What is an insurance excess?

The excess is the amount you'll only be liable for in case of damage (under Collision Damage Waiver) or theft (under Theft Protection) of the vehicle. Information about the excess will be clearly stated in the price inclusion when you reserve a car on QEEQ.

How can I add an additional driver?

You are advised to make a request upon your arrival at the rental counter. Additional charge per day will incur unless '1 Additional Driver Included' is stipulated on the rental. Please note that the same licence and age requirement applies to the additional driver. The additional driver is supposed to present the required licence document along with the main driver at pickup.

Japan traffic rules and self driving car rental tips

The Complete Japan Driving and Rental Guide

Although Japan has prided itself as having the most efficient public transportation systems around large metropolitan areas around Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, less known sceneries are definitely worth and handy exploring by car. Here is a brief guide aiming at helping you drive comfortably on Japanese roads.

Speed Limit and Traffic Signs

Driving is on the left-hand side of the road in Japan. Even though Japanese drivers are renowned for their respect of the driving rules, you should pay attention to cyclists, some of whom happen to ride on the wrong side of the road.

Speed Limit

The speed limits in Japan are between 80 and 100 km/h on expressways, 30 km/h in side streets, 40 km/h in urban areas, and between 50 and 60 km/h elsewhere unless states otherwise.

Traffic Signs

There are mainly four types of traffic signs in Japan: regulatory signs, warning signs, information and direction signs. For each type, you can find below several signs that you may not familiar with.

A typical Japanese regulatory sign generally features a red circle with a white background and blue pictograms.

Speed Limit (90 km/h)

Minimum Speed Limit (50 km/h)

No Overtaking

Road Closed to Toll

Road Closed to Vehicles

Slow down (In Japanese and English)

Japanese warning signs feature a diamond shape and yellow background.

Crossroads

Bumpy Road

Wild Animals Crossing (Deer)

Succession of More Than Two Curves to the Right

Japan_Traffic_Sign_Railway_Crossing_Ahead

Railroad Crossing Ahead

Tram Crossing Ahead

Japanese information signs feature a green background.

Emergency Telephone

Rest Area/Parking Fuel Stand, Etc.

Direction signs in Japan feature a rectangular shape with a blue or green background.

Expressway Entrance

Destination & Direction

To read more about Japanese road signs, here is a more detailed booklet.

Seatbelt and Child Safety

Seatbelt Laws

Drivers and all the passengers are required by law to wear a seatbelt. Failure to fasten your seatbelt may result in a fine.

Booster Seat Laws

Children under 6 years of age must be seated in child seats.

Parking, Fuel and Toll

Parking

· Permitted Parking

In Japan, parking cost normally depends on the size of the city and the distance from the city centre. Parking in small towns and cities is usually free.

Paid parking can be expensive in big cities, costing several hundreds of yen per hour. Parking lots in national parks or near tourist attractions sometimes charge a flat fee (typically 200 to 500 yen per use). Urban hotels usually provide parking for their guests at a flat rate (typically 1000 yen per night), while hotels outside the large cities usually offer free parking.

· Forbidden Parking

Please do not park your car indicated with the “No Parking” signs.

Japan-Traffic-Sign-No-Stopping

Also do not park the rental vehicle in a place only allowed to use by renting on a monthly basis, marked by the “Kanji” of “月極 ” or “月極駐車場”.

Japan Monthly Parking Lot

In addition, it is against the law to park a vehicle in the following places in Japan:

- In a tunnel

- On, or within five metres of the edge of an intersection

- Within three metres of the automobile entrance of a garage, car-park or similar

- On pedestrian or cycle crossings and railway lines

- Within ten metres of a bus stop or a bus stop sign

- Within five metres of the edge of an area of road works

- Within five metres of a fire hydrant, water tank or other fire safety equipment

Forbidden parking in Japan will lead to a hefty fine.

Fuel Prices

The average gasoline price in Japan in January 2018 was 141.50 Japanese Yen per litre, while the diesel price was 118.40 over the same period of time.

Toll

Most of the expressways in Japan are toll roads and you must pass through the automatic ETC (Electric Toll Collection) gate or manual gate with ticketing machine. It is highly common to rent an ETC system with the car hire company when taking a self-driving tour in Japan, and it allows you to drive through the ETC gate without stopping. ETC gate feature white “ETC 專用” characters on a purple background.5

Japan ETC Lane (Image from takingflights.com)

Japan ETC Device (Image from demflyers.com)

Alternative to ETC tolling, you may proceed to the manual gate, which is recognized by the“一般” characters written with a green background. Cash or bank cards can be used to pay the toll fee before entering the road.

Traffic Violation

DUI Laws

The alcohol limit in Japan is BAC 0.03%. Drink driving above the limit can result in a maximum prison sentence of 3 years or a fine of about $480,000 Japanese Yen.

Traffic Fines

Speed cameras and speed traps are used to monitor driving speed in Japan. Drivers who exceed the speed limits up to 40km/h over can be fined from 9000 Japanese Yen to 35,000 Japanese Yen, and a 50km/h excess or more over will be viewed as criminal infringement and can result in a prison sentence up to 6 months, or up to 100,000 Japanese Yen fine.

Parking in the prohibitive areas will usually cause a fine from 10,000 to 20,000 Japanese Yen.

Driving Licence and Age Requirements

Japanese law requires that all drivers who do not hold a Japanese driver’s license must hold a country of origin driver's license and an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Convention on International Road Traffic. Driver’s licence must be held for at least 1 or 2 years (according to different car hire company).

The minimum driver age for renting a car at a Japanese rental office is 18 years old. This age may vary according to the state and car category rented.

Guest reviews

1 /

Anonymous

August 4, 2026

Destination: Tokyo

10Excellent

The Narita Airport branch was super efficient and had me finished with all the paperwork in no time.

Destination: Chitose

Staff were really friendly and there was almost no waiting in line. The only downside is it’s a bit far from the airport, but they provide a shuttle so it’s not a big issue.

July 31, 2026

Destination: Fukuoka

8Very good

Communication wasn’t very smooth, and they separate domestic and international terminals into different stores, which is really a hassle.

July 30, 2026

Super fast and efficient service.

July 28, 2026

Service was really thoughtful and it made for a great trip. I’ll definitely come back to you guys next time.

July 25, 2026

Amazing rental company;

July 22, 2026

The staff were all incredibly helpful and made the trip really enjoyable.

July 19, 2026

Pick-up and return were really smooth and hassle-free. The car was in great condition and having Ete rental made everything even more convenient. I’ll definitely choose this company again next time!

July 18, 2026

Communication was smooth from start to finish, everything went really well.

Communication was smooth from start to finish, really happy with the whole process.

July 12, 2026

Destination: Osaka

They even drove back to the spot I chose and waited there so I could pick up the car. Super easy pickup, and the vehicle was really well maintained.

July 6, 2026

Pretty good.

The rental company was super professional. My flight landed really early, but they were already there waiting for me to return the car. Really appreciate it～

July 5, 2026

Destination: Naha

Car was excellent—super clean and in great condition.

July 2, 2026

Service was pretty good, everything was handled quickly and picking up the car was really easy. The vehicle was clean overall.

June 20, 2026

Super satisfied with the whole experience.

June 15, 2026

Service was great.

Everything was excellent.

June 11, 2026

June 5, 2026

Destination: Nagoya

Very reliable and definitely worth recommending, everything was great.

May 28, 2026

10Smooth Rental Experience with Times Car Rental via QEEQ

This was not my first time booking with Times Car Rental, and the service has been consistently reliable.

May 27, 2026

Really good and super convenient.

May 24, 2026

I've been renting with Times for a while now and I'm always really satisfied with them.

May 21, 2026

Car was in great condition, staff were helpful, everything went smoothly.

May 19, 2026

Rented from them more than ten times already, always a great experience.

May 18, 2026

Fantastic experience as always. I’ve been renting from this company every time I visit Japan—the cars are in great shape and almost always feel brand new.

May 15, 2026

Airport pickup and transfer to the rental location was smooth and the staff were really friendly.

May 11, 2026

Everything was perfect.

May 9, 2026

The car was a bit old and had around 146,000 km on it, but it still ran well and overall I was pretty happy with it.

May 8, 2026

Pickup was super quick and the location’s really close to the airport. The car was already prepped, so once we finished the paperwork we were on the road right away.

May 7, 2026

The location is super close to the airport, and the shuttle gets you to the store in no time. Staff were really attentive and helpful.

May 6, 2026

Super nice and helpful.

April 30, 2026

Overall, I’d definitely recommend them.

April 23, 2026

The car was spotless and felt really new.

The car was in great condition, staff were really friendly, and the store is right outside the JR station. The airport pick-up and drop-off service was super quick too.

April 21, 2026

Pick-up and return were really convenient, and the guy who brought the car over was super friendly.

April 20, 2026

Excellent service.

April 13, 2026

Service was really good.

April 12, 2026

I rent cars in Japan a lot and this is the first rental company I’ve ever felt like reviewing – they were really great.

Destination: Yakushima

Very satisfied with the whole experience.

April 1, 2026

Customer service was great and they replied really quickly.

March 30, 2026

Extremely kind and helpful staff. We were running late for our flight and they used a car to drive us to the airport instead of making us wait for the shuttle bus. Also, my elderly father left his sweater in the shop and they kindly helped us arrange delivery of it to Tokyo.

March 23, 2026

This was an awesome car rental experience! The staff were super friendly, everything was processed really quickly, and there were no sneaky extra charges at all. The car was in even better shape than I expected, really clean inside with no strange smells. Pick-up and return were totally hassle-free. I’ll definitely choose this company again next time I need a rental.

March 21, 2026

All the staff were super friendly, the prices were really low, and the value for money was amazing. They’ve got lots of imported cars too. I’ll definitely keep renting from them, highly recommend to everyone.

March 20, 2026

The car ran really smoothly, the paperwork was quick and hassle-free, and the service was super thoughtful. No hidden charges at all, the car was in great condition so we felt very safe the whole trip. I’d definitely choose this company again next time!

March 11, 2026

Destination: Mishima

Really friendly staff and super fast paperwork.

March 2, 2026

Destination: Taito-Ku

I didn’t give a full score this time mainly because they showed up 7 minutes late for pickup and 11 minutes late for drop-off. The car itself was a bit old, though it was still pretty easy to drive.

February 26, 2026

Customer service replied super fast, pickup and return were really efficient, and everyone was very polite with zero hard selling.

Yaron

February 24, 2026

Destination: Hokkaido

10Will be using it again

Everything went smooth and easy. The return was so quick - they transfered our luggage from the rental car to the shuttle bus and... Until we got in the shuttle, the drop off was done

Japan Car Rentals