Car rental in Tokyo

Yes, renting an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) card from your rental desk is essential. Tokyo's expressway network, especially the Metropolitan Expressway (Shutoko), charges variable tolls based on actual distance traveled. Cash toll booths are increasingly rare, convert to ETC-only lanes, and cash users are automatically billed the maximum conceivable toll rate (up to 1,950 JPY per trip) regardless of distance.

Overnight on-street parking anywhere in Tokyo is illegal under the Garage Certificate Act. You must park in an off-street coin-operated parking lot ('Coin Parking' / コインパーキング) or a mechanical pallet tower. Check vehicle dimension limits carefully before driving onto mechanical elevators: standard sedans and SUVs frequently exceed the 1.55m or 1.85m height/width limits.

If Tokyo parking wardens (Kanshibouin) place a yellow-and-green sticker on your windshield, you must immediately report to the nearest designated Police Station (Keisatsusho) written on the notice, pay the fine at a bank or post office, and present the stamped receipt to the rental desk when returning the vehicle. If you do not pay, the rental company will charge an administrative penalty of 25,000 to 30,000 JPY plus the fine directly to your credit card.

Japan strictly recognizes only International Driving Permits issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic. IDPs issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention are invalid and rental agencies will refuse vehicle collection. Drivers holding licenses from Germany, France, Switzerland, Taiwan, Belgium, and Monaco cannot use an IDP and must present their original license alongside an official Japanese translation issued by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) or their domestic embassy.

The Non-Operation Charge (NOC) is business compensation paid to the rental operator if a vehicle is returned damaged or needs cleaning/repair. The standard fee is 20,000 JPY if the vehicle can be driven to the depot, or 50,000 JPY if it must be towed. Standard Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) does not cover NOC; you must purchase optional Zero-Deductible / ECO (Extended Collision Option) coverage to eliminate this liability.

No. Vehicles rented in Tokyo and the greater Kanto region are equipped with standard summer tires year-round unless winter tires (Studless Tires) are specifically booked in advance for an extra daily surcharge. If you plan to drive on expressways toward Nagano, Niigata, Gunma, or Yamanashi between December and April, winter tire reservations are required to pass mandatory expressway police checkpoints.