sharing rental mistake i experience in japan (osaka)

[akacarrentalsg]

My Japan Car Rental Experience – Check Your International Driving Permit Carefully!

I just wanted to share my experience so hopefully no one else goes through what I did.

I flew all the way to Japan and went to collect my rental car. Unfortunately, I was refused the vehicle because my International Driving Permit (IDP) was missing the validity/date stamp.

Even though:

* I had my original International Driving Permit.
* I had my Singapore driving licence.
* I showed them photos and explained the situation.

The rental company still refused to hand over the car.

I even suggested getting my family in Singapore to courier the documents to Japan via FedEx, but I later found out that Japan has restrictions on mailing certain identity documents, so that wasn’t an option either.

In the end, i have to fly my friend to japan just to deliver the documents to me. If not my whole 21 days roadtrip in japan will be all wasted.

Lesson learned:
Before flying to Japan (or any country), don’t just check that you have your International Driving Permit. Make sure:

* The issuing authority has completed every required field.
* The issue date and validity dates are correctly stamped or endorsed.
* Your IDP is fully valid before you leave your home country.

the rental company will make exceptions, even if you can prove your identity with other documents or photos. They follow very strict rules.

Hopefully this post helps someone avoid the same mistake I made. A simple check before your flight could save your entire holiday.

[Strong Eagle]

That's weird. International driving licenses are mostly useless pieces of paper and I've never had a rental issue in Malaysia, Australia, or New Zealand on a Singapore license... without the IDL.

[PNGMK]

Was your IDP from the local AA in Singaproe? It's a pretty automated process to issue them so I am surprised they messed up. There ARE counterfeit IDP's around (esp the ones you buy online) and your IDP issuing country MUST match the country your DL is from.

[malcontent]

I can imagine Japan being sticklers about this, plus they probably don’t get a lot of tourists renting cars there. Like SE, I’ve rented cars in several countries, off the top of my head: Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, France, Switzerland, Norway. I’ve also driven in the U.S. and Canada with my Singapore license.

The only place I had an issue was New Jersey. The cops there have it out for anyone driving on a foreign license, claiming (falsely) the state of NJ does not recognize them. They told me I had to go to my consulate to get an International Driving Permit. I told them I don’t have a consulate because I’m a U.S. citizen. After getting all excited and calling his buddy, they eventually let me go (grudgingly) because I was an American and I told them my home state recognizes foreign licenses as long as they are in English… but it was on condition that I leave the state immediately (which was my pleasure; I’ve never liked NJ anyway). Later that evening I did some research and found NJ does recognize signatories of the UN convention, which Singapore is a signatory. Great law enforcement!