Best rates found by KAYAK users in the past 48 hours.
Top tips for renting a car in Tokyo
All children up to age six in Japan are required to be in rear-facing car seats, while older children may be in booster seats. Most car rental services in Tokyo provide car seats for rent. However, make sure to enquire from the company on whether they provide car seats as certain drop-off and pick-up spots may not have them in stock, as well as whether the car seat will have been installed when picking up the car. Failure to have a car seat when traveling with young children and infants in car rentals in Tokyo constitutes an offense and may land you in trouble.
Renting a car while in Tokyo will give you the ultimate comfort by allowing you to visit the multiple sights and attractions in the city at your convenience. Get a cheap car rental in Tokyo and visit Asakusa’s Sensoji Temple, one of the most famous tourist sites in the city, in less than 40mins. Tokyo Disneyland, located just under 20miles from Tokyo City, is another famous tourist destination site that you can drive to in approximately 40mins. Make use of the independence that comes with driving your own car to explore the beautiful beaches surrounding Tokyo.
Tokyo is one of the busiest cities in the world and driving around the city might get you caught up in heavy traffic, especially during peak hours. In this scenario, avoid using the city’s primary exit and entry highways between the hours of 7 am and 9 am, as well as 5 pm to 7 pm when people are traveling to and from work. Be especially careful when driving around the Imperial Palace, which is located in Central Tokyo as the road has several lanes that can be quite confusing, with one main lane leading to an expressway entrance.
The intricacy of roads in Tokyo could be confusing to anyone, and navigating public transport is no easy feat. In such a huge metropolis, taxi prices are significantly higher, so renting a car from Tokyo car rental can be a cost-effective option to explore Japan. You may be hesitant about the heavy traffic and parking challenges, but most rental cars come equipped with GPS navigation systems that will help you get where you need to go. With your rental car, you can comfortably head to Enoshima, which is 77 km (47 miles) away, or Kokotu-In, located 59 km (36 miles) away conveniently and at your own pace.
At the Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, you’ll find that both Terminal 1 and 2 have different car rental companies at the terminal lobby on the first level of the airport. You’ll also find a rental car center in the International Terminal on level 2 of the arrivals lobby. Once you get here, you can pick up the car of your choice from several Tokyo car rentals, such as Alamo, Hertz, Enterprise, Europcar, and Times.
The first thing you should know about Tokyo is that cars drive on the left side of the road. Signs on major roads and highways are in Japanese and English, but you may want to make sure the rental car has a good English navigational system because most rural roads have signage in Japanese. Crossing the orange line between lanes is prohibited and be wary of bicycles at city intersections and sidewalks. When venturing into rural roads, you may encounter carts or animals. Stopping at red signs and before crossing railway lines is mandatory, even if there’s no approaching train. Drunk driving is taken very seriously in Japan, so be careful and have a designated sober driver.
The Shuto Expressway, also known as the Capital Expressway, is a network of busy roads in Japan, which can be quite congested during rush hour. Surprisingly, the city center has a good flow of traffic most of the time, unless there’s a major concert or event. Depending on your itinerary, keep in mind that Tokyo's rush hour lasts from 7am to 9am and then 5pm to 7pm.
25% of our users found rental cars in Tokyo for C$ 73 or less
Book your rental car in Tokyo at least 7 days before your trip in order to get a below-average price
Off-airport rental car locations in Tokyo are around 1% more expensive than airport locations on average
Economy rental cars in Tokyo are around 36% cheaper than other car types, on average
FAQs about renting a car in Tokyo
Apart from expressways and highways, Tokyo has some narrow roads that may be hard to navigate. That being said, you should reserve a compact car from car rentals in Tokyo. This mostly applies to rural roads, so if you intend to venture out and experience the outskirts of the city, a compact car will do you justice. Rural roads can be gravel or dirt roads, so depending on how much time you’ll be spending outside the city, having a four-wheel-drive or a compact SUV might be preferable.
Speed limits in Tokyo are listed inkm/h. On expressways, expect to drive at limits of 100km/h (63mph), 40km/h (24mph), 30km/h (18mph) on side streets and 60km/h (37mph) on other roads. Pay attention to traffic signs when going to the countryside to ensure you’re keeping at recommended speed limits.
Parking in Tokyo City Center can be expensive, and the spaces can be few and far between. Still, you can park on the street as long as there’s a passenger in the car. You might find it more convenient to park in the smaller towns in the countryside where parking is free. You can also park in the parking lots at national parks or close to other tourist attractions where you’re likely to get a flat fee of around ¥200 ($1.90) to ¥500 ($4.75).
On average a rental car in Tokyo costs C$ 91 per day.
In the past 72 hours, the cheapest rental cars were found at Hertz (C$ 44/day), Avis (C$ 63/day) and Alamo (C$ 70/day). In the last 72 hours the cheapest rental car price was found at Hertz 2-17-7 Minamicho 185-0021 (26 kilometers from city center).
Yes, automatic cars are available in most car renting companies in Tokyo. As cars with manual transmission are more common in many countries, you might have to pay an additional charge for renting an automatic car.
The average gas price in Tokyo is C$ 6.12 per litre over the past 30 days. Filling up a gas tank costs between C$ 73 and C$ 98, depending on the car size.
Economy (Honda Fit or similar) is the most frequently booked rental car type in Tokyo.
The only car rental company onsite at Narita airport is Alamo.
An Economy car rental in Tokyo costs C$ 77 per day, on average.
A Compact car rental in Tokyo costs C$ 108 per day, on average.
A Full Size car rental in Tokyo costs C$ 153 per day, on average.
In Tokyo, cars are most frequently rented at Avis 1513-1 Komaino (57 km from city centre ).
On average a rental car in Tokyo costs C$ 649 per week (C$ 93 per day).
On average a rental car in Tokyo costs C$ 2,784 per month (C$ 93 per day).
Some car rental companies in Tokyo which have updated their car rental health and safety policies due to COVID-19 to make sure vehicles are clean and disinfected include Avis, Europcar and Budget
Before considering Tokyo car rentals, make sure you have an International Driving Permit that has been issued in accordance with the Geneva Convention, which you will have to use with your local license. You should also have a credit card as most car rental companies use a credit card as the preferred payment method.
Most rental companies include basic insurance in the car rental contract. However, you can pay for additional insurance, such as non-operation charges and collision damage waiver, to reduce liability payments if something goes wrong. Make sure to make inquiries about insurance coverage from the car rental company.
The policy about cancellation is greedy and unfair. I just missed the 48 hour window which by the way is very unusual and not clearly labelled in any of the emails or when booking and had to pay full price for a car I was not going to be using. Its ludicrous.
162-0823 東京都新宿区神楽河岸1-1 セントラルプラザビル地下駐車場内, Central Plaza Building Underground Parking Garage, 1-1 Kaguragashi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0823, Shinjuku-ku (Tokyo), Japan
The staff made their best effort to accommodate us.
Cons:
When I request a car at an airport (NRT) I expect the car to be there, not in the middle of the city. I did not check the fine print. Fortunately the staff cancelled the original and accommodated us at some expense. Because of back problems, I parked in front of a grocery to buy some supplies, and was ticketed. It only took a couple of hours to work out the problem at the police station and return office since I speak Japanese. However, the fact that the navigation system did not work for the last two hours when I had to run around asking people for directions to locate the police station and car return spot did not help.