Before you go
This site offers information based on guidance from public bodies, rental car companies and others, as a starting point for planning your trip (as of October 2026; it isn’t an explanation of the law). Which branches have winter tires fitted and for what period, and when branches are open, differ by company and by branch, and they can change from year to year. Before you book, always check the official information listed at the end of this article and the latest details with the company you book with.
Ride the train to the station at the gateway to snow country, watching the snowy scenery from the window, and rent a car there. On a day when a heavy-snow notice is out, skip the mountain pass and make it a day of hot springs and snow-viewing where you’re staying. You can plan a winter road trip in Japan like that ahead of time.
If you’re driving through Japan in winter, there are three things to decide before you set off.
Where you’ll rent → Get a car with winter tires suited to where you’re going
When you’ll drive → Reach that night’s accommodation while it’s still light
What you’ll do on days you don’t drive → On heavy-snow days, plan ahead to make them “hot springs and snow-viewing days”
Once these three are decided, you can enjoy both: days driving through snowy scenery, and days relaxing where you’re staying and watching the snow.
1 Where you’ll rent Winter tires depend on where you’ll drive
If you’ll drive in snowy areas, get a car with winter tires (スタッドレスタイヤ, “studless tires,” meaning winter tires).
What matters isn’t where you rent, but where you drive. Nippon Rent-A-Car says that even if you rent where there’s no snow, you need winter tires if you’ll drive in snowy areas. It also says that outside the areas and sections where winter tires come standard, it gives you a car with regular tires unless you book winter tires.
Some branches put winter tires on their cars as standard. Toyota Rent a Car says that at the branches on its list (some branches in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Niigata, Nagano, Hokuriku and Tottori, plus the 高山駅前店 (Takayama Station Front branch) in Gifu Prefecture), all cars have winter tires during a set period, and you don’t need to request them. It also says the period differs by branch and can change.
When you book, check whether the car at that branch, on that day, has winter tires. If it doesn’t, request winter tires in your booking.
Take the train to the gateway to snow country
Some branches, like the Takayama Station Front branch, let you rent right at the station. If you’re traveling with JR West’s pass (JR-WEST RAIL PASS), JR West’s English page lists the station rental car branches you can use by showing your pass.
Take the train to the station at the gateway to snow country, and rent there. Plan it that way, and you’ll drive a shorter distance on snow-covered roads, and you can spend the time getting there watching the snowy scenery from the train window.
That said, check whether each branch is open in winter. JR West’s English list also includes a branch (Makino) that’s closed from December 29 to February 28.
If you’re renting at a station, check when that branch is open in winter before you book.
2 When you’ll drive Reach your accommodation while it’s still light
In winter in Japan, the sun sets early.
In Sapporo, the sun sets at 4 p.m. in December. That’s nearly 30 minutes earlier than in Tokyo.
Sunset in December 2026 (calculated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan; values for prefectural capitals)
| Place | December 1 | December 15 | December 31 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sapporo | 16:01 | 16:00 | 16:09 |
| Aomori | 16:10 | 16:10 | 16:19 |
| Niigata | 16:25 | 16:26 | 16:34 |
| Nagano | 16:32 | 16:33 | 16:41 |
| Kanazawa | 16:38 | 16:39 | 16:47 |
| Tokyo | 16:28 | 16:29 | 16:37 |
JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organization) writes that roads most often freeze in the early morning and evening, and that mountain roads can stay frozen even during the day. Sunset comes close to the time when roads tend to freeze.
Plan to reach that night’s accommodation before the sun sets.
If you get there while it’s still light, you’ll have plenty of time for dinner and for the hot springs.
On driving days, allow extra time and keep to safer roads
JNTO recommends that if you drive on snowy days, you allow extra time for delays, avoid narrow lanes that can close in heavy snow, and stick to major highways. It also writes that car navigation systems may not reflect the latest road conditions, especially for roads other than main ones.
The English material on the Hokkaido Police website lists three things not to do on icy roads: sudden braking, sudden starts and sharp steering.
If you plan to visit fewer places each day, you’ll still have time to pull over along the way for the snowy scenery.
3 What you’ll do on days you don’t drive The heavier the snow, the earlier the notice
During winter, there are days when roads close because of snow.
But the heavier the snow, the earlier the notice.
Road closures aren’t all decided suddenly. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has set out a policy of announcing, from 2 to 3 days before the expected heavy snow, that roads may be closed. NEXCO EAST also says that when snow heavy enough for a 大雪特別警報 (Special Heavy Snow Warning) is expected, it announces things like expected expressway closures from about 3 days ahead.
When snow so heavy it happens only about once every 10 years looks likely on the Sea of Japan side in winter, the Japan Meteorological Agency also issues an alert 14 to 6 days ahead.
If you keep an eye on notices a few days ahead, you may be able to change your itinerary.
Before and during your trip, check the weather forecast for where you’re going every day.
When a heavy-snow notice comes out, decide ahead of time that the day will be a “day you don’t drive.”
Change the day you’d planned to cross a mountain pass into a day of hot springs and snow-viewing where you’re staying. If you know in advance, you also have time to change your accommodation bookings or the order of your destinations.
Is it safe to drive on snowy days? Japan’s national tourism organization also recommends trains and buses
In an English article for readers in Singapore published in 2022, JNTO says that driving on snowy roads is extremely dangerous, because you can slip, get stuck, or be unable to see ahead in a whiteout from a snowstorm. It strongly recommends avoiding driving in snow as much as possible and using trains, buses or taxis instead. It also writes that if snow looks likely on the day or the day before, you should use public transportation. The English material on the Hokkaido Police website also says that if the weather is forecast to get worse, you shouldn’t go out, even if it means changing your plans. That’s because the weather can change suddenly in some places in winter, and some places have no cell phone signal.
If you’ve never driven on snowy roads, you can also choose to leave travel within snow country to trains, buses and tours. If you split your days between driving and leaving it to trains and buses, you can enjoy the snowy scenery from both.
Most notices are in Japanese
Many of these road notices come out in Japanese, and even on NEXCO EAST’s English pages, much of the text can still be in Japanese. To get at least the weather warnings in English or other languages, install the Japan Tourism Agency’s app “Safety tips.” It sends earthquake early warnings, tsunami warnings and other weather warnings in 15 languages, including English, Korean and Traditional Chinese. You can check road closures on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s 道路情報提供システム (Road Information Provision System) for national highways and similar roads, and on NEXCO EAST’s ドライブトラフィック（ドラとら） (Drive Traffic, “Dora Tora”) for expressways; both can be entered in English, Korean or Traditional Chinese (the Shuto Expressway, the Hanshin Expressway and roads run by local road public corporations don’t appear on either; for more, see “Japan Winter Road Conditions: Where to Check Road Closures in English”).
Coming up next
・Which car to rent, and whether you need winter tires, 4WD or chains → “Winter Tires (Snow Tires), 4WD and Chains“
・How to drive on snowy roads → “How to Drive on Snowy Roads“
・Road closures, roads that close in winter, and what to do if you get stuck → “Japan Winter Road Conditions: Where to Check Road Closures in English“
・Quick answers for when something goes wrong → “Snowy Roads and Winter Driving Q&A“
・The Japanese on electronic signs and road signs → “A Mini Japanese Dictionary for Snowy Roads“
For now, just this
Check whether the car has winter tires before you book.
Reach your accommodation before the sun sets.
On days with a heavy-snow notice, make it a hot springs and snow-viewing day.
