Renting a Car in Shikoku: Licences, Insurance, ETC and One-Way Fees (2026)

Quick answer: Bring an International Driving Permit (1949 Geneva Convention) — or, if you’re from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Taiwan or Monaco, your licence plus an official Japanese translation. Book online in English with Toyota, Times, Nippon or ORIX. Choose a small car, add the damage waiver and the NOC cover (about ¥1,650–2,200 a day together), rent an ETC card (¥330–550) and budget separately for the bridges to Shikoku.

Shikoku is the part of Setouchi where a car makes the biggest difference. Trains and buses are thin in the mountains and along the coast, and places like the Iya Valley are hard to reach without one. I used to sell cars at a dealership, and I’ve rented cars in other parts of Japan and abroad — at home in Tokushima I drive my own. This guide is what I’d tell a friend before they book.

What licence do you need?

You can drive in Japan as a visitor with one of these:

• An International Driving Permit (IDP) issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention, plus your home licence.
• A licence from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Taiwan or Monaco, plus an official Japanese translation (from JAF, your embassy or another approved issuer). JAF takes applications online, usually in 2–3 business days.

Things that catch people out:

• IDPs under the 1968 Vienna Convention are not accepted, and neither are EU licences on their own.
• You can drive for up to one year from your arrival (or until the IDP expires, if sooner).
• Get an entry stamp in your passport. If you go through the automated immigration gates, ask an officer for a stamp or sticker. Some rental companies (Times, for example) cannot rent to you without proof of your entry date.
• Bring the original IDP and your passport. Every driver needs them at pickup.

A rule change in October 2025 made it harder to convert a foreign licence into a Japanese one, but that affects residents. Visitors still drive on an IDP or translation as before.

Where to rent

The big companies all have English booking: Toyota Rent a Car, Times Car Rental, Nippon Rent-A-Car and ORIX (Nissan and JR West’s Ekiren too).

In Tokushima, I’d rent at Tokushima Airport. Several companies have shops there (Toyota’s is a 3-minute walk from the terminal, open 8:00–20:00), and you’re straight onto the main roads without driving through the city centre. If you arrive by highway bus, there are also shops near Tokushima Station.

Other good pickup points: Takamatsu Station or Airport, Matsuyama Airport, Kochi Airport, and Hiroshima Station or Airport if you’re starting on the Honshu side.

Which car? Go small

This is my strongest advice as a former car salesman: if your trip includes mountain roads, rent a small car — a compact or even a kei car (Japan’s smallest class, with yellow number plates). Roads in the Iya Valley and around Mt. Tsurugi narrow to one lane with steep drops, and a small car makes passing oncoming traffic far less stressful.

If you’ll do a lot of driving, a hybrid is worth it. The fuel savings add up over a week in Shikoku.

All rental cars in Japan are automatic.

What it costs

• List prices: about ¥8,900–10,300 for 24 hours for a compact (Times and Toyota, October 2026), less for each extra day.
• Online deals are often cheaper, especially for kei cars. Expect roughly ¥5,000–8,000 a day for a kei car booked online, more at peak times.
• Peak periods (Golden Week, Obon in mid-August, New Year) cost more and sell out — book early.

Insurance: take the waiver and the NOC cover

Basic insurance is included, but if you damage the car, you still pay:

• a deductible: ¥50,000 for property damage and ¥50,000 for the car, and
• a non-operation charge (NOC): ¥20,000 if you can drive the car back, ¥50,000 if you can’t. This is the company’s compensation for the car being off the road while it’s repaired.

The Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) — about ¥1,100 a day — covers the deductible, but not the NOC. To cover the NOC too, add the company’s extra package:

My advice: take both. On narrow mountain roads, a scraped side mirror or a bumped wall is easy, and a few thousand yen for the whole trip is much better than a ¥50,000 surprise. At Nippon, the waiver can’t be added after pickup.

Insurance doesn’t pay if you don’t report an accident to the police, if an undeclared person was driving, or if alcohol was involved.

ETC card and tolls

Almost every rental car has an ETC unit (Japan’s electronic toll system). Rent the card with the car:

• Toyota ¥550, Times ¥330, Nippon ¥330 (up to 7 days).
• Your tolls are added up and paid when you return the car.
• Drive through the ETC lane at 20 km/h or less.

Paying cash instead of ETC on the bridges costs far more. See Driving to Shikoku: the bridge tolls.

The SEP expressway pass

Visitors with a foreign passport can add the San’in-Setouchi-Shikoku Expressway Pass (SEP): unlimited NEXCO expressways from ¥10,700 for 3 days to ¥17,700 for 10 days. Sold through Toyota, Times, ORIX, Nissan and JR West Rent-a-Car (not Nippon).

Two things to know:

• It counts calendar days, so a pickup at 13:00 on day 1 and return at 13:00 on day 4 uses 4 pass days.
• It doesn’t cover the three bridges between Honshu and Shikoku. You pay those separately.

One-way rentals

• Within one prefecture: often free (check each company’s calculator).
• Between Shikoku prefectures: Nippon charges a flat ¥6,600; Times charges by distance.
• Between Honshu and Shikoku: expensive. Times, for example, adds ¥6,600 on top of the distance fee, plus the cost of getting the car back. A Hiroshima-to-Matsuyama one-way can approach ¥30,000.

Often it’s cheaper to return the car in Hiroshima, cross by ferry, and rent again in Shikoku. See Hiroshima to Shikoku: ferry, bus or train?.

Fuel, child seats and GPS

• Fuel: you get the car full and return it full. At self-service stations, the red nozzle is regular, yellow is high-octane, green is diesel. Wrong fuel isn’t covered by insurance.
• Child seats: required by law for children under 6. Reserve one when you book (about ¥1,100–1,650 per rental).
• GPS: Toyota offers English navigation as standard; other companies may give you a Japanese-only unit. Most newer cars support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can use Google Maps.

If something goes wrong

• Accident: help anyone injured, call the police (110) — even for a minor bump — and 119 for an ambulance. Then call the rental company. Never settle privately on the spot.
• Parking ticket: go to a police station in the same prefecture and pay the fine at a bank (¥15,000–18,000). Bring the receipt when you return the car, or the company charges you ¥25,000–30,000.

See also: Driving in rural Shikoku: narrow roads, fuel and parking.

FAQ

Can I rent with a debit card?
Usually not. Toyota, for example, requires a credit card for bookings made since July 2026.

Can my partner drive too?
Yes, if they’re declared at pickup and show their own IDP and passport. Extra drivers are free at Toyota and Nippon.

Is driving in Shikoku difficult?
Main roads and expressways are easy. Mountain roads need care — that’s why I recommend a small car.

Kaz

Tokushima local with family roots in Hiroshima

I live in Tokushima and my family is from Hiroshima, where I also used to live. I still go back several times a year. The guides here come from places I have actually been. Where I haven't tried something myself, I say so.