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

November 2, 2026

Destination: Tokyo

10Excellent

Service was excellent—quick responses and really friendly staff.

Destination: Chitose

8Very good

The rental company itself was great, but the Japanese traffic authority’s rules about licenses are just ridiculous.

Destination: Fukuoka

Overall it was pretty decent, nothing to complain about.

October 31, 2026

Service was spot on.

Really happy with this choice, I’ll definitely use them again next time I go to Japan!

October 28, 2026

Very reliable

October 24, 2026

The car was pretty new and they weren’t nitpicky or making trouble over tiny things.

October 21, 2026

Destination: Osaka

This is my third time renting with Be Kobe and they’re still just as amazing as ever! Huge shoutout to the lovely Xiaoma—she’s super warm, thoughtful, and takes care of every little detail.

October 19, 2026

Pick-up and drop-off were super convenient.

1) The shop is really close to our guesthouse (near 天下茶屋東). It was about a 7-minute walk and the bright yellow awning made it super easy to spot.
2) The in-store staff and the customer service team are different people, but the客服 replies were very fast. Even late at night they responded right away and helped sort things out with the store, so I didn’t have to repeat everything myself. Really hassle-free.
3) We rented a child seat, but the size/length wasn’t quite right so my kid felt uncomfortable. After I told客服, they immediately coordinated with the store to see how to improve things. In the end we barely used the seat because it was digging into the child and he ended up not using it for all 4 days. On the return day I also gave feedback to the store in person and they clearly told me to apply for a refund through客服.
4) The staff’s service was great overall. At the end they even helped drop us off at a nearby mall to meet our friends, which nicely wrapped up our rental experience.

Thank you!

Really happy with the service overall, everything went smoothly and felt very professional.

October 18, 2026

Super smooth and fast pick-up, and the car was spotless inside and out. It drove really well, felt very reliable, and the fuel consumption was impressively low. Staff were thoughtful and attentive, carefully checking existing scratches and clearly explaining how to use the ETC. Drop-off was quick, inspection was straightforward, and there were no surprise charges. Perfect choice for long-distance self-driving trips to multiple attractions. Overall, I’m very satisfied and would highly recommend!

October 10, 2026

Very satisfied with the rental company, everything went smoothly.

October 9, 2026

Service was absolutely flawless.

October 8, 2026

Really great rental company – I’ll definitely choose them again next time.

October 7, 2026

Car was great and the staff were really professional.

October 6, 2026

Communication was smooth, the car was in good condition and very clean.

October 5, 2026

Destination: Naha

The staff were actually pretty polite and the whole process went smoothly.

September 24, 2026

After dropping off the car, they even shuttled us to a nearby airport hotel, which was great.

September 21, 2026

Really great experience overall, highly recommend—car was in excellent condition.

September 16, 2026

Really good

Xuexian Li

September 13, 2026

10Good rental company with helpful staff

Good company with helpful staff

September 2, 2026

Everything was good overall, except they never gave us the return address.

August 26, 2026

Really happy with everything, the staff were super friendly and helpful.

August 20, 2026

Service was spot on, with clear, detailed notifications every step of the way!

August 19, 2026

Super satisfied – the staff in the group chat replied really fast.

August 18, 2026

Really good, I’ll definitely use them again.

August 17, 2026

The staff were incredibly friendly and really thought from the customer’s perspective. They even delivered the car straight to my hotel and only charged a small extra fee. Whenever I ran into any issues, they helped me out right away and handled everything super efficiently.

August 14, 2026

Very punctual and everything was well organized.

August 13, 2026

Really happy with this self-drive trip – the staff were super friendly, explained everything clearly, and the car was in great condition. After we returned the car, they even arranged a ride to the airport.

August 12, 2026

The overall experience was really good.

August 6, 2026

They drop the car off right at the airport, super easy to find on the 6th floor of the T2 car park! The staff are really polite and helpful!

August 4, 2026

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

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

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

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

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.

Japan Car Rentals