Japan travel · Phone guide
How to call a car rental company in Japan when you don't speak Japanese
You booked the car online in English. Then the branch calls to confirm the model — and it's all in Japanese. Here's exactly what to say, and the fastest way to get through it.
Renting a car is the best way to see rural Japan — Hokkaido, the Noto Peninsula, the backroads of Kyushu. The booking part is easy: every major chain (Toyota Rent a Car, Times, Nippon, Nissan) takes English reservations online or through aggregators like ToCoo! and Tabirai. The part nobody warns you about is the phone call.
Maybe the local branch rings the day before to confirm your exact car model and pickup time. Maybe your flight slips and you need to tell them you'll be late. Maybe you want to add snow tires before driving into the mountains, or check whether the car has an ETC toll card. The English booking site doesn't cover any of that — and the branch staff, especially outside the big cities, often speak little to no English. Suddenly a five-minute call feels impossible.
It's a small thing that can derail a whole day of driving. So here's how to handle it.
When you'll actually need to phone
Most of the trip is fine in English. These are the moments that tend to force a Japanese phone call:
- The branch calls to confirm your reservation — car class, model, or pickup time — a day before.
- You want to confirm or change the specific car model (e.g. you need an automatic, or a bigger boot).
- Your flight or train is delayed and you'll arrive after the desk's stated pickup window.
- You need to add an ETC card (for expressway tolls), a child seat, or studless snow tires.
- You want a one-way rental — picking up and dropping off at different branches.
- Something goes wrong on the road: a breakdown, an accident, or a return-time problem.
If it's an accident, this call comes first
If anyone is injured, call 119 for an ambulance. Report every accident to the police on 110 — even a minor scrape in a car park — and then contact the rental branch. Japanese rental agreements and their insurance generally require a police report; not reporting an accident can leave you without coverage. Don't wait on a translation app for an emergency call.
What to say — phrases that work
Open with the first line, then point to whatever you need. Staff are unfailingly patient; a few clear phrases go a long way.
Tip: have your reservation number and passport ready before you dial — they're the two things you'll be asked for first.
Hear it live +1 (888) 885-5228 Say a sentence in English — hear it come back in Japanese, live on a real phone line. Free demo · about 2 minutes · no app, no signup · still in testing, may not connect from every countryThe faster way
Or just call them, and speak English.
When the branch rings the day before and the whole confirmation comes in Japanese, this is the call Yovoca is built for. You read back your reservation, ask whether the car is an automatic, sort out the ETC card or the snow tires — in English — and the rental desk hears it in natural Japanese, with their reply coming straight back to you on the same line. Join the waitlist to reserve your founding line and we'll tell you the moment translated rental calls open.
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Frequently asked
Do Japanese car rental companies speak English?
The big chains — Toyota, Times, Nippon, Nissan — have English booking sites and some English-speaking staff at major airport branches. But smaller-town and rural branches, where you'll often pick up for a road trip, frequently have little spoken English, even when the website was in English.
Will the rental branch actually call me?
Often, yes — many branches phone the day before to confirm your pickup time and car, or if anything about your booking needs clarifying. The call usually comes in Japanese from a local number.
So can Yovoca get me through the call if the branch only speaks Japanese?
It can carry the conversation, not place the call for you. You dial the branch on the number from your booking, speak English, and they hear it in natural Japanese — enough to confirm the car model, add an ETC card or push back a delayed pickup, with their reply coming back to you live. What it can't do is hand you a Japanese phone number or send a Japanese text; for the in-person paperwork at the counter, a regular translation app still helps.
What do I need ready before I call?
Your reservation number, the name the booking is under, your passport, and your International Driving Permit (or an official Japanese translation of your license, depending on your country). Have your pickup date and branch in front of you too.