Okinawa Japan Car Rental

Out side of Naha City which has the Yui Rail (monorail), when traveling to Okinawa it is almost necessary to rent a car if you want to get around and see the sights.

How to rent a car in Okinawa

Most of the car rental companies in Okinawa are located at Naha Airport or send shuttles buses there to pick up customers and bring them to their shop locations near the airport. There are also a number of car rental companies near Omoromachi Station in the Shintoshin shopping area at the Duty Free Shop.

The procedure for renting the car is quite simple. First just go up to the counter and choose the class of car you wish to rent and let them know for how many days. They will ask you to show your international license or Japanese license and ID such as passport or alien registration card (gaikokujin touroku-sho). You will then be asked to sign a rental contract and the staff will take you to your car for a brief inspection.

Some car rental companies in Okinawa include The Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) in the price and others add it as an additional fee. Generally it costs around 1,600 JPY per rental and must be paid up front. The LDW is mandatory by car rental companies, please remember it is not insurance. Its purpose is to free renters of financial responsibility if the car is damaged or stolen while under rental contract. Using the vehicle in violation of any of the user restrictions listed on the rental agreement could void LDW and leave the renter fully responsible for any damage to the vehicle.

Japanese law also requires small children traveling in a vehicle to be safely fastened into a child seat. Most car rental agencies on Okinawa can provide child safety seats, sometimes they charge a small additional fee.

Most rental cars in Okinawa and elsewhere in Japan come with GPS / Navigation systems, however in Okinawa most are only equipped to operate in Japanese.

You must be 18 years or older to rent a car in Japan according to Japanese law.