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Can anyone think of a good reason why I shouldn't drive with my wife and baby direct from Narita to Hakuba in a hire car? Except for the expense, of course... Or does anyone have any tips? I will arrange baby seat, snow tyres and chains, of course.

 

Plan B is the trains/buses. A van seems much more convenient, at first glance.

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It's not that difficult, but you want to make sure the car has snow tyres. Having a car in Hakuba can be a blessing. Esp if you want to go exploring.

 

Basically it is a expressway trip up to Nagano then the slow road from there.

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That's what I thought. How likely are there to be road closures for snow/slides, etc in late Jan-mid Feb?

That is probably the only real doubt I have about the trip. Navigation shouldn't be a problem.

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Unless you are travelling in a major storm you won't have a problem.

If you can get an AWD with snow tyres then you are set. I couldn't believe the difference snow tyres make.

National roads seem to be plowed every time about 15cm of snow falls.

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I found that in Nozawa, on the road out to Iiyama... there was 8 feet of snow on the shoulders, but the roads were perfect!

 

Will definitely aim for AWD, though (just in case) \:\)

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I have a 7 seater Delica 4X4 van with studless tires - no need for chains...

 

I plan to head to Hakuba as much as possible this winter - if Chiba/Tokyo people need rides (leave Friday early evening, back Monday morning is the plan), I have lots of room - its usually just Kaz (he's 9) and I in the van...

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Thanks again for the offer fjef, but I thought having our own van might allow a few extra degrees of freedom, once we get to the resort.

 

The folks we are skiing with are still keen on the train, so there will only be 2, maybe 3 adults and a baby. If we change our minds about renting, I'll definitely be in touch.

 

\:\)

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Renting a van is the best way for you to solve your problems - traveling with kids and luggage will be much easier with your own van and you'll appreciate it even more once you get to Hakuba - Hakuba is a big, spread out place.

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I don't remember much about the road signs in Japan. Are they mostly the universal symbols, eg Stop, Give way, One Way, etc. in symbols, and are they in Kanji, Romanji, or a combination of both? I dont read Japanese script too well, but would have half a chance if the signs have Romanji characters...

 

In other words, how much adaptation will be required to not end up in too much trouble?

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My group dismissed the idea of driving out of hand. They may get to Hakuba before us, but we'll be in a better mood, I think...

 

I have a Garmin Etrex Vista C GPS unit, plugged into Sony Vaio with detailed maps of Japan, so navigation isn't really the problem. I was more concerned about causing an accident by not being able to recognise a "Give Way" sign eek.gif

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Recognizing road signs will not be a problem - but dealing with your GPS and computer sounds like a nightmare while driving. Rental cars can be booked with English GPS navi systems - I'd do that and feel safer!

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 Quote:
Originally posted by keba:
My group dismissed the idea of driving out of hand. They may get to Hakuba before us, but we'll be in a better mood, I think...

I have a Garmin Etrex Vista C GPS unit, plugged into Sony Vaio with detailed maps of Japan, so navigation isn't really the problem. I was more concerned about causing an accident by not being able to recognise a "Give Way" sign eek.gif
Make sure you dont give them a lift when you get there. ;\)
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fjef, I think I'll leave the navigation to the passenger, if we do it that way. If in-car Eigo sat nav canbe arranged, it does sound easier...

 

Halfmachine, they may regret not getting a car. The shuttle service seems OK, though, so they might not. We'll see, I suppose... wakaranai.gif

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I can think of several good reasons not to do that. First of all, driving with babies can be dreadful when they start screaming on the highway and won't stop.

Then you can't fully gawp at the Japanese landscape as you pass through it.

And driving is tiring.

And traffic jams happen, especially in the winter due to ploughing, checking tyres etc., silly bastards crashing.

 

Why not take the train to Nagano and hire a van there?

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KEba- I live in Narita at the moment so if you need help with the locations of car rental I can let you know. Guess you can arrange a pick up from the airport, but there are two companies I know of right next to the JR Narita station.

 

Navigating aaround Tokyo is a bit of a mare at first but once youa re past that its pretty plain sailing to Hakuba.

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