OBSERVATIONS
1. Japanese culture
They must be the most socially shy people anywhere. They never start a conversation, and rarely is the English good enough to be conversational. At the hostel I stayed in in Yokohama, it was packed and all the seats in the common area were full. In 4 hours, I never heard anyone having a conversation. I was almost the only white guy, but no one ever showed any curiosity about me. That was until I talked to an older guy sitting across from me. He was a businessman and spoke great English. We talked a lot about Japanese culture and the economy.
At another capsule hotel near Aoto Station, I ended up talking to a man (who never would have initiated a conversation), but lived in Australia and had great English. He said the Japanese young people don’t worry about the future and don’t think about it (a very present way of thinking).
At the hostel in Tokyo, there was a small lobby. I was talking to a guy my age from Switzerland. We were asked to stop talking (three times as we couldn’t believe the request). They don’t like to hear other people talking as they are simply not used to it.
I Googled Japanese social competency and this is what AI wrote:
The perception of a “lack of social competency” in Japanese culture by outsiders often stems from a cultural difference in communication styles and social values, rather than an actual deficit in skills. Japanese society operates on a foundation of group harmony and indirect communication, which can be challenging for those accustomed to more individualistic, direct communication styles.
Key cultural factors influencing this perception include:
High-Context Communication (Sasshi): Japanese culture is a “high-context society,” meaning people are expected to intuitively understand intentions and context without explicit verbal communication, a concept known as sasshi. This emphasis on empathy and non-verbal cues can make Japanese people seem unskillful or unassertive at persuasive speech in cross-cultural interactions.
Emphasis on Group Harmony (Wa): A core Japanese value is prioritizing the collective over the individual, which fosters harmonious relationships and the avoidance of conflict. Direct argument or the open voicing of dissenting opinions is often discouraged, as it can be seen as an attack on someone’s personality, leading to indirect expressions and hesitation.
Amae, Haji, Tatemae, and Honne: These concepts play a significant role:
Amae refers to the assumption of a close, indulgent relationship where one can rely on another’s benevolence.
Haji relates to a strong sense of shame and a desire to avoid public embarrassment.
Tatemae is the public persona or the official line, while honne refers to a person’s true feelings and intentions, which are often kept private
Educational System and Socialization: From a young age, children are taught to be cooperative and to think of others, with little time for unstructured social play due to busy schedules of school, clubs, and cram schools (juku). The education system generally does not emphasize public debate or self-assertion as much as Western systems do.
Risk Aversion: Japanese culture has a high degree of uncertainty avoidance, leading to a preference for clear guidelines and established procedures. This can result in a reluctance to ask questions or try new approaches without prior examples or permission, which might be perceived as a lack of initiative or social confidence by those in more flexible environments. In essence, Japanese social competency is measured differently: by one’s ability to maintain harmony, understand implicit social cues, and show humility, rather than by extroversion or assertive verbal skills. What might look like “lack of social competency” to an outsider is, in fact, the demonstration of culturally specific and highly complex social skills.
I suppose these are good reasons to be completely isolated as individuals. But like any completely conformist society, if you are outgoing or garrulous, people would think you were pretty weird. This is similar to what it must be like in a Muslim country – no scarf, headscarf, hair showing or not, burka, or veil. You would do like everyone else, or you would not fit in, or be killed like in Pakistan.
If one had a dirty car in Japan, one would be completely out of place.
One night at a Starbucks, there was an 18-year-old who was flagrantly gay. He talked all the time and kept asking me questions. He was completely un-Japanese, and I wonder how he fit in.
However, I don’t think I could handle it, even though I’m autistic and pretty happy being alone. To interact with no one and show no curiosity in others would be too much. Because it is something not practiced, that explains why they understand little about how to carry on a conversation. Japan seems like a society where autistic people would be very happy, alone.
Japan must have the best weight of any country in the world. It’s uncommon to see any fat people. At an onsen in Kyoto, I weighed myself and was exactly twice the weight of the guy on the scale just before me! They all dress well. I initially thought that the women were attractive, but I have changed my mind. Almost all wear makeup, usually perfectly applied, their hair is perfect, they are thin, and they are well-dressed.
Masks. More Japanese wear masks (outdoors and alone in cars) than any other country, my guess is about one-third. This shows a general ignorance of COVID.
Criminal Structure. If you are charged with a crime, the conviction rate is near 99%. They believe a confession is the honourable thing to do and don’t stop questioning until you confess.
Rigidity. They follow rules. They never cross a street against a No Walking light, even if it is a tiny, one-lane side road with no traffic at 1 am. I jaywalk and walk against lights all the time. I wonder what they think.
At check-in at airports with a domestic flight, one must produce a paper copy of your e-ticket, or one won’t get a boarding pass. I talked to an Estonian tour operator, and he is unable to book a restaurant in advance for his group, even if he pays for it up front.
Read what happened when you get a scratch on the vehicle in the Renting a camper van in Japan.
Garbage. I have never seen an outside garbage receptacle. Japanese must carry it around with them. Then I learned that they use convenience stores. I wonder what they think about being the garbage collection areas. Convenience stores are ubiquitous, at least one every block and often 2-3/block. They have a little bit of everything, including an ATM
Toilets. Almost every bathroom has deluxe toilets seen nowhere else in the world: heated seats, and a bidet function that jets warm water onto your anus.
Milk cartons. One would think that such an advanced country would have milk cartons that had a screw top closure. But not in Japan. The one brand that you can close costs 50Y more.
Smoking outside is against the law. Open-sided glass enclosures are provided.
I purchased an e-cigarette that used a short, cigarette-looking cartridge as the nicotine source. There was little smoke. The unflavoured one (560Y for 20) tastes awful, and the menthol is not much better. It is a totally different experience from Western e-cigarettes; I couldn’t figure out how it worked, and I needed a long explanation. They are not good at explaining, and it was much simpler than how they told the instructions. I wanted to return it, but the convenience store refused and said I would have ot deal with the manufacturer.
Rigid countries and war. The only countries I have travelled to with rigid policies are Germany, Japan and Australia. They never cross the street against a light. The first two caused the two world wars and had brutally sadistic regimes. Australia doesn’t start wars, but they are in every one possible. They have been sucked into fighting with the US in every one of their crazy wars. I lost track of all the monuments I saw in Australia that listed proudly every war they had fought in, dating back to the 1880s.
Germany and Japan were economic powerhouses, but by 2025, they are struggling to adapt to a digital/tech world and remain innovative. Both have become failing economies.
See my “jaywalking index” on my Travel Page.
2. War Crimes. I think the biggest thing that bothers me about Japan is that they have never owned up to its horrific brutality in WWII (whereas Germany has completely apologized). The motto of the three Alls – kill all, loot all, burn all resulted in huge civilian death rates. In China, twice the number of civilians died compared to Jews killed in the Holocaust. 300,000 in the Nanjing Massacre, 100,000 in the Manila Massacre, and 200,000 on the Daath Railway in Thailand/Burma are the most well-known. Poison gas was common.
Whereas the death rate in German POW camps was 2-3%, it was over 35% in Japanese POW camps. The prisoners were brutalized in every way. Read “Unbroken” – About an American Olympic athlete first shot down in the Pacific and set a record for the length of time they survived (55 days), and then shit befell them when they became Japanese POWs. He was beaten daily by a sadistic officer.
The most horrific was Unit 761 in Harbin, China, where 200,000 Chinese died from medical experimentation – people were exposed to diseases, starved, and had vivisections with no anesthesia. Women were raped repeatedly, and the resulting babies were experimented on. After the war was concluded, not one Japanese was even tried – the Americans let them go scot-free to obtain the results of the experiments.
Each battalion had a troop of comfort women. They were raped 10 times a day before battles and 40 times a day after.
And the Japanese have never issued a proper apology for any of their brutality.
The Peace Museum in Osaka was about Japan in WWII, showing the role the ordinary Japanese played in the war (for example, they donated all their pots and door knobs to be melted down for metal. Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the complete devastation of Osaka from bombing raids were shown in graphic detail. But there was nothing about the Japanese atrocities in WWII (and I imagine they are completely ignorant of them.
3. People.
It is aging faster than any other country. 60% of young Japanese don’t want to get married. Birth rates are less than 1 per couple. Men prefer dolls as sex objects. A significant female contact is at bars, where they buy unlimited drinks to chat with a woman. There are an amazing number of ancient people, all stooped over and hobbling along with their canes. You see many old men working, often controlling areas around the construction site, directing traffic, and staffing parking lots. They take their jobs very seriously. All the drivers of the high-end taxis driving in Toyota Crowns are old men.
Also, they have a smattering of English, rare in young people.
Their only hope is immigration, but they tend to be racist against anyone black or brown. It is one of the few countries where a foreigner can never become a citizen.
When here in 2014, I met two American men who had married and had children. The courtship was great, but once the ring was on the finger, any semblance of romance ended. They had both divorced.
It has the highest rate of divorce amongst the elderly. Men spend long hours at work and are often required to go out with the bosses at night. Their job often moves them around every few years. When the man retires, they often don’t know each other. With the man around all the time, she loses a lot of freedom. Extramarital affairs are very common and accepted.
In Yamagata, I talked to a Romanian woman who, after her divorce, moved here seven years ago with her 11-year-old son. She has become fluent in Japanese and supports herself with online Romanian cooking and working in an office. She is very social and made friends with a few women, but all, for reasons she doesn’t understand, suddenly abandoned her. She has made no good friends in those seven years. She feels that under that polite façade, the Japanese are mean-spirited and unpleasant. They gossip constantly behind people’s backs. She developed a relationship with a man who was romantic until he moved in with her. All romance disappeared, and he basically sat in front of the TV playing games. Needless to say, that didn’t last long. She dated a second man who took her out for dinner, and then they went to a games parlour. He demanded they share the bill. That didn’t last long either. At her present job, the other workers have come to like the friendly way she behaves, and she has converted the staff into a nice bunch. But they take it too far and constantly phone her. Her son has been bullied severely throughout school and has come to hate everything about Japan. They plan on moving, probably back to Romania, soon.
In Tokyo, I talked to a young American who WOOFed and worked on a farm. They were expected to work a full 40-hour week (most WOOF experiences require about 20 hours as the only pay is room and board), and they were constantly under pressure. The woman of the family was not pleasant in any way.
I talked to a black man from Cameroon who had lived here for 16 years. He described the prostitution, sex trafficking and abuse of young women. When asked if he had anything positive to say about Japanese people, he said, “No.”
Their stories reinforce what I have believed for some time. They are very nonsocial people who, behind that façade, are not nice.
Teenage girls all have bsngs, and most adults don’t. They act silly. At a Starbucks, I listened to two older teenagers laughing and giggling for a few hours. When I looked at what was so funny, they were pasting tiny sparkly stickers into sticker books. OMG
They are very polite and helpful when asked for help. They will even walk with you all the way to your destination.
Alcoholism is common. Grocery stores have large areas with booze.
One of my funniest travel stories involves two Japanese men I met at the Golden Eagle Festival in Mongolia in 2015. They had each bought horses ($550 for the horse with extra for a saddle, bridle, boots, deel (long Mongolian coat), straw, etc.) Neither had ever ridden a horse before and knew virtually nothing about horses. The plan was to ride 190km over 5 days out to the nearby national park, explore the park and ride back. They took a several-day “practice” ride south, where there was no water, feed, or trees to tie the horse down at night. One of the horses was a little wild, bucked one of them off twice, kicked him, and ran away! With the help of a Mongolian family, they were able to capture the horse, and he promptly sold it to the family. That guy swore not to ever ride again. He walked the 10 km out to the festival to save $2 per trip, and I have never heard him speak. The route follows a river and would have grass and water. Being at least smart enough to realize that he needed a guide if he still wanted to go, he was able to get one of the eagle hunters to accompany him. The temperature was barely above zero during the day and much colder at night, and the wind blows constantly. Spending 2 weeks on a horse seems more than a little crazy to me.
4. The country. It is a country with some deep problems. The debt is the highest in the world at over 137% of GDP, which is possible only because interest rates are near 0% (but have recently approached 3%, a significant level of debt that Japan will have a hard time servicing.
There is little innovation, so the future economy looks bleak, and from a huge economy in the 1990s. They are good at making things, but wages are high, and they have lost competitiveness.
It is a culture based on perfection. The Japanese are afraid to make mistakes and thus take no risks at work. They are light-years behind in digitalization. Making errors is key to developing new things: fail until you succeed (think Space X and the heavy Falcon rocket, it took 13 attempts before there was a successful launch).
I talked for a long time with a guy who lived in Australia for 20 years. The Japanese don’t worry about the future of the Japanese economy and live for the present. He thought that Japan should go back to the old days and be self-sufficient on its own. “We don’t need the outside world”!!
Museums are relatively cheap (500Y might be average), and many have reduced prices or are free if over 65 or 70, but the quality is mediocre.
5. Transport
High-speed trains are expensive, several multiples of China’s. It cost CA$30 for 15 minutes from Osaka to Kyoto and $125 for Kyoto to Yokohama.
Taxis, even Uber, are very expensive. City buses are reasonable, but I haven’t taken many. As a result, I ended up walking a lot, easily walking 15 km on the average walkabout. Renting bicycles is very cheap, but I could never understand the rules. Do you have to bring it back to the same place?
Driving in Japan. The Japanese are very cautious drivers. Combined with the slow speed limits (110 on expressways, 40-50 in towns) and many traffic lights, it can make for ponderous driving. Expressways have very expensive tolls, so I tried my best to avoid them. The secondary roads are of high quality with a full complement of tunnels. But they have many more twists and turns, and they have Japanese drivers.
To keep myself sane, I developed a very aggressive way to deal with the slowness. One must be ready to break lots of rules, and for it to work well, you need to like breaking rules. Here are the tactics:
a. Drive as fast as you can everywhere. Speed cameras seem very rare, but occasionally, you see overhead gantries that likely are cameras. Because the Japanese never speed, it seems wise not to waste your money on an expensive detection system. The speed on the secondary roads is never posted, but I assume it is 80 with frequent slowing to 50, often for no discernible reason. Driving fast allows you to hit many yellow and just turned red lights.
I don’t think there are speed traps or any radar in Japan. On the expressways, with a presumed speed limit of 110 (often posted at 70), many cars exceed 140 km/hr. Town speeds are often posted at 40 km/h, but everyone goes up to 60 km/h.
When I turned my rental in, there were no parking (I didn’t pay for parking once) or speed violations. The above must be true.
b. Pass frequently and don’t bother with the solid lines, as they are there almost all the time and don’t mean much. I tried to pass a truck, and he swerved so violently into my lane, he almost lost control. But at the next opportunity (another solid line), I was able to pass. I thought I had lost him, but at a light, he got out of his truck and screamed at me, pointing at the solid line. He took a photo of my license plate, but I never heard from the police.
c. Go through all red lights that are possible. It is great watching their reaction. I have never seen cameras, again a waste of time in a country that always obeys the rules.
d. Because there is almost always a turning lane, if that lane is open ahead and you want to bypass all the cars ahead of you, go into the turn lane and either go through the red light or wait till it’s green and surge ahead. It won’t take long until you are behind another long line of cars. Keep repeating.
When I get irritated that slow cars are in the fast lane, I flash my headlights and honk, both totally unacceptable in Japanese culture.
Even with these tactics, it is possible to take secondary roads and still make good time. Even with them, it would be difficult to average 80 km/hour, unless you were a true madman and driving a Maserati.
One rarely sees police. With so a perfect bunch of citizens, they don’t need to be out and about. This is why breaking the rules is so successful. When no one does it, they don’t suspect it and don’t look for it.
On Nov 25 in the evening, I did my usual, had a coffee at Starbucks. There was no parking, I parked illegally and then decided to go out to find a better place ot park. I accidentally turned down a one-way street (it was dark, and I couldn’t even see the one-way sign). Unfortunately, there were police, and they stopped me on the one-way street. After 30 minutes of taking all my information, taking photos of my passport, DL and International DL, I was finally taken to the police station and up to the 4th floor, where we were joined by two women (one an interpreter) and another two police. It was explained that I had broken the law and had to pay a fine. After at least another half hour, they had photocopied everything at least 5 times and had written out the ticket. I whined about being a tourist and that they could use some discretion and not give me a ticket. But I had broken the law and must be fined. The interpreter (who was the ugliest Japanese woman I have ever seen with a receding chin) got pissed off and yelled at me to stop whining. It was all to no avail. I couldn’t help but continue to make comments. “It has taken 6 police officers 30 minutes to write out a ticket for going the wrong way down a street. I would hate to see what would happen if I had done anything serious.” etc.
In the end, I was given the 7,000Y ticket with instructions to return to the police station at 9 am and be escorted to a bank or post office to pay. One of the young police officers kept saying he was sorry when they escorted me back to the van.
It was worth 7,000Y just to see Japanese police in action. It was painful.
I have broken the law driving at least 400 times (so many red lights I have lost track of, passing on a solid line so many times I have forgotten, parked illegally multiple times, and may now drive completely legally, as it would not be worth having to deal with the Nip legal system again. And afterwards, I had no speeding tickets, camera/red light tickets or parking tickets.
Despite the many rules, I never saw a sign about wearing seat belts or not using devices when driving. Seems odd that these two important driving rules should be ignored.
No left turn on red lights.
They park perfectly between the lines and must be less than a centimetre out, at most.
Bicycles are common, but they are all the clunky bikes similar to the Netherlands. The common road bikes, often made in Japan, that are common at home are only seen on weekends, where groups of riders congregate for rides.
Motorcycles are not that common (there are few electric scooters like in China), and the Japanese riders are very tame. I saw, or heard, a few Harleys.
I find the gas stations impossible to navigate. All choices are in Japanese, and I needed to call an attendant.
Vehicles. Almost all cars are Japanese-made, with a smattering of BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, Jeeps, a Chevy Suburban, and Land Rovers. I also haven’t seen any Toyota or Nissan trucks, so common in North America (the Toyota small truck, the Tacoma in NA and the Hilux in the rest of the world) and the Toyota large truck, the Tahoe. There are also few Toyota Land Cruisers, Pradas, 4Runners or Highlanders, so common in the rest of the world. Almost all are small boxy vehicles seen nowhere else but in Japan.
I didn’t see one vehicle with a dent or scratch. All looked like they had just had a complete detail job and were polished to a bright shine. That’s despite I haven’t seen any car washes.
5. Food. Much better than China, it is quite reasonably priced. There are restaurants everywhere, and many Japanese people seem to eat out a lot. There are not many US fast food options other than McDonald’s, KFC and the occasional Subway. Prices are comparable to Canada. Starbucks here may have the lowest prices in the world, even less than the good deal in Canada. There is a wealth of processed food in stores. Fruit and vegetables are expensive. I couldn’t find any cereal in any large stores.
One of the best deals is the prepackaged meals called bento available cheaply in supermarkets throughout the day. For 400-600Y, you get a very filling, tasty meal. I enter “large supermarket near me” into Google Maps. Each store offers different bento meals. All stores have a microwave, chopsticks and often, a small eating area. Many convenience stores also have bento, but the selection and price are not as good as supermarkets. If walking, some restaurants offer bento at lunch. Come early for the best selection, and late, they are often on sale.
The diet of white rice and few vegetables is quite constipating.
I rented a stove in the camper van, but it was a waste of money. All convenience stores have hot water for coffee. Why would one cook when you can eat for less with less hassle?
I love the recreated plastic food often in the front windows of restaurants. It is completely realistic. All menus have pictures, but without translation, you don’t know what you are getting.
Water is more expensive than pop. A two-gallon bottle of water is over 16,000Y.
Back in Tokyo, I stayed in the tourist mecca of Ueno with hundreds of eateries. I waited in line at one and found out they were famous for their tempura. It was confusing to understand. I wanted to try a variety, but each veg or seafood had to be ordered individually. I ordered onion and squid and got one small piece of onion (180Y) and one small amount of squid legs (380Y). I wonder why I eat out so little.
6. Accommodation is very reasonable compared to most of the Western world but more than China, and probably cheaper than in Canada. I ended up staying in capsule hostels, identical to most enclosed beds in any dorm room anywhere. They have a TV and an audio system, plugs and good lights. Your luggage needs to be stored in very narrow lockers in a separate room. If it doesn’t fit, there are unsecured rooms to store it in. At a hostel near Aoto Station, you even had to empty your locker every day and store your luggage in a storage area. I spread myself all over the place.
At Capsule 1 in Yokohama, you had to empty your capsule every day, even if you were staying multiple days. They completely redo the beds. Is this what clean freak Japanese expect? What a waste of time! I refused and left my bed as it was, but I was the only one of hundreds staying there. They supply pyjamas, towels and toothbrushes. I also didn’t bother wearing my pajamas, but took the bottoms to use as evening warm pants.
The only thing visible outside the capsule (with no room for luggage), was their slippers.
7. Tourism. Japan has become very popular as the Yen has devalued a great amount: 1US$ = 150Y, 1CA$ = 107. In touristic Kyoto, you see more foreigners than Japanese. November is surprisingly the busiest season. People come from all over to see the fall foliage, and it doesn’t get that cold until December. There were some nice reds and yellows, but otherwise they were dull orange/brown (the colour in eastern North America is much better). When I was here in 2014, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, but it was occasionally too cold to walk around in flip-flops.
In Kyoto, many foreigners rented kimonos and Japanese clothes. One Korean couple had spent US$150 on their outfit for the day. And there were tons doing it (all very neurotypical thinking).
8. Money. Most people seem to pay with digital wallets. I used both cash and a credit card. Bills are 10,000, 5,000 and 1,000. There is a dizzying array of coins: 500, 100, 50, 10 and 1. 1Y coins are worth .075 of a US penny. You end up accumulating a pocket full of them. Stores hate you paying with one-yen coins. This just shows Japanese are not great innovators. Canada got rid of its pennies decades ago, and all bills are rounded up or down.
RENTING A CAMPER VAN IN JAPAN
In 2025, I rented a camper van from Samurai Camper Vans in Tokyo. I have driven in many countries on the right had side before so that was not an issue. The mini vans at US$65/day were all sold out and I had to have a mid-size van for US$90. Add insurance and the total was 200,000Y. 40,000 was a nonrefundable deposit and the rest had to paid 4 days before the rental. You need an International Driver’s License. People from Germany and 6 other European countries need their licenses translated officially at $80.
The van I had was a very basic model of Nissan. The driver’s seat didn’t go very far back because of the cupboard. Two strangers would have been very cosey as the cupboard took up about 12” of space.
Cost. Camper van including insurance: 204,000Y (CA$1,860 or 133/day). Gas CA$350. Tolls 32,325Y (CA$288). Total cost CA$2498 or 178/day. Not very cheap.
The camper came with a firm mattress set on a platform of storage areas, one thing there is a lot of. There were also 9 lights – if all were turned on, you could get a tan. A small cupboard had a sink (connected to a 2-gallon water tank) and a microwave which can only be used for 3-minute periods as it drains the battery. There is also an air conditioner. I doubt it could run for 10 minutes without completely draining the second battery. There were 6 curtains for privacy. Neither the AC, microwave or cooker were of any value, but I’m sure added to the cost.
A pillow and basic cutlery were supplied. Everything else was an extra charge: sleeping bags, camping chairs, a portable fridge and a camping stove. I travel with a sleep sheet and sleeping bag, was given a camping chair for free, didn’t need a fridge and rented a camping stove for 1,000Y to make coffee in the morning. Interestingly, there was no warning about CO accumulating if the stove was used inside. They aren’t too worried about your health, but that scratch, amongst many other scratches already there, was serious business.
In the end, the stove was a waste of money. There’s nowhere with a picnic table to set it up, and hot water is available in every convenience store and supermarket. Food is so cheap to buy as prepared meals; there are no advantages to cooking. Salads are a good alternative to cooking.
It was irritating that the fob didn’t work, and I had to crawl over the front seat to lock all the doors at night.
There is a lengthy handout that comes with the van. There are more rules here than anywhere. Accidents would be a nightmare.
Along the road, I met a young Australian couple who had rented a minivan from another company a month ago and were just finishing up their trip. It cost half of mine. They had spent the month in the center of Honshu, between Osaka and Tokyo and had avoided toll roads completely. That may explain why it took them a month. I wonder what they saw. I’m guessing not much. Young travellers on the cheap are an interesting bunch. It seems the goal becomes seeing how little you can spend.
I forgot to ask what their accident/insurance policy was like. But Australians are used to “excess”, the fee paid if any accident occurs. When I rented a car in Australia, a kangaroo ran into the side of my car (I was going slowly and this kangaroo was obviously psychotic), causing a big dent in front of the driver’s door. AUS$3,500 was immediately paid on my card, when the damage cost AUS$125 to fix. I didn’t get my money back for over a month after I left the country. A second accident would have been another $3,500, a third was another $3,500. Credit card interest fees alone would have been significant, and I took money out of savings to cover it.
No other car rental companies in the world operate like this.
Insurance. The most significant are accidents. Even if you get a tiny scratch or a rock hits the windshield, you have to pay the excess fee of 100,000Y, you mustn’t move the vehicle even one inch, you have to take photos, the police need to be called, a police report needs to be filled out, you must call the van company, and you need to call the insurance company or your insurance is void. You must not leave the scene until the police have arrived.
The excess is paid for each incident (each scratch). Because the damage has to be repaired (the van had multiple scratches already), you will be charged for the lost business at a minimum of 50,000Y. Pay 100,000Y to process the claim. If the vehicle is not returned to the original depot, pay 300,000Y.
It is illegal to change a car’s tire if you get a flat. A service needs to be called. I did get a flat from a large screw. It was a nightmare. The phone number didn’t work and all calls were made on the phone of the employee at the all-night fast food place I was lucky to find, driving around on a flat tire. It would have been impossible to arrange without his generous help. It took three calls on his phone and over an hour of arguing to get them to send a tow truck in the morning. They provided an interpreter. First, they demanded that I call a tire shop to find out if they had my tire (first, it was 1 am, and second, it would have been difficult for me to find one and then impossible to talk to them with no Japanese). Then they demanded that I call Samurai campers to arrange the tow (another impossible request as the phone number I had for them didn’t work either). I supplied Samurai’s address and phone number. They said they would come in 15 minutes, but when they didn’t, I called back. They hadn’t bothered taking down the address I was at. After more arguing through the interpreter, they finally consented to have a tow truck come in the morning to the address the employee gave them. The tow truck finally arrived at 11:15 and I had the tire fixed by 12:30. The tow truck driver was a very pleasant older guy. The tire was almost bald, and I was lucky it was patched (2,100Y at my cost) as the cost of a new tire would have been my expense too.
Smoking inside entailed a 50,000Y cleaning fee. As a result, I purchased an e-cigarette (that doesn’t leave a small amount), but that was a nightmare too. There is only one brand that uses an actual cigarette look. It is pushed into a hole. But I couldn’t figure out how it worked. I took it back to the convenience store, and after about 10 minutes may have understood the complicated process of getting smoke out. But it tasted awful. There are flavoured ones (plum is the best), but I was unwilling to fork out another 530Y, when I wasn’t sure how it worked (still!).
Tolls (ETC) are paid on return. The van has a sticker recognized by the toll, and you barely have to stop. All express highways are tolled, and I was curious about the total. One toll for about 40 km was 2,048Y! My most expensive was 3,000Y for about 190 km. My total cost for all tolls ended up being 35,000Y, much less than I thought, but I avoided all expressways I could. It had to be paid before I could leave the rental place.
It would be almost impossible to avoid all tolls. You would get interminably frustrated with the local traffic, innumerable traffic lights, and small speed zones. Hit dead ends and backtrack +++. Getting anywhere would take 2-3 times as long and may actually cost more with all the extra gas used.
Gas. 1.60-1.69Y / lItre, About the price in Canada.
Camping. I intended to only wild camp. I was initially worried about that, but there are many places to stay, including McDonald’s and other fast food places, malls, grocery stores, convenience stores and anywhere that you can find.
Free wifi. In the rest of the Western world, I mooch free wifi from many places, often McDonald’s and a variety of restaurants. I don’t think that is available here, and I will have to hotspot my phone. I ended up using about 16 GB of data during the drive, and will need to get a Japanese SIM to finish my month.
Some apps recommended by Samuai Campers. I didn’t need or use any. Park for free everywhere without these apps. Use onsens for bathing.
locationsmart.org. A website and app with laundry, restaurants, restrooms, parking lots and convenience stores.
Kaikatsu Club are Manga cafes that cost 500Y per hour. Have laundry, showers and a non-alcoholic bar and ice cream for free, but you have to pay for the table.
Park 4 night app shows free campsites and parking lots.
Michi no eki are rest areas with free parking. Type in “Roadside Station” into Google Maps. The few I stopped at had no showers, a convenience store and a large fish market with a fish restaurant. Often there is not even a gas station (only in Japan).
