas is today ¥136/liter for regular and ¥147/liter for high octane. I use high octane, drive a VW Touran, and typically drive 500 km town driving on a tank ¥8000 and 800 km if it's all highway.

Toll from Kanazawa to Osaka is ¥8000+/- if you pay full price. By using ETC there are discounts but you must have an ETC card issued only in Japan. Most tourists cannot use. The trip takes about 4 hours, maybe a little less.

Train to Osaka is about the same price, so for us, with our own car and 3 people, driving is cheaper. For 2 in a rental, cost is about the same as train.

Driving is quite easy I think. I rely on my navigation system a lot but didn't always have that luxury. City driving can be frustrating and time consuming and city parking is expensive. If your hotel doesn't have parking be prepared to pay up to ¥600/hour but many places have lower overnight discount rates.

The benefit of a car is that you can go where trains and buses do not or are infrequent.

Business style hotels are fine with you just showing up with no reservation, but ryokan and minahuku are not, especially if meals are part of the plan.

Wow ¥8000 per fill-up!

You can use their ETC card when renting from TooCoo so no worries there.....except of course for the fees themselves.

The only place I wouldn't want to drive in is Tokyo but would not because I am afraid of driving there, just wouldn't want to hassle with all that traffic.....and for long distances trains are the way to go for two people but got to know where you are going to first to really give you anything solid.

Aloha!

Thanks for prompt replies.
kimjapan,
the prices sound high but I am encouraged by your comments on flexibility.

hawaiiantraveller,
my itinerary is still work in progress. would appreciate your views if you have the same 10 days to travel and take in scenic places north of Mt Fuji.

If your are going to be there the first week in April then I would stay in Tokyo for 3 or 4 days and see the cherry blossoms at Ueno Park, Shinjuku Gyoen, Chidorigafuchi, Inokashira see here for details and sakura information

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011.html

Then I would head out via shinkansen to Nasu-Shiobara and rent a car there near the station.

http://www2.tocoo.jp/?file=rentcar_i...in&asp_id=0001

I would then drive up to Omaru Onsen Ryokan
269 Yumoto, Nasu-machi, Nasu-gun, Tochigi Prefecture 325-0301, Japan.

Spend one night there and if your lucky Honmasan may be playing his jazz guitar there in the lounge at night......then head onto the Japan Romantic Road for a couple of days of exploring and leisurely driving the area overnighting in Kusatsu or another onsen town then head all the way to Nagano spending at least a night there checking out the area then finally I would take a shinkansen back to Tokyo and home.....or something like that.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7450.html

Aloha!

thank you. looks like the trees would be in full bloom around Tokyo.

Six of us planing a self drive holiday in Osaka,Kyoto, Nara, Kobe area in early April (7 days) during Sakura season. Hve driven in Hokkaido before, but Osaka is a big city. Is it difficult to drive in Osaka in respect of traffic condition, parking? Need advise. Compare with taking train and public transport, which one is more advisable? Thank YOu.

Can't comment on Honshu but we spent several days self-driving in beautiful Kyushu and loved every moment. We're from UK so driving on left side isn't a problem, but honestly we've driven in many countries around the world, most of them right-side-of-road driving and never once had any trouble with the switch.

In Kyushu, the traffic was light everywhere so it was a huge pleasure and gave us more flexibility than public transport. Trains in Japan are super but there's obviously less extensive and less frequent coverage in some regions than others, which is where the car comes into its own.

I wouldn't drive in Tokyo for all the money in the world! (Well ok, maybe ALL the money...)