I started at Haneda where it is important to note you MUST have an International Driving Permit to get a rental car and be sure to get an ETC card for tolls (Japan experts likely already know this ;-)

So to escape the heat I went directly to Nagano and stayed in Kamiyamada area at a Route Inn that had a hot thermal bath (onsen) supposedly from the source that was passably good with free parking + Japanese-style breakfast.

Next morning I drove to Matsumoto to tour the castle grounds and then I drove the incredibly windy road #158 that is a detour off highway 471 but reconnects to continue on to Toyama,

One reason I chose Toyama was the incredibly low-rate for the Doubletree and to visit the incredible Toyama Prefecture Art Museum that has a world-class collection of 20th century western contemporary art including 6 works from Picasso, others from Chagall, a large 3-D piece from Frank Stella, more from Warhol, Cy Twomby............. Then there is a fantastic Glass Museum there as well.

Road toll prices are quite high in Japan - from Haneda to Takasaki it was +/- USD 20 but what offsets that is that in most cities you can park overnight for under $10 and the entrance prices to museums and attractions is often only $2 or 3.

A short distance from my hotel and the Toyama JR station was a fantastic old time yakitori, quite smoky, really loud and busy with excellent value dishes. Quite a breakfast spread at the Doubletree too.

I had lunch at the Toyama Art Museum with a local dish of curried pork meatballs, soup, barley style rice and a salad set.

After 2 nights I needed to drive down to Osaka for a brief business meeting, fabulous road conditions and courteous drivers but speed limits are exceptionally low in Japan (highways 80-100 kph) and (side roads 40-60 kph) but there seems to be a 20 to 30 kph allowance over limits. The toll charge from Toyama to Kyoto was an eye-watering USD 40.

In Osaka I stayed off-center near Tsukomoto JR station where I found 24 hour parking for just $6. After a rare Saturday business meeting and a tasty lunch, Sunday was reserved for the antique flea market at Toji Temple in Kyoto.

Rolling out of Osaka at 6AM I found it interesting that these young motorheads were running at 160 kph for most of the way to Kyoto, a $10 toll for 35 minutes.

There was an interesting selection of antiques + junk at probably 40 booths. I bought a life-sized bear head carved from cedar that was likely made in the 1960s as well as a quality bronze of a figure referred to as the Selflessness Child.

Then I visited several antique and recycle shops where I picked up some Italian glass and German ceramics of all things, I have a 60 kg luggage allowance and plan to use it ;-)

On Monday I made my way from Osaka past Kobe on a major road that was marked 40 kph the whole way but no tolls to reach one of the longest bridges of it's type from Honshu (largest of the main islands) to Shikoku (the smallest of the main islands) in Japan to begin my tour of some of the more remote areas of Japan that are not connected by the fast trains or a wide public transportation system.

My next report will be about travels around that island ..........

Thanks for reporting! Which car rental agency did you get your car from at Haneda? Do you mind sharing how much you will pay for the car rental for three weeks? Did you make your reservations ahead of time? What do you think about the petrol stations that you are stopping at? Does your car come equipped with a gps system? Glad you found the Sunday flea market in Kyoto. Anxiously awaiting further reports and your thoughts on Shikoku.

I look forward to reading about your adventure around Shikoku..... maybe I'll get there someday.

I use Sixt and if I am even considering a trip I book far in advance because you can easily cancel or rebook at a lower price. I was a bit disappointed with my upgrade but the brand new Prius I got with with 9000 km on it is sort of cool looking compared to the earlier dorky looking models and just sips the gasoline.

My rate was +/- USD 1100 with $1500 deductible, full coverage will of course cost more

Gas stations from my limited experience are all full service and even the simplest attendants seem to have heard 'full' before ;-)

I have poor experience with GPS systems not being updated or just working poorly, so I use Google maps and the problem in Japan is these rental cars are for the domestic market, so you really cannot set the car completely to English or German or ...........

So what I did was buy an eSim for Japan (20 GB data), downloaded the Japanese language dictionary to my phone on wi-fi and I use Google Lens to translate menus + signs and can key in questions to ask people

I never expect anybody to speak my language in a foreign country except at the airport or a major hotel, the majority of people outside the major cities in Japan speak very little or no English

Hope the above helps

If you happen to rent a car in Japan again check out Tocoo car rental. https://www2.tocoo.jp/en/

If English is your first language always rent a from Nissan car in Japan. All Nissan car rentals nationwide come equipped English gps systems mandatory.

I always love how the service is at the full service gas stations. They even guide you on your way out of the station and will stop oncoming traffic in the street to let you out of the gas station. Looking forward to you reports on Shikoku, it's been over ten years since I've been there.

here

Matsumoto




Tonkatsu

Trip Report flag added

love the photos! we'll be in Matsumoto for a couple of nights at the beginning of November -- getting very excited now. please share the name of the restaurant where you had the Tonkatsu, along with any other recommendations you may have.
are the museum photos from Toyama, or from the City Museum in Matsumoto?

sorry I am no help with Matsumoto, I drove there early to tour the castle grounds and then departed for Toyama.

the tonkatsu I took a photo of was from somewhere near main Tokyo highway junction when I got off to head towards Nagano

be sure to visit a restaurant that specialises in tonkatsu, I went to a place today in Fukuyama that was just incredible, maybe best I ever had ;-)