Originally Posted by
YariGuy
I rented the cheapest car from Nissan for my ski trip in about 10 days. Seeing the news about the heavy snow in Niigata, I wanted to request 4WD / snow tires. The Nissan website couldn't do it, so I decided to call.
Interestingly, there was no phone number on the website. I switched to Japanese and voila, there was a phone number. Also it conveniently provided a non-toll-free option for those like me calling from outside of Japan.
Alas, they were out of 4WD and/or snow tires for my reserved class, or for up to 2 classes above. They advised that I procure tire chains.
As long as you rent from a location in Hokkaido, Aomori, Akita, Iwate, Yamagata, Miyagi, Fukushima, Nagano, Niigata, Yamanashi, Fukui, Toyama, Ishikawa, Shimane, or Tottori, they would be required to have winter tires on the cars. If you rent from outside of these areas but drive there you are required to have winter tires on the car.