Are there any options or workarounds to purchase a vehicle in Japan for non-residents?
I am considering buying a small condo at a ski resort and doing an extended winter (one month) and summer (one month) trip each year.
I have a general awareness of costs, parking requirements etc associated with vehicle but my understanding is you need a Juminhyo to get it registered.
I know people there who could house a vehicle for me longer term but I assume it would be an impost on them to have it registered and bear responsibilities in this regard.
Any thoughts? Cheaper longer term rental options (would need to be AWD with snow tyres too)? It would actually work out well for me to have a vehicle there but I am just not seeing a way to do it.
2 comments
It’d be much cheaper and easier to just rent a car for this purpose. As a non-resident, you are correct in that registration and taxes would be difficult if not impossible.
Rental car places are very familiar with renting to people in snowy conditions.
You are right that renting would cost 3-4M for 10 months at regular price, but Toyota seems to have a deal that would cost half for monthly rental
[https://rent.toyota.co.jp/service/service_option/monthly/](https://rent.toyota.co.jp/service/service_option/monthly/)
For me that seems easy as you do not have to buy a car, no maintenance, no tire change, no inspection, no insurance, no licence plate, no worry when you are not in Japan.
So if the goal is to save money, then try to get the detail on all the elements and see how much it would really cost.