As I mentioned:

CDW: Depends on company and their respective insurance policy, 50K per each item excess (1. Your own rental / 2. Any 3rd party)

For both accident, I hit other cars so there's an excess on (2) as well, the total payout for me is 120K JPY.

Eh ... didn't know that in Japan they make you pay the excess twice. All other countries I've been (old enough to drive) in, you only pay the excess once (assuming you're at fault) -- even if the other does a claim on your insurance, it's considered as "one event" so only one excess payable.

So if you get into an accident involving another party, the deductible is potentially up to 100k. For an accident/vandalism involving just you, the deductible is 50k. And Jpn's version of CDW waives all that, including liability (third party). Interesting system.

Yes, at least that is what suppose to happen with my rental company (ORIX that is)

Basic rental (without optional "CDW"), your maximum out-of-pocket:

Property (3rd party?) Damage: 50,000 deductible

+

Car Damage (rental car itself?) : 50,000 deductible

+

NOC: 20,000 or 50,000

Yes and that's exactly how they invoiced me

Coming from the U.S., every single time getting hold of a car in Japan, it is not just sitting on right side of the car to drive and shifting using left hand… :(

But most annoying for me is that turn signal and wiper is on opposite side. Every time I meant to turn on a turn signal I am flipping on wiper blade… This never failed me and again driving this week… :eek:

It is getting into winter season at Tohoku. Possible forecast for first snow of the season in northern Tohoku for tomorrow. But I only bought a sports jacket and suite for a business. That was fine at Tokyo but at northern Tohoku may not work out tomorrow. But cannot just go buy a jacket in northern Tohoku. U.S. large size myself does not fit into Japanese XL. :p

Check out LL Bean for US sized coats.
http://www.llbean.co.jp/shop/store/index.aspx#areaKt

I have the same experience when going to the US. Then as soon as I get used to the backwards wipers/turn signals I come home and have to relearn all over. It's always entertaining for my wife.

Thanks for the info.

LL Bean store is only at Sendai in Tohoku…, which is not surprising considering hick Tohoku area. :p Aomori and Akita area was chill but I survived with my sports jacket and suite jacket. I was still flipping wiper blades when I wanted to make a turn. :D

Heading back to Tokyo on Friday. Weekend at Tokyo before heading back to NYC. :)

Just to add a bit more information...(hopefully not repeating a previous post)

Times used to be Mazda rental car. I used Mazda a lot back in the day sometimes via the TooCoo site, sometimes directly. The "good" ones are full service stores.

Ones and NikoNiko are very affordable and I use them all the time now. Each store is, typically, a gasoline station that is an independent operator. They own the cars and rent them out via the site. Service depends on the store. The one closest to my house gives so-so service and has really old cars. The one next train station over has much more professional service and, while the cars are old, they take really good care of them. The prices are the same at both places. A bit of Japanese language ability is required to navigate the sites correctly and talk to the station attendant.

The wiper /turn signal maneuver is interesting, how it becomes a trained reflex. I would do it one or two times when I lived in Japan and then driving in Europe/US and vice versa when I returned after a multi week trip. I minimized it by focusing on the fact that the turn signal is always toward the door.

However, there are some car models that use the same steering column layout for RHD, namely some Fords, to save money. So I was living in Japan and went to NZ and did the bloody wiper maneuver on my rental Ford. It is particularly embarrassing when you are at an intersection with a standoff with another driver.

When you say "shift" then it's usually automatic for US and Japan, which is not a big deal. However, in the UK and Ireland it is quite a bit more challenging in a manual, especially since it's a car that you don't have the feel for when it is a rental.

I too get wipers/signals mixed up. But that's pretty much a given. The real problem is driving on the wrong side of the road, which I've done in Jpn. It's why I don't really drive in Jpn... although I have to next month in Kyushu.

Hey guys. I will now report back on a very recent car rental in Odawara with Toyota Rent A Car.

I booked their rental car via an English speaking telephone number. The process was easy and took about 10 minutes for both of us to confirm all details. They will issue you a confirmation number to be used if necessary at the pick up counter.

Upon arriving, they ask for your IDP and your passport along with your payment method. The price includes all insurances and all paperwork is in 100% Japanese. I couldn't read any Japanese so I cannot confirm if their is an area to decline any insurance coverage. I did ask the agent and he said it was built into the rental charge so I assume it is a required charge.

After he/she will give you some documents to read and take; it shows the important information and how to gas up on return.

Check the car carefully and he will explain some basics in driving... always confirm before land if English GPS is present. Always have the telephone numbers of the places you want to go and look up Mapcodes beforehand. Roads and turns are tight/immediate in certain areas of Japan so just be careful and take your time!

I paid 15000 Yen for 48 Hrs of rental of a P1 Corolla.

Thanks!

>> I cannot confirm if their is an area to decline any insurance coverage.

At Toyota the contract is printed with the insurance options you requested when you made the reservation. There is no check box to decline/accept anything. CDW is optional but I suppose if you call the English phone line they put it in automatically and bill you accordingly.

On the other hand, I rented from Nissan in Hakodate last week. There are check boxes for various insurance coverages, and the whole contract page is in English!

He's trying to decline all coverage on the car, which is difficult or impossible if a car is booked outside the US. A renter with a US credit card will have CDW included, but must technically decline all and any coverage. I have damaged cars in Europe but in both cases I had made the reservation on a US website, e.g. Avis, so there was no CDW and compensation from Visa proceeded smoothly.

Outside the US you will typically have base CDW included with a $500-$1000 deductible and they will offer a supplemental CDW for an outrageous price to cover the deductible.

I asked Visa once about this issue and they told me that they would cover the deductible if it was impossible to decline all of the CDW. But I have never put this to the test. I have heard that some people scrawl "request to decline all CDW coverage denied" or something like on the contract.

p.s. 15000 yen for 2 days for a Corolla seems pretty expensive.