Yamagata Station Car Rental: 6 Companies and 7 Branches Compared

Seven rental branches at Yamagata Station: how to choose

JR Yamagata Station — the Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa hub (about 2 hours 30 minutes to 2 hours 45 minutes from Tokyo) and the junction for the JR Senzan Line from Sendai, the Ou Main Line and the Aterazawa Line — is served by seven staffed rental branches across six companies. Eki Rent-a-Car sits inside the station building on 1F under the free passage stairs; three branches — Nippon East Exit, Toyota Yamagata Ekimae and Carsta East Exit — are within a 2–7 minute walk of the East Exit; two — Toyota West Exit and Orix West Exit — stand 1–3 minutes outside the West Exit (Kajo Central side); and Nissan Yamagata Minami runs a free station shuttle from 2.1 km south.

This page compares exit walks, shuttle conditions, evening closing times, winter studless tyre dates, mountain road closures, one-way drops toward Sendai and Koriyama, and reference rates on Japanese and foreign licences.

• Morning Tsubasa and Senzan Line arrivals: five branches — both Toyota counters, Nippon, Orix and Eki Rent-a-Car — open at 08:00, Nissan Yamagata Minami opens at 08:30, and Carsta opens at 09:00 (Carsta requires web booking by 18:00 the day before, with no same-day bookings). Before 08:00 or after 20:00, only registered members of Nissan's Japanese smartphone app can use Nissan's 24-hour unattended Yamagata Station East Exit Station (3 minutes from the ticket gate).
• Evening returns — watch Toyota West Exit's 18:00 cutoff: only three branches — Toyota Yamagata Ekimae (East Exit), Orix West Exit and Carsta East Exit — stay open until 20:00. Nippon, Eki Rent-a-Car and Nissan close at 19:00, and Toyota Yamagata Station West Exit closes at 18:00. If you plan to stay for Zao's Juhyo snow-monster illumination or dusk at Ginzan Onsen, do not accidentally book Toyota West Exit; choose Toyota's East Exit counter (山形駅前店) or Orix West Exit instead, and note that no staffed counter accepts returns after 20:00.
• Winter studless snow tyres: Carsta equips studless tyres as standard earliest (15 November 2026–31 March 2027), followed by both Toyota branches, Nippon and Nissan (1 December–31 March), and Eki Rent-a-Car equips studless tyres free of charge in winter. At Orix, select a vehicle displaying the studless label when booking.
• One-way drops to Sendai or Koriyama: both Toyota branches, Orix, Nissan Yamagata Minami and Nippon support outgoing and incoming one-way rentals across prefectures (Eki Rent-a-Car advertises one-way rentals; confirm route availability when booking).
• International Driving Permits: five companies (six branches) — Toyota, Nippon, Orix, Nissan and Eki Rent-a-Car — accept a 1949 Geneva Convention IDP with your physical passport (or an eligible licence with an official Japanese translation). Carsta Yamagata Station East Exit requires a Japanese driving licence (no IDP) and takes credit cards only.

Compare the 7 Yamagata Station branches

Branch names link to their official pages. The numbers match the station data ledger (1–7) and are not a ranking.

Reference prices: standard rates at six companies

This table compares each company's published standard rate for a compact car, together with a 48-hour total including basic collision damage waiver (CDW). Figures are regular-season rates before member or web discounts on a Japanese driving licence.

• The 48-hour total adds the first 24 hours, one additional day and two days of basic CDW. Carsta's national table shows ¥11,500 for a minivan, whereas Carsta Yamagata Station East Exit stocks only 4–5-seat kei and compact cars; from day 2 Carsta bills in 12-hour blocks (¥2,250 per 12h), new or hybrid models cost 30% more, and Carsta's published table omits whether tax is included. Extra hours, fuel, winter surcharges (such as Nippon's winter season fee during 1 Dec–31 Mar), one-way fees and child seats are separate.
• Most companies offer online or member discounts: Toyota (10% and 20% member discounts), Eki Rent-a-Car (up to 10% at participating offices), Orix (member discounts and 5% web discount), and Nippon (separate member rate table). Nissan's CDW uses the Standard Plan at ¥1,650 a day.

Prices can differ on a foreign licence. Toyota publishes a separate foreign-licence schedule where C1 is ¥10,340 for the first 24 hours and ¥8,690 for each additional 24 hours before optional cover, compared with ¥8,580 and ¥7,260 on a Japanese licence. Toyota also operates an English reservation line (0800-7000-815, 08:00–20:00), and Eki Rent-a-Car maintains English, Traditional Chinese and Korean pages.

To rent as a visitor at Toyota, Nippon, Orix, Nissan or Eki Rent-a-Car, bring a booklet-type International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention, or a licence from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco or Taiwan paired with an official Japanese translation (for example from JAF), together with your physical passport (photocopies are refused). See driving in Japan with a foreign licence.

East Exit, in-station and West Exit (Kajo Central side) walks, plus shuttles

All JR Shinkansen and conventional ticket gates at Yamagata Station open onto the 2F concourse, where the East–West Free Passage splits toward the East Exit (S-PAL department store, bus terminal and taxi pool) and the West Exit (Kajo Central tower and Yamagin Kenmin Hall). Because Toyota runs separate counters on both sides of the tracks — with a two-hour difference in closing time — check your exact branch name before heading downstairs.

• Inside the station building on 1F (sheltered from snow and rain): turn left out of the 2F JR ticket gate and walk down under the right-hand stairs of the free passage to reach Eki Rent-a-Car Yamagata Station (双葉町1-1-1) without stepping outdoors.
• East Exit (2–7 minutes on foot, plus conditional Carsta pickup): outside the East Exit rotary, Nippon Yamagata Station East Exit stands 2 minutes away opposite the taxi pool, and Toyota Yamagata Ekimae (山形駅前店) is 3 minutes east (250 m) across the road from Daiwa Roynet Hotel. Seven minutes south in Saiwaicho 16-8 (sharing the building with Mineda Osteopathic Clinic), Carsta Yamagata Station East Exit offers free pickup at the East Exit general drop-off bay inside the right-hand taxi pool between 09:00 and 14:00, strictly for multi-night rentals totalling ¥10,000 or more when requested by phone in advance. Nissan's app-only 24-hour unattended Yamagata Station East Exit Station (香澄町1-16-2, 3 minutes from the gate) has no staffed counter.
• West Exit / Kajo Central side (1–3 minutes on foot): Toyota Yamagata Station West Exit (山形駅西口店) occupies 1F of the Richmond Hotel Yamagata Ekimae building, 1–3 minutes west of the West Exit; when returning your car, park in the surface coin car park next to Richmond Hotel rather than the multi-storey car park (call the counter if the surface lot is full or if you misplace the parking ticket). Three minutes north-west of the West Exit (232 m), Orix Yamagata Station West Exit is the only West Exit counter open until 20:00.
• Free station shuttle: Nissan Yamagata Minami sits 2.1 km south inside ENEOS Yamagata SS (鉄砲町3-5-20) and provides a free shuttle between JR Yamagata Station and the counter during its 08:30–19:00 hours.

Winter tyres, Zao and Ginzan Onsen road closures, and evening return cutoffs

From Yamagata Station, cliffside Yamadera (Risshaku-ji) is about 30 minutes north-east via Route 13 and Prefectural Route 19, and Zao Onsen and the Zao Ropeway base station in the Zao area are about 35–40 minutes south-east up Prefectural Route 21. Gas-lit Ginzan Onsen in Obanazawa takes roughly 70–80 minutes north via the Tohoku-Chuo Expressway (E13 — toll-free north of Higashine IC to Obanazawa IC), Route 347 and Prefectural Route 188, while coastal Shonai and the Mt Chokai and Kisakata area connect west across the Yamagata Expressway (E48) and Gassan Road.

Between November and April, match your booking to both studless snow tyre dates and seasonal mountain road closures:

• Standard studless snow tyre periods by company: Carsta equips studless tyres as standard earliest, from 15 November 2026 to 31 March 2027. Both Toyota branches, Nissan Yamagata Minami and Nippon East Exit equip studless tyres across their fleets from 1 December to 31 March (Nippon adds a winter season fee during this period and does not rent snow chains anywhere in Japan), and Eki Rent-a-Car equips studless tyres free of charge in winter. Notably, Nippon's standard studless window in neighbouring Miyagi and Fukushima starts later (16 December–15 March), making Yamagata Station a safer early-December pickup base for snow-country drives than Sendai or Koriyama unless you reserve paid winter-tyre options there. At Orix West Exit, select a car showing the studless designation on the vehicle-selection screen when booking.
• Zao Echo Line, Mt Chokai and Ginzan Onsen route traps: the high-alpine Zao Echo Line and Okama crater drive (including the Zao Highline toll spur) closed for winter at 17:00 on 4 November 2026 until 11:00 on 23 April 2027 (scheduled), alongside Nishi-Azuma Sky Valley and the Chokai Blue Line (Prefectural Route 13 across the Kaminoyama–Shichikashuku border also closes from 11:00 on 1 December 2026 to 15:00 on 23 April 2027; check the 2026–2027 winter road closures calendar). During the closure you cannot visit Okama crater or cross Zao directly from Miyagi, whereas Zao Onsen and the Zao Ropeway (for the Juhyo snow monsters) remain reachable all winter from Yamagata Station via Prefectural Route 21 — to cross to or from Sendai in winter, use the Yamagata Expressway (E48) or Route 286 through the Sasaya Tunnel. For Ginzan Onsen, the official Ginzan Onsen access guide warns drivers never to take Prefectural Route 29 (Seaburi Pass) from Murayama, an extremely narrow mountain track that sat-navs sometimes suggest as a shortcut, and notes that Route 347 east toward Furukawa (Miyagi) closes in winter; always approach via Route 13 and Obanazawa IC, and expect park-and-ride shuttle rules outside the pedestrian-only hot-spring lane.

Plan evening drives around the station's return cutoffs: Toyota West Exit closes at 18:00, Nippon, Eki Rent-a-Car and Nissan close at 19:00, and Toyota Ekimae (East Exit), Orix West Exit and Carsta close at 20:00, with zero counter returns after 20:00. Allow extra time for snowy descents from Zao or Obanazawa and for refuelling near the station (see refuelling and returning the car). Check holiday closures and shortened New Year hours as well: Toyota Ekimae runs 08:00–18:00 on 29 Dec–4 Jan and closes on 12 Jan; Toyota West Exit closes on 1–3 Jan and 12 Jan; Nippon runs 08:00–18:00 on 31 Dec 2026–3 Jan 2027; Orix runs 09:00–18:00 over the same four days; and Carsta lists 1–3 Jan as closed. Published return MAPCODEs are 273595270*75 (Toyota Ekimae), 273594460*51 (Toyota West Exit) and 273 594 293*46 (Nippon East Exit).

One-way drops to Sendai Station, Sendai Airport and Koriyama, and ETC cards

Arriving on the Yamagata Shinkansen, touring Yamadera, Ginzan Onsen or Zao, and dropping the car across the Sasaya Tunnel at Sendai Station or Sendai Airport (roughly 70 minutes east on the E48 Yamagata Expressway), or heading south on the E13 Tohoku-Chuo Expressway via Yonezawa and Fukushima to Koriyama Station, is straightforward if you verify branch eligibility and one-way rental fees first:

• Both Toyota branches (Yamagata Ekimae and Yamagata Station West Exit) handle one-way departures and returns inside and outside Yamagata Prefecture (excluding 1-number commercial vehicles and Coaster buses). Double-check which of the two Yamagata Station counters is selected on return bookings so you do not arrive at West Exit after 18:00.
• Orix Yamagata Station West Exit handles one-way departures and returns nationwide except Hokkaido, Okinawa and outlying islands.
• Nissan Yamagata Minami supports both outgoing and incoming one-way rentals (Nissan's unmanned East Exit Station cannot accept cars rented at another branch).
• Nippon Yamagata Station East Exit allows outgoing one-way drops for a distance-based fee (excluding microbuses and trucks of 3 tonnes or more) and accepts incoming returns in kei, passenger, wagon, van and kei-truck classes.
• Eki Rent-a-Car Yamagata Station lists one-way rentals as available (confirm eligible offices when booking), and Carsta requires checking one-way availability at booking.

For expressway tolls through Yamagata-Zao IC, Sasaya Tunnel and the Tohoku Expressway, five branches — both Toyota counters, Orix West Exit, Nissan Yamagata Minami and Nippon East Exit — offer ETC card rental. At Nippon, an ETC card costs ¥330 for up to 7 days (¥1,100 for 8 days to 1 month) and is requested by phone after booking online (or at the counter subject to stock). Eki Rent-a-Car and Carsta (on most vehicles) fit ETC on-board units, so bring your own ETC card or pay cash/card at staffed toll booths where supported.

Frequently asked questions

Is Times Car Yamagata Ekimae open, and is Nico Nico within walking distance?

Times Car Yamagata Ekimae ended counter rentals on 1 July 2025 and now operates exclusively as a car-share station for Times Car members. Nico Nico Rent a Car runs five branches in Yamagata City, but even the closest (Yamagata Tokamachi) is a 15–20 minute walk from the East Exit with no station shuttle. For walking-distance pickup or a free station shuttle, choose from the six companies and seven branches compared above.

Can I rent on an International Driving Permit?

Yes at five companies (six branches) — Toyota, Nippon, Orix, Nissan and Eki Rent-a-Car — with a booklet-type 1949 Geneva Convention IDP and your physical passport (or a licence from Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Monaco or Taiwan accompanied by an official Japanese translation and physical passport). Carsta Yamagata Station East Exit requires a Japanese driving licence and does not rent on an IDP.

What does a two-day rental cost?

On standard Japanese-licence rates before discounts, a compact car with basic CDW for 48 hours comes to ¥17,820 at Eki Rent-a-Car, ¥18,040 at Toyota, ¥18,260 at Nippon, ¥20,020 at Orix and ¥20,790 at Nissan (Carsta is ¥11,200 on its published table, which omits tax specification, is restricted to Japanese licence holders, and adds 30% for new or hybrid models). In winter, seasonal surcharges such as Nippon's winter season fee can apply, and on a foreign licence Toyota's C1 base rate starts at ¥10,340 for the first 24 hours before cover. Compare excess waivers and company rules in basic CDW and the NOC explained and comparing rental company rules.

Guides to read before booking

• Zao area driving guide: Okama crater, Zao Onsen and Juhyo snow monsters
• Zao Echo Line and Okama crater drive: open dates, tolls and Yamagata route
• Mt Chokai and Kisakata area driving guide: Chokai Blue Line and Maruikesama
• Winter road closures calendar 2026–2027: Zao Echo Line, Chokai Blue Line and mountain roads
• Sendai Station car rental: 17 branches compared
• Sendai Airport car rental: 8 branches compared
• Koriyama Station car rental: 10 branches compared
• One-way rentals: fees and rules
• ETC cards for rental cars: where to borrow one and how tolls are settled
• Basic CDW and the NOC explained
• Refuelling and returning the car
• Comparing rental company rules: payment, extensions, one-way rentals and more
• Driving in Japan with a foreign licence