Hi,
I will be going to Japan for 3rd time in 2 weeks. While I intend to use public transport for majority of my trip, I was considering taking a rental car for 1 day to Fuji. My original though was to take bus from Yokohama (where I am staying) to Kawaguchiko, then taking a rental car from there for local travel:
Arakuyama Sengen Shrine, Oshino Hakkai, Lake Yamanaka, Shibazakura festival (although might be too early for the flowers).
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Then given the hoops I have to jump through to get back, I thought of maybe taking a rental car from Yokohama itself, and driving all the way to Fuji and back. I have never driven in Japan, but walked enough, so here are my concerns and non-concerns:
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**Non-concerns:**
\- **Driving on the left**: Drove a lot in different countries with left-side driving
\- **Manual transmission** : Lot of experience with this too
\- **International driver’s permit:** Already got it
\- **Money**: I am fine to pay for tolls, fees etc
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**Concerns:**
\- **Driving in narrow streets**: I remember the narrow inner streets and they seem like crazy to drive in. It’s hard to even tell when it’s a one-way vs two-way. Seems like both Yokohama and even areas inside Fuji area have streets like this.
\- **Parking:** How hard is parking going to be especially in the peak cherry blossom season? Are there enough spots in places like Arakuyama Sengen? Will I be stuck trying to find parking, finding ways to pay for it in a foreign land without any command of the language?
\- **Navigation**: Checked on Google Maps from Yokohama to Kawaguchiko and it shows “private roads” too. I don’t want to get stuck trespassing. Alternatively the navigation systems in the car seem to be in Japanese.
\- **Laws and regulations**: How easy is it to not break the law by mistake? I drive everyday in US, haven’t gotten tickets. I am worried about not understanding some random road sign, traffic rules, stop signs and getting in trouble with the law.
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Would like to hear from people who have driven in Japan as a tourist. What was the experience like? Have you driven around Fuji area? How was parking?
by sidadidas