Hey fellow JETs, many of us are going to be living in Japan soon, and I’m trying to gather some information about renting a car during our tenure. I wanted to get your thoughts and experiences on the matter.
Was renting a car expensive during your time in Japan, or is it a reasonable option?
Did any of you opt to buy a car instead of renting? If so, what were the advantages and disadvantages?
What kind of cars can I expect to rent in Japan? Are there any specific models or brands commonly available?
For those who have rented a car, do you have any recommendations or tips regarding rental companies or negotiating prices?
Considering the potential cost and convenience, would you recommend sticking to public transportation or buying a bicycle instead?
Here’s some additional context about my situation: I’ll be placed in a city and may need to commute to multiple schools throughout the week.
I appreciate any insights you can provide. Thanks in advance!
15 comments
Do you mean leasing or are you actually talking about renting? You can always rent a car short-term if you need a car for something, and I’ve heard of lots of JETs doing that.
Really just depends how long you plan on staying on JET. From my experience, my fellow JETs, rented only if they were there short term (1-2 years) or bought a used car if they planned on staying longer than 2 years (3-5 years on JET).
I bought a used a car. Once I paid off my car (6 monthly installment payments) I was able to save money. Depending on how old you are the insurance can be more expensive the younger you are. I made the mistake of paying upfront for my insurance my first year on JET for the whole year. 😅 Miscommunication, but there is the option to pay monthly for the insurance. As you get older, the insurance gets a little cheaper. Also there is Shaken (Motor-vehicle inspection) to be aware of.
In between I kept up with oil changes and tire changes (snow tires).
I have a lease car. It’s expensive at 36,000yen per month but that covers insurance and any maintenance like new bulbs or switching winter/summer tyres.
We have deep snow in winter so I rely on the car a lot, I guess leasing gives me peace of mind.
I lease a car from a local garage. My placement requires driving to get to the schools. Car rental isn’t super cheap but at around 30,000 yen a month it’s not bad at all. It also includes maintenance, shaken inspection, etc.
And when it’s your lifeline to get around it’s very much worth it
It probably depends on if your placement allows a car too. Make sure you have a parking space available both at home and at the schools.
Sorry I don’t know much about renting but I hope some of my costings can help you?
My vehicle costs:
I’m one of those who chose to buy a used car, as I knew I’d be here for a while and had done the saving. It’s a Daihatsu Move (yellow plate) from the 2000s maybe.
Was ¥500,000 up front and ¥8,000 pcm insurance for property and people damage, though it has gone down to ¥5,000 this year. I have no vehicle damage cover.
I also had to do the every other year Shaken (service) recently which was ¥80,000 (which is cheaper as it’s a yellow plate).
Petrol is about ¥170 per litre and I spend just under ¥4,000 to fill it up every 1-2 weeks. I do get some commuting money back in my payslip, but I think I pay for a parking space at school in it too.
I have a UK license so the switch only took 2 trips to the driving centre. My US colleagues (they’re not Maryland etc) had to go 4-5 times using nenkyu. So if you only have 10 days this can be costly. The translation cost ¥3,000 and I can’t remember the other costings sorry.
Hope you can find the method that works best for you.
It depends on how long you are planning to stay in Japan. If you think you’re only going to be in Japan for a year, or maybe two years, leasing is not a bad idea. But if you think you might be in the country for longer than a year, buying a car outright is far cheaper.
For example, if you’re leasing a car at 35,000 a month with all expenses included you will be paying 420,000 every year. After two years you’ll have paid 840,000 yen and after three years 1,260,000 yen (and so on).
If you were to stay for three years and buy a car it would look like this. You get one for 300,000 from a dealer that includes two years of shaken. After two years you pay 100,000 for shaken. Insurance varies but maybe you’re paying 50,000 or 60,000 a year. 30,000ish for road tax every year. You’re looking at maybe 640,000 for three years to own a car. Of course this figure doesn’t account for other miscellaneous expenses like maintenance, oil changes and tires, but those expenses shouldn’t add up to push the total anywhere near 1,260,000 in three years time.
You mean leasing right? It depends on how much money you have right? Having a car in japan is expensive. There’s taxes, insurance, if your car needs it during your time using it, shakken (but I believe if you lease they handle it for you but would explain your higher monthly payments). Personally, I would have a car but since my rent isn’t subsidized, it wouldn’t make much sense to pay car payments
Buying, even for one year, should be cheaper. But leasing is convenient.
I paid almost down to the yenny, the same exact price for 1 year renting vs when I just bought a car. So I would say if you’ll only be here for a year, rent, but longer than that and it’s cheaper to buy
Oita City has everything you need and lots of buses, and all the train lines pass through, so most Oita City JETs don’t bother getting a car. You might want to communicate with your predecessor to know about the schools and how to get there before making a decision.
If you were placed in any other part of Oita Prefecture, I would recommend a car for convenience because everything is spread out, but you’re in the city, right?
Also, many JETs come and figure things out before getting a car, then often buy them used from another JET who is selling it cheap.
If you’re in a more rural area leasing may not always be an option. I asked my mechanic about car leases once for a new jet who was interested in leasing instead of buying and he said there was no one in our area who’d did long term leasing
If you lease for a year or two you are paying essentially paying the full value of a second hand car plus tax while not being able to keep the car afterwards. There really is no reason not to buy unless you are 110% sure you are not staying for more than one year.
My state in the USA and Japan have some deal where I automatically get my real Japanese license in Japan. It turned out to be the best 1万円investment for travel I ever made. We rented a car and drove all around Kyushu twice, Shikoku three times, and Tohoku three times. We would put 4-5 people in a car, rent it, then split the cost. Super fun and super cheap! Also, sign up for Toyota loyalty points!!! You get discounts on your next rental!
Tip: everything about the car rental process every single time was 100% Japanese, and it wasbt simple Japanese either. We had to go through the different car insurance policies we could buy, the car check, credit card/ personal info. Minimum N4 level of JLPT/ conversational Japanese would help a ton.
If no one knows any Japanese at all, or only very basics, I would wait until someone is at least conversational. We had a semi fluent, or fluent person with us every time.
If you’re traveling to Shikoku, Tohoku, or Kyushu, we would always get a car ESPECIALLY Shikoku since public transportation is practically non existent, even some parts of Ookayama we would just rent a car. Shikoku and Kochi Ken are some of my favorite places in Japan- Shimanto river in particular – and are just stunning, driving along, vibrant green rice fields on your right, summer hot ass air blowing in your hair as the car windows are down singing karaoke songs as you cruise along with your best friends, having all of Japan at your finger tips and able to go anywhere at any time and do anything, renting a car is a magical feeling in Japan 😍😍😍 sometimes we wouldn’t know if we would have a hotel for the night, so the car was the last resort option 🤣
Best of luck to you!
It’ll be cheaper in the long run to get a car. You might get something cheap from someone who is leaving so ask the JETs already there if you can.
I lease. I think it also has to do with what the car company charges you. For a kei car, I pay 22,000 yen a month and that covers basic insurance, shaken, winter tyre exchange and repairs if something goes wrong. For example, they had to replace a tyre after I ran over a nail and replace the battery when the car wouldn’t start after it had been left in the snow for 4 weeks when I went home for christmas. Although I might pay more than some people, I am happy with my car and the service I get. I also speak very little Japanese so did not want to have to deal with owning a car when I leave.
Another thing to have in mind, is that some schools/boes already have contracts set up with car companies. It would be worth talking to your school/bow.
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good luck.