5khours is the only person who has a clue here.

I regularly drive from Shibuya station area to the Otemachi area. It is faster than taking the subway by 5-10 min even if don't take the expressway and this includes driving throught heart of Roppongi. If I take the expressway then I can do it at 1/3 to 1/2 the time. Note that I have to walk 10 min to the metro, which is the real world. On the other end the metro stop is directly below the destination, but involves a change of train.

Driving in Tokyo is fine. Do you people think that locals with means travel on the smelly and crowded public transport? Give me a break.

Parking in Tokyo is easy. The abundance of coin parks is really good and you can always find available parking wherever and whenever you go. Unlike the West where finding parking is difficult and this includes paid garage parking. The sport is to find the best value. In places like Ginza and Nishishinjuku you can find places for 400 yen per hour, which is not bad. Where parking meters are available then you often find a free spot.

I agree that the hardest part for a tourist is finding his or her way. But all Japanese rental cars will have GPS. But if it's all-Japanese then it becomes a bit tricky. Some rental cars will have GPS with English menus for input; the output and map is still Japanese. A smart phone is another alternative.


p.s. Hiking on Fuji in the off season is nice but you only want to do it on a bluesky date. Yes, you need a car since it's better to go to the south side via Gotemba. August is the peak season so I would not go there then. It will be crowded and hard to find parking. The "season" is July and August. It's better to hike it in Sep-Oct. This May I am going to ski the mountain.