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only in japan
welcome to a popular rental car company
in a regional city on shikoku island
out here public transportation is good
but a car is way more convenient
i'll go over what you need to do to rent
a car in japan and why
reserve a car online most japanese
companies like this one have english
sites
i reserved my favorite a sporty sedan
here's a list of the average car
prices for 24 hours show them your
license
if you're a tourist you'll need an
international driver's license
after signing you're ready to get into
your car in many countries
service is almost non-existent but in
japan you'll certainly have someone
there to make sure that all of your
questions are answered
this here is the toyota mark x this is
the one that i reserved online
the process is pretty simple i think
when you arrive to the airport
it's pretty clear where the rent-a-car
stations are usually you'll check in
there
you'll get a car or a van that'll take
you and your luggage over to a
rent-a-car center
go in there you sign the contract go
over all of the
the fees and give your credit card
information then they'll take you over
to the car
and give you an orientation which i
think is very important let's go do that
now
we checked the car for any damage most
cars seem no older than a few years
this 2017 mark x was flawless
loads of trunk space
but there's a unique feature i want to
show you and it's not the car itself
this magnet is pretty unique now in
japan they've got
magnets or seals that allow the other
drivers to know who's in the car maybe
be a little bit more careful if it's a
beginner
or a senior this one notifies the other
drivers that you're not from around here
you're visiting
and it's actually a good thing because
i've noticed that when you do have one
of these
especially if you are an international
visitor people are a little bit
friendlier to you on the roads and they
might smile and wave and welcome you a
little bit more
every single area of japan has something
like this hokkaido okinawa and here in
coach
this is one for shikoku so if you can't
find these or
you can ask to rent a car shop for one
and usually you'll get one on the car
it's pretty cool
let's get in the staff will help you set
up the navigation system and explain a
little about the car
i'm pretty familiar with the mark x it's
a really comfortable car for me but the
navigation system
needed a little help
wow so they could even change the menu
system into english
technology is pretty cool
the etc card is a must if you intend to
drive on highways
it allows automatic access through the
toll roads
you pay what you used when you return to
the rental shop the cart is typically a
few hundred yen a day to rent
start the engine listen to that mark x
pearl
it really is a good feeling to have your
own wheels in japan
pretty much as simple as that
the road out here in kochi even in the
city are wide open and pretty relaxing
there is total freedom to explore no
train schedules no carrying your luggage
around
just step on the gas and go all right so
for etc
this card will pay for me
check it out the gates have opened
300 meters turn right
very cool in the countryside there are
typically no bullet trains or super
expresses
local trains run maybe once an hour and
attractions are typically a long bus
ride away
you need your own wheels out here
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it's a great feeling to cruise around
see rural japan
rice paddies rivers farms and long open
views
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kochi prefecture is beautiful but
sometimes something can get in your
way to spoil the fun i'm not talking
about traffic
come on there's almost none of that out
here there are times when you rent a car
that you're presented with certain
challenges like this
a very very narrow bridge famous in the
shimanto area
called the submersible bridge which is
perfect
if you're on a mission where you may not
come back this is not going to be pretty
this kind of bridge is called a
chinkubashi and only found in cochin
oh my word
oh my no
oh oh
wow during the rainy seasons these
bridges are underwater so it's a
seasonal crossing
it is so narrow i can see the water on
both sides flowing
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and one small move to the left or the
right there's very little margin of
error
all right there's light at the end of
the end of the tunnel here
kind of safe pretty safe safe now
yes no more out here
you never know what kind of obstacle
you'll have to overcome to get to your
destination
unfortunately there wasn't anything on
this side of the river and well
i had to cross back over but a little
practice makes perfect
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make sure you stay at the speed limit
which is typically 40 to 60 kilometers
per hour on regional highways
and study the laws before driving
just an hour away from downtown tokyo is
ibaraki prefecture to the north
mount scuba is surrounded by open fields
and loads of pretty countryside views
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it's also famous for its drive-through
culture and you'll need a car for
drive-through sushi
i made a whole episode on this they make
a pretty good nigiri set here
japanese highway rest stops are also
top-notch
most have gift shops and restaurants
that serve regional foods like this
massive meat mountain
we even grabbed some drive-through ramen
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as much as tourists love the shinkansen
know this
japan is a car culture and much of the
country is wide open country roads like
this
perfect for driving as technology
evolves
convenience stores like this lawsons
offers up charging ports payable with ic
cards
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convenience store
quick chargers are making their way from
cities to the most rural corners of the
country
the cost per day depends on the car gas
is currently 145 yen per liter or 4.71
cents a gallon in japan
so we've reached the end this is when we
return the car
to the car rental agency
car rental office after mission complete
typically you want to make sure that you
refill the gas tank
i'm not going to do that that means i
gotta pay another two three thousand yen
depending on the rental
uh office that you rent from
when i rented the car they told me which
which way to go in so that's what i'm
gonna do
in this
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back safely make sure you don't leave
anything in the car
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mission complete if you come to japan
you want to rent a car it's a
great way to see the countryside like
hearing coach where having a car is a
real advantage
it's a lot of fun enjoy the ride
see you next time i got a flight to
catch
still prefer the train leave a comment
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