Best station to pick up a rental car in Tokyo

Hello!

I am planning to do a single 12 hour day trip (8AM pick up, 8PM return, although depending on how tight the schedule is, I might just rent the car for a full 24 hours) between Tokyo to Mt. Fuji/Fujiyoshida area.
(I understand that public transport may be more efficient but we wish to be able to stop off at interesting areas along the way).

I am from Sydney, Australia so I'm used to driving on the left and I can read Japanese signage fairly well, I am confident in my driving ability as Sydney traffic is also an ongoing nightmare.

Does anybody have any tips as to a good place to pick up the rental car? Or is a central Tokyo pickup okay in terms of traffic at around 8AM on a Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday?

Additionally, we will be doing this trip around Mid-December, should we expect snow? I have never driven in snow before so if there is snow, I may not drive.

Thank you very much in advance!

I have driven in Japan for nearly 20 years, but I still find it rather nerve-racking to navigate the Metropolitan Expressway. I would consider to take a train into the outskirts of Tokyo and pick up a car there, for example in Hachioji, although the trains won't be empty during this time of the day.

If you prefer to pick up the car right in central Tokyo, I recommend to look up an outlet that is closest to your lodging. There are outlets all over Tokyo. Google Maps shows them.

Thank you for your response!

Do you have any insight into driving on the freeways with one of those Kei Cars? Was considering the Nissan DayZ or another similar 660cc car but I'm afraid they'll be too slow on the freeways and can be dangerous (though I drove an absolutely dogcrap car that could barely get up hills for most of my provisional learner period so I might be able to adapt really quick lol)

JR rents cars too!

Check out this link to get a rental car right from a train station...

https://www.ekiren.co.jp/phpapp/en/

Thanks.

Stan

About renting a �gKei�h car: depends on what you�fre used to, but while you�fd find the cruising speed on flat roads/highways alright (once you get going), you would probably find the power/acceleration wanting particularly when going up on slopes. I don�ft know about this particular model, but the chassis �gmight�h make it feel not too solid or comfortable for traveling long-distance.

So if the rental rate between Kei and the next larger one (maybe �gcompact�h or �gsmall�h category, but with a quite bit larger engine displacement) is not that much different, I�fd go for the compact for acceleration and comfort.

(The above is based on my limited experience of (1) renting and driving a �gcompact�h and (2) being driven around on a relative�fs �gKei�h car on a freeway.)

What specifically do you want to do that involves a car?

The reason I ask is depending on where you want to visit, a station like Odawara allows for a shortish drive to the Fuji area that looks reasonably easy.

This station is also on the Tokaido and Shinkansen line as well.

When I hire a car in Japan, I look at which station I am visiting and then google map car rentals within walking distance of the station.

Others might be able to suggest a better station. I also think it's a great idea to miss major cities in Japan traffic wise.

Note that tollways can cost a lot as well

Haha I specifically wanted to try driving around Tokyo for just a little bit on the expressways (I liked playing Wangan Midnight as a kid at arcades) and visit the Ebina SA and just be able to make little stops along to the way to Fuji, the stuff you can't do unless you have a car

This was back in 2009, but on my Tohoku road trip, my friend rented a Kei car and drove us around. We didn't have a lot luggage, because she was only away 2 nights and I think I had my large suitcase traveling via takkyubin as I was away 5. The Kei car had terrible pick up but it wasn't unsafe to drive on the expressway and could keep up with traffic, such as it was. It just wasn't peppy and it looked very basic.

In 2019, I rented a compact car from two different Orix branches. Neither was in Tokyo, but both were a short walk from JR shinkansen stations. I think I picked Orix because they offered the TEP pass which I used with my second rental and they had the best rate from the station I wanted to leave from.

@mfedley

Your suggestion about going to Odawara Station might be a winner, it cuts the driving time in half and ensures I don't make the long drive back to Tokyo while tired or something like that, thank you so much!

Do you have any recommendations on cool things in Odawara/on the way from Odawara to Mt Fuji?

Whatever is legal on an expressway, including kei-cars, will give you no trouble on the expressways. And whatever car you drive, if you think you're going too slow or want to go slow, just keep yourself on the very left lane or the middle lane, because the righthand lane is for cars passing other cars.

I suppose you're saying 8 to 8, because those are the business hours for most if not all car rental services. I've hardly driven to Ebina/Fuji, so I can't say much about traffic jams, but whenever we do one of the frequent trips to Tohoku, we start as early as dawn just so that we could avoid the horrific traffic jam within central Tokyo. In other words, perhaps it's safer to use trains within the Tokyo 23-ku and pick your reserved car up at the edge of Tokyo, near an expressway entrance. Websites give you more automatic detail on traffic jams depending on the hour and route.

You should expect snow if you're climbing up a mountain. If you're not climbing, then there could be snowfall but not enough to pile up. But to be on the safe side, ask the rental dealer for advice on snow tires.

I hope it helps.

To be honest - what is near there is a little bit of a black hole for me. I know very little - apart from it has a reasonable castle which is located close to Tokyo.

But you've got a car and there are so many things to do around Fuji Five Lakes.

Check out the JG site and choose what interests you: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6900.html

You also have to drive part Hakone - which has almost a week's worth of stuff if you have a very healthy bank balance. There's also Gotemba Premium Outlet which seems to be very popular for shopping - but not something that I've visited.

I would go to Otsuki compared to Odawarra for Fuji 5 Lakes. Unless you are trying to squeeze Hakone and Fuji 5 Lakes into one day. Which I wouldn't recommend anyway.

I would also have suggested starting in Odawara, and it is good you are avoiding a weekend to save being stuck in traffic. My last trip by car, many sections would have been faster by foot.
You might check out Odawara Castle while you are there.