"Romantic Road" Japan, including rental car and trains

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Yes, it should be doable. If you don't want to navigate the web sites, then go to a larger JTB travel or "Green Window" (Midori no Madoguchi) at the larger train stations where they speak English and make your train+car reservations there.

Getting a GPS with English is very, very difficult. I haven't found one and GPS units in Japan are built-in, so they can't be swapped out. They are usually domestic brands (i.e, not Garmin or TomTom based) and don't have language options -- at least as far as I've seen. There are two solutions:

  • Use your phone or tablet and your own navigation program (google maps, waze, etc.)

  • Have someone show you how to use the GPS by searching by telephone number. This is the easiest and fastest way to addresses in Japanese GPS units. Even Japanese don't know how to read some address name Kanji, so they use the telephone search capability.

I've found traveling in Japan by car very easy since people are polite and follow the traffic rules -- it's been less stressful than when I've driven in Spain/France. Don't speed, there are numerous speed cameras on the highways. Highway tolls will kill you so traveling lower roads is a good idea.

Upvote:3

Your plan sounds otherwise OK, but you're going pretty early in the year: it's still going to be cold and wintery in Feb/March, with lows below freezing and occasional snow. I suspect the scenery would be better later in spring or in autumn. However, the roads should be open, so this isn't a blocker.

Your IDP will be fine. For Japanese car rental agencies including a variety of English "wrappers" around Ekiren, see this answer. English road signage is pretty much universal in Japan, but cities can be tough to navigate (in any language!), so try to ensure that your rental car's navigator has an English mode. Also double-check that your child seat will be compatible, Japanese cars do not generally have ISOFIX points.

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