One-Way Car Rental in Japan: Availability and Fees by Distance at Nine Companies

A one-way rental lets you return a car to a different branch from the one where you picked it up. The major companies accept this on many routes, but some budget companies do not offer it at all. Most companies do not offer it between Hokkaido or Okinawa and the rest of Japan.

Fees at many companies depend on the distance between branches, and short distances can be free. This guide compares Toyota, Nippon, Times, Orix, Nissan, JR Eki, Sky, Nico Nico and Guts, checked on 1 November 2026. Visitors using an overseas service should confirm the one-way terms for that booking: Nippon's English guidance also requires winter tyres on one-way rentals from non-snowfall areas into its designated snowy areas from 1 December to 31 March.

One-way rentals and fees at nine companies

Times and Orix work out the distance between branches by their own methods, which may differ from the distance you actually drive.

The one-way fee is charged separately from the car's basic charge. At Nippon, you pay it at departure.

Fees by company and how to book

Times fees by distance

At Times, the fee depends on distance alone, even across prefectures. It charges a fee even within 20km.

Fees beyond 300km and the car-class groups are in the Times one-way fee table. The one-way fee also appears on the price screen during booking.

How Nippon, Orix and Nissan calculate

All three are free when the distance between branches is under 20km (up to 20km at Nissan).

• Nippon: per 10km, ¥880 for passenger cars (including light vans and kei commercial vehicles) and ¥1,100 for wagons and trucks. Within Hokkaido, within Shikoku, within Kyushu and on routes involving the Noto Airport branch, different fees apply; Kyushu and Noto Airport were revised on 15 July 2026.
• Orix: in Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, ¥5,500 for standard vehicles from 20km to under 50km, then ¥5,500 per 50km (¥6,600 each for premium cars, wagons and commercial vans). Within Hokkaido, fees are set by block, at ¥5,500–¥35,200 for passenger cars. In Okinawa, fees by block are ¥1,100–¥8,800.
• Nissan: ¥5,500 up to 50km, ¥11,000 up to 100km, then ¥5,500 per 50km for kei, compact, standard and similar classes. Wagons, SUVs, trucks and similar are ¥6,600, ¥13,200, then ¥6,600 each. Within Hokkaido, one-way in the same area is free, and Hakodate → Sapporo is ¥17,600.

Orix's fees include tolls on toll roads such as the Nishiseto Expressway and the Kanmon Strait tunnel. Nissan's fees between Kobe and Tokushima (Akashi Kaikyo and Onaruto bridges), Okayama and Takamatsu (Seto Ohashi Bridge) and Fukuyama and Matsuyama (Shimanami Kaido) include the bridge tolls.

For a one-way return to an Orix branch in Honshu, Shikoku or Kyushu, return within business hours between 08:00 and 20:00.

JR Eki fees by area

Beyond 20km, JR Eki sets fees from area fee tables (PDFs). The Kanto–Izu and Kyushu tables rise in ¥4,400 steps. Examples:

One-way returns are not available to branches marked "(*)" in the tables, such as Tokyo in the Kanto–Izu area.

Long-distance one-way rentals may be refused, depending on vehicle arrangements.

Sky fees by district

Sky allows one-way rentals only within a district, not across districts. Fees in its charged districts are as follows.

The Shikoku table was revised on 18 June 2026 and the Kyushu table on 28 July 2026.

One-way rentals are not available in districts not named in Sky's FAQ, such as Hokkaido, Miyagi, Chiba and Aichi. Return to the branch you left from.

How Toyota sets its fee

At Toyota, returning to a branch in the same prefecture and the same area as the departure branch is free. Returning outside that area or to another prefecture costs extra.

You can find the amount with the One-Way Fee Simulation on Toyota's website, by choosing the departure and return branches.

How to book

1. Decide the exact names of the pickup and return branches (not just the name of an airport or station).
2. Choose dates and a car class for that combination, and check on the booking screen whether one-way is possible and what it costs.
3. Book with the one-way return included (a request on the day may not be accepted).
4. Note the return branch's business hours and entrance, and any shuttle to the airport or station.

At Times, Orix and Nippon, even if a simulation shows an amount, a one-way rental may not be possible because of campaigns or the branch's bookings. Treat the one-way return as available only when the booking is confirmed.

Sea crossings and changing the return branch

Hokkaido, Okinawa and Shikoku

Toyota, Times, Orix, Nissan and JR Eki do not accept one-way rentals between Hokkaido and Honshu, Shikoku or Kyushu. Toyota, Times, Orix and Nissan also do not offer them between Okinawa and elsewhere.

Nippon does accept Hokkaido ⇔ Honshu and Shikoku ⇔ Honshu one-way rentals. Crossing costs such as ferry fares are added to the distance fee, and the simulation shows the total.

For a Times one-way rental between Honshu or Kyushu and Shikoku, ¥6,600 is added to the table fee. Ferry fares and similar costs are extra.

One-way rentals between islands may also be unavailable. Orix does not accept them between outlying islands (Kagoshima and Tanegashima, Okinawa's main island and Miyako, and so on), and Sky does not accept them at its Ishigaki and Miyako branches.

Changing the return branch after departure

If you want to change the return branch during your trip, contact the departure branch and get its approval.

• Nippon: approval from the departure branch is required. Unless you return to the departure branch, a fee of ¥3,300 for passenger cars, ¥5,500 for wagons and vans and ¥6,600 for trucks applies, even on a free route.
• Nissan: approval from the departure branch is required. Sudden changes just before departure or during use may not be possible.
• JR Eki: approval from the departure branch is required. Any difference in the one-way fee is settled at the return branch.
• Sky: if the new one-way fee is higher than the original, you pay the difference. If it is lower, the difference is not refunded.

Returning to another branch without approval

If you return to a different place without approval, the rental terms set a penalty.

The penalty is based on the transfer cost, so it can be more than a booked one-way rental would have cost.

Combining with options

If you rent an ETC card from Sky, one-way returns to another prefecture are not available at the Narita Airport branch and Shikoku branches. At all other branches, one-way returns to another branch are not available at all. If you rent a child seat or ETC card, ask when booking whether the return branch can take it back. Our ETC card guide has the details.

Checks before booking

• Whether the company offers one-way rentals (Guts does not, Nico Nico generally does not, Sky only within a district)
• Whether the booking screen shows a one-way fee for your departure and return branches
• Whether your route falls in a free range (under 20km, same area and so on)
• Whether your route crosses to or from Hokkaido, Okinawa, Shikoku or an outlying island
• The return branch's business hours, and any shuttle to the airport or station
• Whether the return branch can take back the options you rent

When comparing costs, add your transport after the return to the one-way fee. For a return to the original branch, include the fuel and tolls to get back, and the longer rental time.

For example, on a Times route of over 50km and up to 100km between branches, the one-way fee is ¥11,440 (kei and passenger cars). Compare that with the time and cost of driving back to the original branch.

Frequently asked questions

Can I rent in Tokyo and return in Osaka?

Times has no distance limit and accepts one-way rentals to other prefectures. Toyota, Nippon, Orix and Nissan also accept them, with a fee by distance.

Tokyo ⇔ Osaka is over 300km. Check the fee in the rows beyond 300km in the Times table, or in each company's simulation.

JR Eki may refuse long-distance one-way rentals. Sky, Nico Nico and Guts do not offer this route.

Is there a way to make the one-way fee free?

You can choose branches within a free range. Nippon and Orix are free under 20km between branches, Nissan and JR Eki (except Hokkaido) up to 20km, Toyota to a branch in the same prefecture and the same area, and Nippon within Okinawa's main island. Sky is free within Tokyo and Kanagawa, between Naha-area branches and in some other ranges. Times charges ¥3,300 (kei and passenger cars) even within 20km.

Can I return to another company's branch?

No. A one-way rental operates between branches of the same company. At Times, too, it covers Times Car Rental branches.

Related guides

• Airport rental-car pickup in Japan
• ETC cards for rental cars in Japan
• Compare rental-car companies in Japan