Before you go
This is the type you see at shopping malls, department stores, stations and hotels.
You drive into the building yourself and park in an empty space.
You’ll use one a lot when you go shopping, so it’s worth running through the steps once.
Take it slowly at the entrance
At a garage with a gate, stop your car in front of the ticket machine.
Take the parking ticket (駐車券) when it comes out, and drive on once the gate opens.
If a camera reads your license plate instead, no ticket comes out.
Park in an empty space
Once you’re inside, follow the signs marked 空 (“space available”) to find a spot.
That said,
月極 — “monthly contract”
契約者専用 — “contract holders only”
軽専用 — “kei cars only”
and spaces like these are set aside for particular cars.
Read the sign before you park.
Don’t leave the parking ticket in the car
If a ticket comes out, take it with you rather than leave it in the car.
At malls and department stores, shopping or eating can make your parking free for a few hours.
You may need the ticket to get it.
Sometimes you pay before you go back to the car
Some garages have you pay at the exit; others have a 事前精算機 (“advance pay machine”) inside where you pay first.
With the camera type, you may enter your license plate to find your own car.
Check the guidance on site for how to pay.
Check the height limit (高さ制限)
At the entrance of a multi-story or underground garage you’ll see a sign such as
高さ ○m — “height ○ m”
or something like it.
With a tall SUV or a minivan, this is where you may have to turn around.
Some garages set limits on width and weight as well as height.
Your rental car’s height and width are on its 車検証, the inspection certificate kept in the car.
Look for the three words, 長さ・幅・高さ — length, width, height. Compare the number beside 高さ with the sign at the entrance.
If you’re still not sure, a garage with an attendant is worth trying. Ask at the entrance and they’ll tell you whether your car will fit.
Keep an eye on the opening hours (営業時間) too
A multi-story or underground garage isn’t always open 24 hours.
At some of them you can’t get your car out once the building closes.
If you’re out until late, check the opening hours at the entrance first.
Once you’ve done it once, it’s the same everywhere
Take a ticket, park, sort out the shopping discount, pay, drive out.
That’s the order at most multi-story and underground garages.
※ Whether a ticket is issued, how you pay, parking services, opening hours and vehicle size limits differ from one parking lot to another. When you actually use one, check the entrance, the pay machine and the guidance inside the building.
