Just booked a W-2 class with Times using their summer promotion, all-in with moderate coverage is Y22,203, which is not bad, and over Y10,000 less than Hertz, National or Toyota.

Question: the Times website seems to show a variety of capacities for the same car, ie, 6-7 or 4-5 (better). I have 6 people including myself, 2 are age 60, and 2 are in their 70s/80s. I can't have them climbing around like gymnasts to get in and out of the car. I have one person of my age who can get into the 3rd row, and one of the 60-somethings can probably get into the 3rd row, and the two oldest into the 2nd row - is this going to be a super tight squeeze, or should it work out regardless of which model W-2 I get? I assume the models in this class have controls and vents for AC in the back, or just it just blow from the dashboard vents?

I could go up one car class, but the cost jumps Y10,000 and the seating configuration looks the same - plus I am used to driving a Prius C in Japan, so I would prefer to drive something on the smaller side, especially when it comes to squeezing into parking lots.

Have you considered your luggage? The cars in the W2 category look like they won't take six and their bags. I had five people (including myself) on a three-day road trip last year in an Alphard (W5). Even in that behemoth, everybody/thing just barely fit. Having said that, the Alphard came with reverse cameras so parking wasn't an issue. And it was very very comfortable.

Good question - the car is just for touring and getting around, so it's only for 6 people and no bags. On the final day, we will have a few small bags to go back to the train station, but we will only have 4 people in the car, so we should be OK. All of the big bags will be held by JAL ABC for transfer to our Tokyo hotel from Haneda when we land, so we can go to Kyoto with a couple small carry-ons.

I've only rented the Mazda Premacy from the W-2 class, and I'm certain that it didn't have dedicated AC vents for the rear seats. Considering the calibre of the other cars in the category (except maybe the BMW 2 Series), I wouldn't count on the other cars having them either. FWIW, Times indicates that the 快適人数 (comfortable number of passengers) is 4 for all vehicles in W-2 and W-3, so you might want to consider going up to W-4 if the mobility of your passengers is a concern. How many hours is the reservation?

W4 adds a huge amount of expense, over $100 more - the reservation is from the morning of Jul 26 to the afternoon of July 28, so there will be an overnight keep at the hotel, then I'm using the car to get everyone back to the train station to go to Tokyo.

Edited: I found the Times 7 day advance sale with 40% off, so I made a reservation for a W4 which is only about $40-50 more than the W2 I booked with the other promotion. Thank you for the advice.

I'm planning on renting a car in Hokkaido (3 people). Following a mid evening arrival, I thought of arranging pick up for the following morning, or maybe a day or two later thus allowing time to visit Sapporo city without the worry of a car. I originally thought it would be good to use an aggregator like rentalcars.com but maybe I will book directly with one of the legacy companies mentioned above. I'm not too worried about the driving or the navigating, I am one of those who choose to use paper maps but I do find googlemaps very useful in cities. Are there any toll roads in Hokkaido to watch out for? The only other things I expect I have to look out for are perhaps weaving tourists and bears, but I suspect that the latter don't come down on the roads much, unlike with the animals in Scandinavia.

Just reading this thread now! Came to it after i found this one about car rental:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japa...-hokkaido.html

Cyclists and speed traps.

>> an aggregator like rentalcars.com

Wouldn't use them elsewhere and certainly not in Japan. Car rentals in Hokkaido is extremely competitive and some of the cheapest places (that rent to foreign tourists) do not sell through 3rd party.

https://www.otsinternational.jp/otsr...r/en/hokkaido/ (Highest level of English spoken but not the best customer service attitude compared to others, because staff is mostly non-Japanese... i.e. they don't smile or bow as much, but otherwise get the job done and fast.)

Consolidators with English websites:

Hokkaido's Best Car Rental Deals ! - Tabirai Japan/Official
KAKUYASU RENT-A-CAR HOKKAIDO
https://www2.tocoo.jp/en/ (most expensive, and I stopped using them long time ago)

Cheapest consolidators have Japanese websites only: rakuten, jalan (I mostly use these)

>> Are there any toll roads in Hokkaido to watch out for?

Toll roads save time, typically 50% compared to non-toll. There is "Hokkaido Expressway Pass" for foreigners. If your itinerary is tightly packed, it can save you money.

Ok, I'll check those out above. What about the usual Hertz, Avis and other legacies? Are they around?

Hertz is represented by Toyota Rent a Car. On Hertz's website, their Japanese locations are in fact Toyota. However not all Toyota locations are available on Hertz's site. If you book directly with Toyota, Hertz card holders get 15% discount off published rates. Otherwise credit cards get 5%.

Avis' partner is Budget (same parent company), though they do actually put up the Avis signage. Again not all Budget locations have Avis signage. In Sapporo: https://www.budgetrentacar.co.jp/shop/0121/

The only international brand I've seen around is "Budget".

One traditional way was to book using the Australian site of Hertz, which apparently yielded much cheaper rates. That was for the US and Europe, not sure about Japan.

I don't quite get the examples 1 and 2. Why is in example 2 you decided to pay the 1620 but in example 1 you saved the 1900, with the credit card coverage being the same? I was thinking of renting the smallest 660 cc (DAIHATSU MOVE or similar) from Nippon but worried a bit about space, there's only 2 of us but we will have some mid size luggage (2 week trip). Also don't really get the difference between Recommended versus regular course (Regular total is 14.1k versus Recommended 16.7k). I do have the Mileage Plus business card that supposed to cover primary coverage but it doesn't look like I can decline the CDW? I also potentially need to worry about NOC, which is extra 400 per day (4 day rental). Thanks!

There's a huge difference between company 1 and company 2 in terms of deductibles and various stipulations. And you really have to read the fine print, because every company has different terms. I would say the terms are mostly similar amongst reputable legacy places. But if you go with kakuyasu places or small local operations, the terms will be all over the place and generally unfriendly to the renters.
With example 1, even if I purchased both CDW and NOCW, that company still would've held me liable for any windshield/tire/hubcap damage which are all things that my credit card company would cover without deductible. So by paying the extra 1900yen/day, the trade-off is that I'll no longer be liable for 3rd party damage deductible of 150k, but then I'll instead be liable for anything related to windshield/tire/hubcap. But you're far more likely to suffer some sort of damage to your own vehicle from an isolated incident not involving third party, vs an acccident involving third party due to your fault. That's why it made no sense to accept any type of waiver with the company 1. In example 2, purchasing DPP (CDW+NOCW) exempts you from deductibles under all circumstances including tire damage.

Not sure what you mean by Recommended vs Regular Course. Are these two different sets of deductible waivers that the place offers? If so, it may be that the more expensive one waives NOC. You'd have to read the fine print.

Ah I missed the cost as well. I didn't why the 2nd one you were willing to pay 1620 and the first one you thought the 1900 was not worth.
For Nippon recommended versus required differences on this page, is it worth it ?

https://www.nrgroup-global.com/en/in...t.php#target01
(it's about a 14k yen versus 16.7k yen). Then I have the option to chose CDW (which my credit card should cover the deductible for depending on what I'm on the hook for? I guess I need to double check for 1075 yen per day) and ECO (which is 475 yen per day). Also this is for the smallest 660 cc car, will that be a problem driving around? There's just two of us and two small luggages.

As a rule of thumb, I try to rent a car size close to my usual car and with enough power for the road situations I'll be in. If you're going long haul freeway and through higher elevations, a 600cc car will probably struggle given you have 2 passengers and luggage (which, unless you travel really light, will at weigh as much as a small child). Car size close to my own because I'm not great at parking car depth perception so it helps (less stressful) to have a size I'm used to driving in - your skills and experience may differ.