orientation

Welcome to Japan and Japan Campers !

Thank you for renting from our company.
To make sure your journey is without major issues and that you return home safely, please make sure you familiarise yourself with the following very important points which you are required to observe while driving in Japan:

(JAPAN CAMPERS is in no way responsible for your lack of knowledge.
Please remember that "Ignorantia juris non excusal (latin)" which means "ignorance of the law excuses not".

1. RULE NUMBER 1 IN JAPAN

Pedestrians, Bicycles and Motorbikes have absolute priority and a right of way in any situation ! Injuring an innocent person will definitely result in you facing severe consequences!
Please be especially careful with bicycles because they travel fast and may come from any direction without watching out for you. You are always at fault if you are involved in such an accident.

2. STOP SIGN

Whenever you see the STOP sign you need to make a complete stop and give way.
The STOP sign is usually placed well before the intersection, so if required you need to stop twice.

3. RAILWAY CROSSINGS

There are no STOP signs in front of railway crossings, yet you are required to make a complete stop before each railway crossing even when the barriers are opened.
Make sure the car in front of you has already cleared the crossing before you enter the crossing.

4. SPEED LIMITS

The Signs in Japan show the speed limit in kilometres per hour - not miles per hour.
The speed limits (unless limited by the traffic signs) are as follows:
- 50 km/hr - in Cities.
- 60 km/hr - outside Cities
- 100km/hr - on Highways
Note! Most Japanese Drivers drive well above the allowed speed limit risking heavy fines.
We strongly recommend that you keep your speed within the limit.

5. PARKING in JAPAN

Parking in places which are not clearly marked as Public Parkings is strictly prohibited.
Illegal parking fine is approx. 15,000 JPY.
If you ignore our warning and still get one (usually a yellow tag-sticker on the front window), please go to the nearest Police Station and make sure you pay it by yourself. Unpaid fines will be sent quickly to our office. If we need to pay for the fine on your behalf, we are required to go to a Police Station, make a report and pass your personal information. This will be charged 10,000 JPY extra.
If you see a place that looks like a parking with many cars already parked (but no signs) - it is probably a private parking.
If you leave the van there you may end up paying 50,000 JPY as the van will probably be towed away.
Be extremely careful when parking next to another van because even the slightest damage (or even a small paint scratch) to it will result in insurance claim and you may lose a lot of $$$.

6. ZERO ALCOHOL POLICY

The legal alcohol limit in Japan is 0%. This means, unlike most countries, you cannot drive after having the smallest drink. Japan uses "Shared Responsibility law" which means that penalty for drinking and driving is 300,000 JPY for each adult in the car.

7. DRIVING UP and DOWN HILLS

Japan is a very mountainous country with over 70% of the country being mountains.
Always make sure you use "Engine Breaking Technique" - 2nd and 1st gear to reduce speed when driving down hills.
Using the brakes constantly to slow down will definitely overheat the wheel rotors and you may not be able to stop the van when really required. Please inform our staff if you do not know the "Engine Braking technique"

8. GASOLINE or DIESEL

Make sure you know the type of fuel your van uses. Pouring the wrong fuel into the tank will result in engine damage and you will be fully liable for the damages.
Damages resulting from pouring the wrong fuel are NOT COVERED by any insurance and must be covered by you.

9. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW YOUR VEHICLE HEIGHT (SAFE CLEARANCE)

Most major roads have a maximum clearance of 4,0 meters and the vans are OK to drive on them.
There are however, some tunnels and especially parking places where you will not be able to drive.
Safe clearance is as follows:

◆ 2,3 meters - Miniature Campervan with Roof Box
◆ 2,1 meters - Mid Campervan ( flat roof)
◆ 2,3 meters - Mid Campervan ( pop-up roof)
◆ 2,5 meters - Big Campervans
◆ 3,2 meters - Motorhomes

10. INSURANCE COVERAGE

A Standard Third Party Insurance is included in your rental fee. In case of a first accident (reported to the Police) you will be required to pay 100,000 JPY (200,000 JPY for the Motorhomes) to the insurance company. Each additional accident will require 150% of the previous Access Fee. Please understand that even the smallest scratch caused to a third party vehicle/property is usually classified as an accident.

Damages (due to your own fault) made to Japan Campers' vehicles, are not covered by our standard insurance and depending on the damage you may be charged maximum 300,000 JPY for the repair costs.

TYPE OF DAMAGE	DESCRIPTION	MAX Charges	COMMENTS
DAMAGES WITH LOW CHARGES	Damages that are easy to be repaired/ painted will be charged at the possible minimum rate. For example light scratches and dents. Damages to interior and equipment.	30,000 JPY	Assessed by JC staff
SLIGHT AND MEDIUM DAMAGES	Slight and Medium damages will be charged when they need some time ( and /or parts) to be repaired. This category includes scratches or dents on external and internal car elements ( i.e. doors, bumpers, wheels, mirrors etc)	100,000 JPY	Charge depends on the damage based on the actual repair cost
SERIOUS DAMAGES	Serious Damages will be charged when they involve an element replacement(i.e. Bumper) or when the restoration requires a number of days, or when a replacement is needed due to regulations, safety or appearance reasons. This category includes bodywork, lights, tires and windscreen damages	300,000 JPY	Charge depends on the damage based on the actual repair cost
DAMAGES DUE TO NEGLIGENCE	Broad category of damages assessed by our insurance company on "case by case" basis	Up to the Vehicle price	Charge depends on the damage based on the actual repair cost

11. PROCEDURES IN A CASE OF ANY ACCIDENT

Japanese Insurance companies require all accidents to be reported to the police.
Japan Campers cannot claim insurance coverage without a police report.It is absolutely necessary to contact our office in case of any damage/ accident.

In an unfortunate event of an accident/damage you need to observe the following steps:

1. Take as many pictures as possible before moving the vehicle.

2. Inform Japan Campers about the accident immediately.

3. Call the Police and ( if necessary) an Ambulance ( or ask somebody to call for you).
   The number for the Police is -> 110 and Ambulance is -> 119 .

4. Note the place, time and situation in which the accident happened.

5. Make sure to collect and exchange the third party details (name, address, tel number, car registration number).
   Note 1: Because of the Privacy Law, Police cannot help you with exchanging personal details and Police will only act in case of problems with exchanging information.
   Note2: Unless the accident caused any personal injury, Police will not decide who was at fault. This job is left for the insurance companies, so make sure the Police writes down your side of the story.

6. Make sure you get the name of the Policeman in charge and get the address of the Police Station which was making the Accident Report.

7. Regardless of who was at fault, if an insurance claim is made you need to deposit a new Excess fee ( Amount in Japanese Yen is written on the contract) into Japan Campers Bank account within 24 hrs. Please ask for banking details when needed. If Excess Fee is not paid, we may reposes the vehicle and cancel your rental contract without further notice.

8. 10,000 JPY is charged for processing each insurance claim made on your behalf.

9. If you do not get a Police Report, you will be responsible for the full cost of the repairs and any extra claims.

12. HOW TO ENTER and EXIT HIGHWAYS

Japanese Highways are always toll roads and are quite expensive ( average 2,000 JPY for 100km). You may pay for the tolls with Cash. Some Credit Cards are also accepted. Please make sure you always have cash on you in case your Credit Card is not working.

Do not use the ETC Toll Gate. Please enter green gate , pick up a ticket and keep it until you exit the motorway. At the final gate pass the ticket to the attendant and pay the required amount.

13. ROOF VENTS AND FREE TOP ROOF (Mazda Bongo)

- Please make sure the roof vents are fully closed when driving.
- Never open the roof vents if there is a high wind, heavy rain or snow as it may collapse because of the weight of snow.
- Roof top must be closed before driving (obvious but often overlooked).
- Do not open the roof-top if there is high wind or if it snows as the roof may collapse because of the weight of the accumulating snow.

14. PARKING HEATER

Please see separate section dedicated to parking heater.

http://www.japancampers.com/heatingsystem.html

15. iPAD USAGE

Please let us know if you are NOT FAMILIAR with the iPad, including various buttons, how to "kill" running applications, how to reboot the iPad and how to take a screenshot, etc.

When using the iPad please observe the following points:

1. Always connect to a charger while driving because GPS uses a lot of power while in use.

2. Never let the iPad to discharge to less than 5%. Once the iPad is discharged, it may take up to 30 minutes before it re-starts.

3. Never try to complete Software Updates as it requires lots of mobile data and passwords which we do not share.

4. iPads have no LockScreen passwords enabled. Please do not enable them.

5. If you enable Personal Hotspot and connect your own devices, they may upload or download huge amounts of mobile data without your knowledge.
Please control the mobile data usage because once you reach your data limit, adding extra data is not always possible.

6. iPads will use some mobile data when in idle mode. Please always switch the iPad off at night to avoid unnecessary data usage.

7. Please let us know if you require extra mobile data for personal usage so we can increase your data allowance before your departure.

16. USING GOOGLE MAPS for NAVIGATION:

1. Do not follow blindly the GPS.
It will always try to direct you to a shortest way (often too narrow road) which is not suitable.

2. GPS does not work in tunnels so you need to relay on road signs (common in Tokyo)

3. GPS gets very confused if the roads are multilayered (for example highway is above the normal road) and it may give you contradicting information.

4. Do not use Sattelite View for navigation as it uses enormous amounts of data.

Please see separate section dedicated to iPad usage.

http://www.japancampers.com/ipad.html

17. ADVICE POINTS BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCE (sometimes a sad one)
- how to save $$$

1. This is what may happen if you do not STOP at the "STOP" sign.
ALWAYS STOP THE CAR !

2. During winter time, roads inside tunnels are usually covered with invisible black ICE.
Drive really slowly because no tires will help you control the van on ice.
Due to tunnel accidents, we have already lost 2 vans in Hokkaido.
Causing an accident on ice is usually categorized as "Careless Driving" and you may not be covered by our insurance.

3. 90% of accidents, damages and small scratches happen when moving or parking the van backwards. Is is our strong recommendation to use your partner to help you every time you drive back!

4. When using the GPS navigation please do not follow blindly the guide because a lot of roads are too narrow or the bridges could be too low to allow a safe passage. To be safe drive on roads which have a National Road numbers.

5. Most mountain roads have unmarked trenches for the water access to be removed from the roads. Be careful not to drive into them as this will probably result in damage to the undercarriage.
Driving into a trench is categorized as "careless driving" and you are responsible for the repair costs.

6. The above trenches are also there in the winter and pose a great threat too.

7. Winter tires do not make magic. They will only help you driving on SNOW. Please remember that there could be ice under the snow. Watch out for black ice.
NO TIRES will stop the van on ICE.
We have reported 10 fold increase in accident during the winter season.

8. What may seem like a small damage usually costs a lot of money to fix in Japan.
This moment of careless driving, has cost over 180,000 JPY to fix and the driver was required to pay the insurance full excess fee (100,000 JPY).

9. Unfortunately, even though we have been trying hard to warn about the hidden dangers, some people just want to learn the hard way.....
- Cost of this mistake:
35,000 JPY - towing truck.
10,000 JPY- Undercarriage inspection.
24,000 JPY- damaged bumper.
15,000 JPY - wheel adjustment (towing truck helped out but pulling the van changed the wheel alignment).
- 1 day out of the trip.
- a ton of unnecessary stress.

10. ...and "another one bites the snow"...

Please trust us...there are ditches on most roads on both sides of the street !