Renting a Car in Hakuba

This is becoming more common nowadays in Hakuba and is a real option, especially if you have booked accommodation away from the shuttle bus routes, or have a large family for example so just can’t be bothered with catching buses. You need to book WELL in advance - there are just not enough cars to go around in Hakuba. Requirements to rent You will need your international drivers license AND your home license. Without BOTH of those you are driving illegally and insurance won’t cover you. The standard insurance policy that is provided by the rental companies still requires you to fork out the first 50,000 yen in case of an accident and as usual they will take a hold against your credit card for that. There are 3 properly licensed car rental companies currently in Hakuba. If you are looking at getting first lifts then you will need to rent from the day before as you won’t be able to get the car before 09.00 am or so. All cars come are 4WD, equipped with snow tyres, GPS and ski racks. The cheapest company by a country mile is Freedom Car Rental . If they don’t have availablity then there is Hakuba Car Rental , based near the train station and Windy Car Rental located near Happo. Price depends on the type of vehicle you want, and how long you want it for. Renting from somewhere other than Hakuba If these companies have no cars left then another alternative is to get yourself to Nagano (catch a bullet train from Tokyo) and rent a car there- you can do so from this link . It’s only an easy hour’s drive away from Hakuba. Be sure the car comes with snow tyres and get at least a station wagon size as they won’t have roof racks for skis/ boards.It is not recommended to rent from Narita airport -it’s a long drive on icy roads and the car probably won’t come with snow tyres. Things to be careful of Same rules apply as anywhere else-check over the car properly before you rent and make sure you have a copy of the included insurance. Most important thing is to drive slowly-ice is not the easiest substance to stop quickly on and white- out conditions are common. Remember to lift up your wipers when you leave your car to prevent them sticking to the windscreen and don’t put on your handbrake as it can freeze on; instead make sure it is in gear and on a flat surface. Beware of “car sharing” situations. At present Uber and any type off car sharing is illegal in Hakuba. That means that if you are paying money to use a private vehicle that isn’t registered as a rental vehicle, any insurance for that car will be be null & void and will not cover you in case of accident irregardless of what the vehicle owner tells you. All cars that are propertly registered as rental vehicles will have 4 numbers prefixed by either れ or わ on the number plate.