Hergertarian

My partner and I are interested in taking a road-trip from Tokyo to a remote Onsen town (and testing our Japanese!). Any recommendations on:

- Which Onsen town to visit (we're largely aiming for something within 5 hours driving of Tokyo, with few other tourists)
- Renting a car in Japan, with a US driver's license?

UAPremExecflyer

As to car rental, try doing a search "car rental" = Renting Car in Japan

mapleg

Finding an onsen town with "few other tourists" may be a challenge.

Do you mean few tourists at all or few foreign tourists?

As for driving, train to me is always preferable from Tokyo. Places? Kusatsu Onsen comes to mind. Train to Nagnoharakusatsuguchi Station and short bus ride from there.

jib71

So many options... For an overnight trip with five hours drive each way, you could reach small onsen towns in the mountains of Gunma, or by the coast on the Izu Peninsula (unless it's a holiday, when the roads are crowded). For a day trip with 2.5 hours driving each way, you could be looking at driving out to Okutama or Yamanashi, for instance. Some surprisingly nearby places can feel "away from it all."
You could also do a combination of rail + car rental to get further afield. I prefer this, because I find it quite dull to drive along expressways (usually with high walls on either side of the expressway) into and out of Tokyo. YMMV.
You'll need an international driving permit AND your US license.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2022.html

Lrob

I did exactly this about three years ago. We went from a station just outside of Tokyo to Nagano and an Onsen town. I forget which one. We stayed at a ryokan. It was a blast. Driving in Japan is very easy and the drivers are very polite. We rented from Tocoo (a broker, I think). US license and IDP. Tocoo has a website with everything explained in English. I loved our road trip in Japan. Go for it!

evergrn

If you're really looking for a great onsen place truly off the beaten path, how about this place?
Koshu Nishiyama Hot Spring Keiunkan [Official] English site
Hot spring doesn't get much better than this place.

If you're looking for the best onsen town, though, Kusatsu is still the best. But it's definitely a popular place with tourists.

jonsha

Great idea! Most people pass up the idea of renting a car, because the trains are so extensive, but having a car can give you a different experience. It can also be more convenient when you're traveling outside the cities and have luggage. I can recommend Shirahone Onsen, near Matsumoto city in Nagano prefecture. Its about 4 hours from Tokyo, and doesn't get crowded. Because it's near Matsumoto you combine it with a visit there to see the castle and art museum (which features works by Yayoi Kusama,a Matsumoto native). The setting in the Japan alps is beautiful with mountains all around. I also suggest visiting the Daio wasabi farm near Matsumoto. All of this would be much harder without a car. Tocoo has really good rates for intl visitors, so I can recommend using that site. Actually, I think driving along the expressways can be fun-no stop and go, nice scenery of the mountains, and the Japanese rest areas usually have great souvenir shopping. Just make sure you have your intl drivers permit, which you can get at a AAA store for about $15 or so (and it is valid for 1 year).

cager

I rented from Nissan back in 2014
https://nissan-rentacar.com/english/...departure.html

They have multiple pick up and drop off points in Tokyo - I picked up my Nissan Juke from a location across the street from Tokyo station and dropped off the car near Shinjuku station

Would highly recommend

They required an international drivers license (use AAA or CAA, its like $30 or so)

mongobot

When are you planning to visit?
What is your budget for the ryokan?

RichardInSF

On Hokkaido, I used Times rent a car -- yes the company that runs all those parking lots also has a rental car business as well. It was fine, I reserved online in English.

International Driver's License, available from AAA in the USA (even if you are not a member), is probably required although it is a ripoff. I say "probably" because I once managed to talk a Japanese rental car agent to rent to me without it and that was without me knowing Japanese.

OhDoctor

I love Hakone, and the Hyatt Regency there is not only among the best in the world, but has it's own onsen. Plus you could also do the Hakone Round Course while you're there and see Fuji-san up close. It's less than an hour south of Tokyo.

JennyT

For renting a car in Japan you have to translate your driver's licence in Japanese, it is one of my friends who have to do that

sinfonia

How are you all renting cars in Japan? Do you all speak/read Japanese? We are visiting Japan soon but too chicken to rent a car since we cannot read Japanese, but I have read posts that people who do not speak/read Japanese have driven there easily. Can you explain? Thanks!

jib71

I suggest you start with the following thread - and then click through to the other thread that Evergrn links to in his first post:
Renting Car in Japan

5khours

Theoretically under the international driving treaty the contracting parties (e.g. Japan) must accept an officially translated copy of a drivers license, but in practice Japan requires an IDP, which you can easily and quickly obtain at many (check the website) AAA offices (assuming you have a US license.)

Easy to rent and drive outside of the big cities (even with no language ability), but I'm not sure I would try it in the big cities with no Japanese unless you're adventurous.