Hi, I live in Aoba-ku, yokohama, japan with my wife. And my yearly salary is around 6.4million yen. We are planning to have a car but wondering will it be worth it to have a car or to ride rental cars ? We will use it on the weekends and holidays for traveling outside of the city.Thank you.
14 comments
Depends on where you live Yokohama. But I might buy used car and see if I see value having it.
If you are thinking of driving in the city, except for groceries, then no. It’s absolutely worth it if you go out of the city, surfing, hiking.
Depends on your needs. If you only want to take the occasional trip to the countryside/beach on the weekend, rental should be perfectly fine.
Impossible to answer without knowing how often you will use it. If you live in the heart of the city and plan to spend most of your time in Yokohama, then no…use public transport and for the occasional trip out to the sticks, you can use a rental.
There is alot of stress that can come with owning a car and one of the huge benefits of living here is not having to rely on one and you can get EVERYWHERE via public transport even if not the most convenient.
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Source: I live in Kanagawa with 2 cars
I signed up for times car share. It is pretty good for shopping and small trips. If you use it a few times a month you’ve spent about what the car insurance and tests cost every cycle.
Echoing another response, highly depends on where you live. It sounds like you already live here, so you might have an idea already, but if you’re in parts of the city away from Yokohama station and the denser parts nearby, a car would give you easier access to various shopping malls & department/grocery/home centers.
For example out west in Aoba-ku, Tsuzuki-ku, Midori-ku etc. I think you can find a lot of use for a car.
If it’s just you and your wife and if you live in Aoba-ku, I guess you have good public transport. So I’d just go with rental or Times car share.
If you have a kid though, I’d get a car. I live in Naka-ku but going places with a kid and a stroller on a train can be a nightmare. Getting a car has made things so much easier. I’m also lucky to have a garage. Saves quite a bit of money for parking.
Costs are cheap if you get a 4 number (kei van) motorway costs are cheaper too. If you a heavier kei car like a 5 number it is still cheap. But if you want a bigger car with bit of power 2000cc and up you’d get a 3 number. On road costs are a bit more and motorway fee is a bit more. These all need inspections every 2 years. I have an 8 number (specialised vehicle) so my expenses are kinda high and my car needs yearly inspection.
I live in Yokohama area and use a car every single day. That said, I drive kids to daycare and my wife drives to work. If you don’t need it most days just use times car share
For a family of two it is never economically meaningful to have a car in Tokyo/Yokohama, but it opens you doors to different places to hang out. If you only plan to get out on weekends I’d just use Times or any other car sharing, because it releases you from the costs of car maintenance, insurance, taxation, parking and gasoline. Besides you get to ride different cars.
Owning car gets more meaningful once you have your own house with parking and/or have a large family with several kids.
I can also vouch for Times Car Share for weekend out and about as well if it’s available near your place. Not having to pay for parking every month will save you a lot. For a longer trip, I prefer renting a standard size hybrid car like Prius so I usually book them in advance with car rental agency (not sure about others but Toyota lets you choose a car if you’re willing to pay a bit more).
I bought another car recently without needing it much and love it. Visiting a lot of places I wouldn’t have.
You seem set financially so I’d say just get it. Can always sell it if it isn’t working out
Entirely depends on your priorities. Cars are expensive to own here. Parking, insurance, shaken, taxes, depreciation, gas, tolls, maintenance. It adds up.
That said, having a car provides a level of freedom, flexibility, and comfort that even Japan’s excellent public transport can never provide. I’ve owned cars in Japan for over 20 of my 30 years here and I’ll never willingly go back to not having a car.
For reference, I bought my first car in 2002 when I was making about 8mil per year.
Not worth it, rent one whenever you want to go on a trip.