 Poster: A snowHead
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Anyone got any advice/experience of hiring a car from Sapporo? Looking to do a trip next year and I’m not too keen on booking through a 3rd party like Kayak or holiday autos.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We used Nippon Rent a Car, booked directly. We got the 'Hokkaido winter special deal' which guaranteed 4 wheel drive, winter tyres, GPS and the option of ski racks. It wasn't the cheapest package, but it was seamless and stress free. They gave us a new Honda Fit and it coped incredibly well with some pretty severe road conditions. Heartily recommended.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@element, thanks. Nippon seemed to be the main one which was coming up anyway. I'm not adverse to spending a little bit more to get something comfortable rather than something cheap. When I spoke to Admin about his Japan trip he made the very valid point that you often get into the car at the end of a long day skiing and then have a 90 minute drive, so something warm and comfortable is a real benefit.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@SnoodlesMcFlude, when you register as Nippon Rent client I believe you get 10% off. At least that is what I got in 2018
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@SnoodlesMcFlude, Don't use the Western agencies like Kayak, Holiday Autos, Auto Europe etc.
There are a couple of good Japanese agencies that are worth a look: Tocoo, Tabirai
Also try budgetrentacar.co.jp (25-30% discount for 60 days advance reservations)
The special offers for winter packages (ski racks included etc) probably won't appear until around November.
Two years ago the best deal I found was a winter package car (ski rack + 4WD) with Budget booked via Tabirai. Last year I booked direct with Budget for Hokkaido, and with Ekiren via Tocoo for Nagano. Minor disadvantage of Tocoo is that they force you to get some kind of insurance cover, but in the latter case it was still the cheapest option.
Not used Nippon rent a car as they were not competitive for my dates, but i'm sure they are good too.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Minor disadvantage of Tocoo is that they force you to get some kind of insurance cover,
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Yep - I think the Hokkaido Winter Special Deal we got had a fairly high level of mandatory insurance. I was happy to take all of the added insurances/non operational charges etc to keep it stress free, but it might be different if you have your own hire car insurance.
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Used nippon 4 times now, totally fine.
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I went with Nippon too, out of their Sapporo JR station office - excellent service. Nippon offer a "one way rental" ie pick-up at one place & drop-off at another, which within Hokkaido should be foc. So if you want to experience Sapporo post-pow you can dump the car at their city branch then train it to Chitose.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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We used Toyota, they also do free one-way so long as it is within the overall district which encompassed all of Hokkaido at the time.
The Sat-Nav was excellent, really easy to use once the office set it up. The voice was in English and to set a destination all you needed was its telephone number which made it so simple.
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