ETC Cards for Rental Cars in Japan: Fees, Booking and Toll Payments

“ETC-equipped” means the rental car has an electronic toll collection reader. It does not necessarily include the ETC card needed to use it. Bring your own compatible ETC card or arrange to borrow one from the rental company.

This guide compares Toyota, Nippon, Times, Orix, Nissan, JR Eki, Sky, Niconico and Guts. The Japanese service schedules were checked in October 2026, with selected fees and English booking conditions rechecked on 1 November. The booking channel matters: a domestic service's restrictions do not always apply to a separate service for overseas visitors.

ETC card rental at nine companies

Card-rental charges below include tax and exclude expressway tolls. Availability depends on the branch and booking service.

Times' Japanese FAQ says to bring your own card. Its English ETC and visitor-pass pages were under maintenance at our live check on 1 November 2026, so current overseas card availability and fees need confirmation through your booking service. Do not assume that a domestic FAQ settles the conditions of an overseas booking.

For JR Eki's ekiren.co.jp service and Guts, plan to bring a card unless your particular booking service confirms otherwise. JR Hokkaido's separate official FAQ says some branches can lend cards, so check the branch rather than assuming all JR rental operations have identical terms.

For Times domestic online bookings, select the ETC equipment option if needed because some vehicles lack a reader. At Guts, the reader itself is a paid option and provision varies by branch. Sky's figures above are the published regional amounts; confirm their charging unit with the branch before calculating a longer rental.

How rental length affects the fee

Some companies charge once per rental; others increase the fee with time. These examples are calculated from the published schedules and do not include tolls.

Nissan's cap for a rental of up to one month is 15 days' fees, or ¥3,300. Niconico collects its ¥330 rental charge at departure.

Steps for borrowing a card or bringing your own

Arranging a rental card

Some branches do not lend cards, and others have limited stock. Check the card arrangements when reserving the car.

• Toyota: its English service lets you request a card during online booking. The Japanese guide also directs enquiries to the departure branch or reservation centre. Confirm that the card appears in your booking.
• Nippon: its English website lets you select the card option or contact the English Service Desk. Its separate Japanese domestic service does not accept an online card reservation: call the branch or reservation centre after booking the car. Under that service, an unreserved card may be supplied at pickup if stock remains.
• Orix: the Japanese option page asks customers to call the branch. Its English card guide says advance reservations are not accepted and to ask at pickup. Check with the departure branch about the service attached to your booking; an enquiry is not a confirmed card reservation.
• Nissan: reserve early because numbers are limited.
• Sky: for Narita Airport and Shikoku branches, use the booking remarks field or contact the branch in advance. For the other participating branches, select the option on the booking screen.
• Niconico: ask a participating branch about stock and reserve there.

Make the request explicit: “I do not have an ETC card and need to rent the card too.” Asking only whether the car “has ETC” may get an answer about the reader.

Bringing your own ETC card

A compatible personal ETC card can be inserted into a rental car's reader. An ordinary credit card is not an ETC card.

Check the expiry date before travel. JR Eki warns that a reader may recognise an expired card without giving a warning, even though the tollgate barrier will not open.

JR Eki's ekiren.co.jp service does not accept NEXCO-issued ETC Corporate Cards.

Check the reader before departure

At the branch, check the insertion direction and confirm that the reader recognises the card. Insert or remove it only while the car is stopped, not while driving.

Take the card with you when leaving the car at a service or parking area. Before driving again, reinsert the same card used at the expressway entrance. Using a different card at the exit can prevent the barrier from opening.

Paying the tolls

With your own card, the issuer bills you through the usual arrangement. With a borrowed card, settle the recorded tolls when returning the car.

Nippon's domestic service charges the card-rental fee at departure and the tolls at return. Its English online-booking flow uses credit-card payment, including additional toll charges. If sharing costs with fellow travellers, keep the toll statement issued at return.

Restrictions and extra costs with a borrowed card

Discounts and expressway passes

Nippon and Nissan's Japanese domestic card-rental conditions exclude unlimited-use plans and touring discounts. That does not rule out separately arranged visitor passes: Nippon's English FAQ explicitly requires a borrowed ETC card for its eligible Expressway Pass bookings. Both pickup and return branches must handle the pass, and vehicle-class restrictions apply. Ask the English Service Desk about your route and dates.

If your overseas booking service offers a visitor pass, confirm the required card, participating branches, licence and passport conditions, and payment method for that specific pass. A card rental on its own does not establish pass eligibility.

Toyota settles ordinary borrowed-card tolls from the IC-chip record. Some adjustments, such as a road-closure transfer adjustment or certain road-company discounts, are not recorded on the chip. Niconico also excludes adjustments or discounts that are not recorded there.

With your own ETC card, the usual discounts can apply subject to the road operator's conditions. If planning a domestic touring discount, check the registration method with the operator. Visitor passes arranged with a rental company have their own card and eligibility requirements.

Returning the car to a different branch

Toyota allows a borrowed card to be returned to another branch, with some branch exceptions. When renting a card from Sky's Narita Airport or Shikoku branches, an out-of-prefecture one-way return is not allowed. At its other participating branches, a one-way return to any other branch is not allowed.

If planning a one-way rental, bring your own card or confirm at booking that the borrowed card can be returned at your intended destination. Do not assume that permission to return the car elsewhere also covers the card.

Lost cards or unreadable toll records

Niconico charges ¥3,000 for a lost or damaged rental card. If the toll history or amounts cannot be read at return, it takes a ¥10,000 deposit and settles any difference once the road operator's bill arrives.

Report loss or theft to the lending branch immediately. Niconico normally does not charge the customer for tolls incurred from the day after notification, except in cases of deliberate action or gross negligence. Toyota also requires notification to the branch and makes the customer liable for losses arising from a third party's unauthorised use.

Toyota and Niconico may disable a card that has not been returned after the rental period.

Checks when returning the car

• Remove your own card from the reader and put it back in your wallet or usual storage place.
• Hand a borrowed card back to the branch.
• Collect the toll statement for a borrowed card.
• Check for your phone, charging cables and luggage before leaving the car.

A useful routine is to remove the card as soon as you park in the return area, before unloading the bags.

Frequently asked questions

Can I rent an ETC card without a car?

Nippon does not rent a card on its own. Toyota and Nissan also do not rent optional items separately from a car. Arrange the card with your vehicle rental.

Can I use expressways without an ETC card?

Yes, where tollbooths accept cash or credit cards. However, ETC-only entrances on the Metropolitan Expressway and Smart ICs cannot be used that way. Plan a route that avoids ETC-only access points if you have no working card and reader, using the road operator's current information.

What if I leave my own card in the rental car?

Contact the return branch as soon as you notice. Give the renter's name, vehicle details and return time. If the card may be lost, also contact its issuer.

Related guides

• Compare rental companies in Japan
• Documents for driving in Japan on a foreign licence
• Collecting a rental car at a Japanese airport