Nozawa Onsen is a beautiful but old village with limited car parking. Driving around the village in winter time is challenging due to the heavy snowfall and narrow, winding streets.
Everything within the village is pretty walkable, so a car is not necessary to get around.
Genearlly speaking, public transport or taxi transfer are the recommned options for getting to / from Nozawa Onsen.
If you are visiting Nozawa Onsen as part of a wider itinerary, visitin other ski resorts in the area or you wish to make day trips of other resorts in the area or the Snow Monkey onsen park, then you may wish to consider bringing a hire car.
If you do plan to bring a car to Nozawa Onsen, it is advisable to arrange your car parking in advance with your accommodation provider.
Renting a Car from Narita Airport & Haneda Airport
If you are comfortable driving from Narita Airport, Haneda Airport or another airport to Nozawa Onsen, several national car rental companies offer rentals from the major airports:
- Toyota Rent-a-Car
- Nissan Rent-a-Car
- Nippon Rent-a-Car
- Orix Rent-a-Car
- Times Car Rental
- Samurai Rental Car (no relation to Samurai Snow)
In the winter season, the driving time from Narita Airport to Nozawa Onsen is around 5 hours and from Haneda Airport to Nozawa Onsen is around 4.5 hours depending on traffic and weather conditions.
If you want to rent a car but driving for 5 hours after your flight to Japan seems like too much, you can take the bullet train to Nagano and hire a car at the Train Station.
Renting a Car from Iiyama Station
Iiyama is the closest town on the Shinkansen line. The city is easily reachable via bullet train or express train from Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka or Kyoto.
In the winter season, the driving time from Iiyama Station to Nozawa Onsen is around 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic and weather conditions.
Nissan Rent-a-Car has an outlet at Iiyama Train Station.
Renting a Car from Nagano Station
Nagano is the gateway city to the Japan alps. The city is easily reachable via bullet train or express train from Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka or Kyoto.
In the winter season, the driving time from Nagano Station to Nozawa Onsen is around 1 to 1.5 hours depending on traffic and weather conditions.
Toyota Rent-a-Car, Nissan Rent-a-Car & Times Car Rental have outlets at Nagano Train Station or within easy walking distance.
Renting a Car in Nozawa Onsen
Unfortunately, at the time of writing, Nozawa Onsen does not have any car rental outlets located in the village.
Important Information
International Driving License
To drive in Japan, you MUST have an international driving license based on the 1949 Geneva Convention.
This permit must be obtained from the National Automobile Association, which issued your original driver's license before arriving in Japan. It must be a physical booklet type, not a digital translation, photograph, or copy of your license.
Please check with the Toyota Rent-A-Car's website or the International Driver's License Portal website to ensure you have the proper permit.
Vehicle Suitability
To drive safely in the snowy winter conditions in Japan, it is essential to hire a vehicle with 4WD and winter tyres.
If you hire from local car hire outlets in the ski resort, all vehicles will fit these criteria.
If you hire from a Major Airport or Train Station, please make sure that you specify that you require a vehicle with 4WD and winter tyres to allow you to drive safely. Not all vehicles in their inventory will have these features.