Before you go
In town, near stations and at sightseeing spots, most parking is the flat, ground-level kind.
Basically, you park your own car in an empty space.
What changes from lot to lot is what happens after you park.
1 A flap in the floor: ロック板式
This type has a plate near the middle of the parking space.
Once you park, the plate rises.
While it’s up, you can’t drive the car out.
To leave, you enter the number of the space you parked in at the pay machine (精算機).
So photograph the space number with your phone as you park.
After you pay, watch the plate go back down before you move the car.
2 No flap in the floor
Some lots have no flap in the floor.
Some even boast about it on their sign: 「ロック板がない停めやすい駐車場です！」 (“No flaps here — easy to park!”).
For example, here are two ways to pay.
One is the camera type (カメラ式). A camera reads your license plate.
To leave, you enter your license plate number at the pay machine to find your car.
Photograph the plate when you pick up your rental car — it comes in handy.
The other is the type whose sign says 「車両センサー」 (vehicle sensor).
To leave, you press your 駐車位置番号 (the number of the space you parked in) at the pay machine and pay. Just like with the flap type, it’s reassuring to photograph the number.
Even with no flap in the floor and no barrier at the exit, you still have to pay at some lots.
Pay before you head back to your car.
3 Paying up front: 前払い式
At some lots you park first and then pay straight away.
You pay at the machine, and if a ticket comes out, follow what it tells you.
Sometimes you leave the ticket somewhere visible inside the car.
Some parking lots have an attendant
At theme parks and the outdoor lots of malls, there’s often an attendant.
They usually wear a uniform and a reflective vest, and carry a lit baton.
They’ll show you where to park, so drive the way they point.
When they tell you to stop, stop and open your window.
Sometimes they come to collect the fee as well.
Remember the name of the area you parked in
Big parking lots give each area a name.
Sometimes a letter or a number, sometimes the name of a character or an animal.
In a garage it’s written on the pillars; outdoors, on a sign on a pole.
One photo before you get out of the car.
Then you won’t be hunting for it later.
At Tokyo Disney Resort it’s “Mickey”, “Donald”, “Minnie”, “Goofy”.
There are others too.
Who you’ll get is part of the fun of going.
Some empty spaces aren’t for you
An empty space doesn’t always mean you can park there.
月極
A space marked like this belongs to someone who rents it by the month.
カーシェア専用 (car-share only) and 契約者専用 (contract holders only) are somebody else’s too.
They’re not places for a traveler to stop for a while.
Shopping can bring the parking fee down
At a lot tied to a shop, buying something can make your parking free, or cheaper.
How you claim it varies, though.
Sometimes you take your ticket to the shop; sometimes the shop gives you a 駐車証明書 (a parking certificate) instead.
If you want the discount, check the notices at the parking lot and in the shop.
※ The systems, names, payment methods and discounts at flat parking lots differ from one parking lot to another. This article describes the usual ways they work. When you actually use one, follow the pay machine and the signs on site.
