Is driving stupid?

Trip is coming up so soon, end of March! Out of the three weeks I will be in Japan I was planning on driving the romantic road with my girlfriend for four days. We plan on getting a car in Ueda, driving to Kusatsu for the night, takaragawa onsen the next, then dropping the car off in Nikko. Looks like overall about 2 hours a day. Is this do-able? I feel as if I am a smart guy and a good driver. I%26#39;m a beginner in Japanese and do not yet know Kanji, so a little concerned about road signs. Has anyone done this? It is something we really want to do.

Is driving stupid?

Driving a rental car in that area is a good idea. Road signs are all bilingual with both English and Japanese. Be sure to learn how to use the in-car GPS (free-of-charge with a rental) which is usually in Japanese only. You should make sure you have phone numbers of the attractions and hotels you will visit. The best way to find a destination in a Japanese GPS unit is by entering the phone number.

The only issue you will have with your plan is there are stiff drop-off charges if you rent and return at different locations. I am not sure which Ueda you mean. My suggestion is you take the train to Omiya just north of Tokyo. You can rent and return at the locations there, avoid the drop-off charge and most of the Tokyo traffic.

For car rental, Tocoo consistently offers the best deals:

www2.tocoo.jp/?file=rentcar_inbound/main

Is driving stupid?

Yeah I was looking at going through toocoo,they said it would be about 10,000 extra yen for the drop off charge, but I%26#39;m willing to pay it for the convenience, thanks for the advice!