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.
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.
The faster way
Or just call them, and speak English.
Yovoca translates the call live. You speak English; the rental desk hears natural Japanese, and you hear their reply back in English — in real time. No phrasebook, no guessing, no app for them to install. We're opening early access now.
One email when your line is ready. No spam.
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.
What if the branch only speaks Japanese?
You can try a few prepared phrases (above), ask them to write things down, or use a translation app for the in-person part. For a live phone call, those apps fall short — which is exactly why we built Yovoca to translate the call itself, in both directions.
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.