Me and the other half have just returned from a road trip in Japan and as there doesn't seem to be much on the forum regarding this amazing country I thought I would share our experience.
We hired a car to get around but I met an American gent touring on a BMW he had hired, along with a British mate on a 1250 GS, so touring japan on 2 wheels is pretty straight forward.
You need an international Driving Permit (Code 1949) which costs around £5.50 and lasts 12 months. These were available from the Post Office until 31st March this year but now you can visit here to sort the permit: https://www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/international-driving-permit
I was under the impression Japan is really expensive, but the yen is really weak at the moment and one of the most surprising things for me is how cheap Japan is, petrol 90p/lt, We were finding good 3 start hotels for £50/£60 a night, meals for under £20 for two, car hire £500 for 2 weeks, wine from £2 bottle, branded whisky £12 bottle, McDonalds meal deal less than £5. Of course you can spend a lot more if you want, like anywhere. Accommodation was more expensive in the tourist areas and the road tolls can add up: we spent £240 for 16 days and 2200 miles, make sure you get the automated toll payment card when you collect a car and pay when you return it. Motorcycles pay 80% of the car toll apparently. Parking is often difficult and expensive. We always booked hotels online as we went that had access to parking.
Japan drives on the left, roads are generally very good and the standard of driving is among the best I have seen.
The Japanese are mostly very respectful, modest, polite and generally helpful. We were amazed how well everything worked and the lack of litter and graffiti.
It's a 14hr flight and after landing at HND, Tokyo is the biggest city in the world with 37.5 million inhabitants, it seemed a bit much for a starter so we headed straight to the Mount Fuji/lakes area. the first day it rained and Mount Fuji was hidden behind cloud but on the second day the sun came out along with the mountain, we also drove to Shiraito falls.
We chose to visit in the blossom high season which made the country even more magical and exotic.
We hired a car to get around but I met an American gent touring on a BMW he had hired, along with a British mate on a 1250 GS, so touring japan on 2 wheels is pretty straight forward.
You need an international Driving Permit (Code 1949) which costs around £5.50 and lasts 12 months. These were available from the Post Office until 31st March this year but now you can visit here to sort the permit: https://www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/international-driving-permit
I was under the impression Japan is really expensive, but the yen is really weak at the moment and one of the most surprising things for me is how cheap Japan is, petrol 90p/lt, We were finding good 3 start hotels for £50/£60 a night, meals for under £20 for two, car hire £500 for 2 weeks, wine from £2 bottle, branded whisky £12 bottle, McDonalds meal deal less than £5. Of course you can spend a lot more if you want, like anywhere. Accommodation was more expensive in the tourist areas and the road tolls can add up: we spent £240 for 16 days and 2200 miles, make sure you get the automated toll payment card when you collect a car and pay when you return it. Motorcycles pay 80% of the car toll apparently. Parking is often difficult and expensive. We always booked hotels online as we went that had access to parking.
Japan drives on the left, roads are generally very good and the standard of driving is among the best I have seen.
The Japanese are mostly very respectful, modest, polite and generally helpful. We were amazed how well everything worked and the lack of litter and graffiti.
It's a 14hr flight and after landing at HND, Tokyo is the biggest city in the world with 37.5 million inhabitants, it seemed a bit much for a starter so we headed straight to the Mount Fuji/lakes area. the first day it rained and Mount Fuji was hidden behind cloud but on the second day the sun came out along with the mountain, we also drove to Shiraito falls.
We chose to visit in the blossom high season which made the country even more magical and exotic.
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. The Japanese are amazing people, I so wish the UK was as disciplined, gracious, polite and respectful as they are.
