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Final spring we took an unconventional journey to Japan. As an alternative of the standard few days in Tokyo and different massive cities, we opted to hire an RV in Japan and spend two weeks exploring backroads and small cities. We nonetheless loved a few of the highlights in Tokyo, Kanazawa, and Kyoto, however a few of our favourite recollections had been spent subsequent to streams, mountains, and seashores throughout rural Japan.
If you happen to’re presently planning a visit to Japan, I needed to share a number of issues I want we had recognized earlier than renting an RV in Japan.
Why Would You Hire an RV in Japan?
Japan is thought for having a few of THE finest public transportation in the complete world. Plus, a lot of the cultural experiences that vacationers search after may be present in Tokyo or Osaka.
However for an genuine Japanese expertise, you may hire a motorhome and take a highway journey throughout Japan.
Why would you keep in an RV versus a resort?
For most individuals, you’re in all probability much better off staying in resorts or Airbnbs in cities. Nonetheless, for us, RVing has at all times been our favourite mode of journey. We will sleep in the identical mattress each night time, camp in nature, and get away from the crowds to discover off the overwhelmed path.
If you happen to’re somebody who likes to discover smaller cities and nature, renting an RV in Japan (or a van) may very well be an excellent possibility.
Particularly if you wish to get up with views like this.
Or drink espresso with views like this.
The place to Discover RV Rental Corporations in Japan
There are a number of corporations to select from when renting a camper in Japan. Lots of them provide vans, however there are additionally a number of who provide motorhomes too. We visited throughout peak season and rented our RV comparatively late, so many had been booked up.
Beneath are two RV rental corporations in Japan that I researched earlier than discovering our chosen rental supplier. Each had nice evaluations, however no availability throughout cherry blossom season once we visited.
This was the primary firm I reached out to whereas researching. They confirmed up first in Google and had a number of totally different vans and a few motorhomes to select from. Sadly, they didn’t have availability for our dates. They appear to be a very good possibility for vacationers primarily based on the variety of constructive Google evaluations they’ve on their web page.
This firm builds out and rents its vans. Their evaluations are high notch and the inside design of their vans is gorgeous. If you happen to’re visiting Japan as a pair or solo traveler, they may very well be an excellent possibility for renting a van in Japan, however the vans are doubtless too small for households.
Who We Rented Our RV From
We rented from an organization known as El Monte RV. They’ve a handful of pickup places round Tokyo to select from. We picked up ours from the Funabashi department.
By the way in which, if this RV firm sounds acquainted and also you’re primarily based within the US, it’s as a result of El Monte is a well-liked RV rental firm within the States. We reached out to the US firm to ask if there was an affiliation. Seems, it’s the similar firm!
The pickup course of was comparatively easy. It took us a few minutes to search out their location because it’s nestled behind a house items retailer. Like many rental corporations, they’ve a large car parking zone and ample room for parking motorhomes.
We had been greeted by the supervisor who took us by way of a tour of the RV and talked with us about toll passes, GPS, and some other questions we had.
I used to be very nervous about not talking Japanese on this journey and dealing with communication. Everybody warned us that nobody in Japan speaks English. What we encountered throughout our time in Japan was that just about everybody used Google Translate or a translation system. Even for those who stroll as much as somebody and ask for his or her assist, most individuals wouldn’t be offended for those who had your Google translate app out and able to use. In truth, they may have theirs out earlier than you!
We had no translation points whereas choosing up our rental.
If you wish to see our expertise choosing up our RV rental and driving it by way of Tokyo, you may watch the video under.
What It’s Like Driving an RV in Japan
The roads in Japan are spectacular. They’re clear, the signage is unbelievable, and Japanese drivers are the friendliest I’ve ever encountered in any nation. They do drive on the left facet of the highway and the appropriate facet of the car, like within the UK or Australia.
I’m at all times a bit of nervous with regards to driving in a brand new nation. I mustn’t have been involved in Japan. Even after I unintentionally exited the freeway in downtown Tokyo, I used to be capable of navigate again onto the primary highway.
An surprising good thing about our rental was our toll go. I didn’t understand it on the time, however there are toll roads nearly all over the place in Japan. We sometimes would evaluate our routes to go non-toll versus toll, but it surely by no means made sense to keep away from tolls.
Our toll go, known as an ETC, made driving by way of the tolls seamless. We’d sluggish, however notice cease on the gates and they might mechanically raise. Our ETC would say what number of yen we had been charged at that toll gate. On the finish of the journey, El Monte calculated the toll invoice and we paid them instantly. For 2 weeks, it was about $250 USD for all tolls.
What to Count on from an RV Rental in Japan
As you may think about, lots of the motorhomes are very small. Our motorhome was 16 ft lengthy. For reference, that is smaller than an American minivan (which is about 17 ft).
Nonetheless, for a two-week highway journey, there was sufficient area for the 4 of us.
One beauty of the RV being so small is you can park wherever a traditional automotive can park. We drove into the previous metropolis of Kanazawa and had been capable of park in a downtown metropolis car parking zone with no downside.
In contrast to different RV leases, not every little thing got here included. For add-on purchases, we rented further bedding, pots and pans, desk and chairs, and an infinite wifi package deal (extremely suggest, labored nice). You’ll have the ability to choose these choices at checkout.
My greatest worry about renting an RV in Japan was the toilet.
I couldn’t discover ANY van rental corporations in Japan with an actual rest room or cassette rest room on board. Our motorhome rental got here with an “emergency rest room”. I had no thought what constituted an emergency earlier than choosing up this RV. We’ve a four-year-old and a two-year-old. We’re perpetually in a state of emergency lavatory conditions.
That being stated, the toilet scenario wasn’t all that unhealthy. The lavatory appears to be like just like different RV loos. You could have a closed-off door and a proper-looking rest room. However as a substitute of your rest room being hooked to a black tank, it simply has a sack/bag in it.
You refill the bag after which dump it within the rubbish.
Did I really feel bizarre strolling by way of campsites with a bag of my pee in it? Sure.
Was it the worst factor on the earth? No.
If you wish to see a full tour of our motorhome, you may watch our video under.
What Japanese Campgrounds Are Like
Japanese campgrounds are totally different.
A number of of those we encountered had been giant fields versus particular person campsites. There are not any dump stations since autos don’t have working bogs. There’s a jug underneath the sink you can empty and refill at campsites.
Most individuals had been in tents. We noticed a handful of vans and even fewer motorhomes like ours. As our journey progressed, we did discover campgrounds that extra carefully resembled RV parks within the US with particular person campsites.
Do you want reservations?
For 90% of our RV journey plans, we don’t e-book upfront. We like to see what we discover alongside the way in which. Nonetheless, we had been uncertain of how straightforward it will be to name campgrounds in Japan with the language barrier. And when researching we observed that just about each campground web site stated reservations are required.
We booked each night time upfront. It was comparatively straightforward as most campgrounds have some type of on-line reserving or reservation inquiry type. Some campgrounds do say to name, which was subsequent to unimaginable to do from the States. We searched and located e mail addresses for any campgrounds the place we needed to remain. This took a major period of time however was effectively price it. Each night time of our journey was deliberate and coordinated. We did cancel our final campground reservation so we might return to Tokyo early and take the children to Disney Sea. They had been the one campground that was paid upfront and we noticed a portion of our price refunded.
Whereas we made reservations, only a few campgrounds requested us to pay on-line or reserve with a card forward of time. Most accepted yen in particular person as a substitute. We picked up yen earlier than leaving the States, which I’d suggest if attainable. Playing cards are usually not ceaselessly accepted throughout the nation.
Professional tip: Print out all your e mail confirmations so you may merely hand them to the park upon arrival. These can be in Japanese, so we wrote the date and Google Maps title on the highest of every sheet. This made it simpler for us to search out our campsites each afternoon and made check-in even simpler.
Ought to You Hire an RV In Japan?
If you wish to have a really totally different expertise than 95% of the individuals who go to Japan, I’d extremely suggest renting an RV.
Our favourite experiences in Japan had been assembly folks and discovering locations off the overwhelmed path. One night time, we camped at a family-owned restaurant and the proprietor took me out and let me dig up bamboo and taught me to cook dinner it. One other day we toured a rural inexperienced tea plantation.
When you can have unbelievable experiences in Japanese cities, lots of our favourite recollections wouldn’t have occurred had we not gotten off the overwhelmed path.
Questions on planning a Japanese highway journey?
Drop them within the feedback! We’re joyful to assist!