Photos: Fynn Geerdsen, Nicholas Doherty, Aaron Katz, Atul Vinayak, Sarmat Batagov
Itinerary · Japan
Classic Japan Van Road Trip: 12 days from Tokyo to Kyoto
Temples, bamboo forests and mountain roads
Few people see Japan by van, yet it works well. Over 12 days, this itinerary links Tokyo to Kyoto via mountain roads: the Nikko shrine, Hakone's onsen at the foot of Fuji, then the temples of Nara and Kyoto.
The route
Indicative route, in straight lines between the stops, in travel order.
View on Google Maps →The 5 stops
Good to know before you go
The real budget for 12 days
Allow around €770 to €1,400 for 12 days, for two, in a kei van (the small Japanese van). This budget covers three items only: rental, fuel and nights (one night at a campground or RV Park each evening). Flights, food, expressway tolls, onsen and sightseeing are extra. This itinerary is one-way (Tokyo → Nara): the fee for returning the van in another city is extra, ask the rental company. Prices checked in October 2026, converted at €1 = ¥176.23 on 30/10/2026 (Pound Sterling Live).
- Van rental: a kei camper costs roughly ¥8,000 to ¥12,000 per day; insurance (damage waiver) adds ¥1,000 to ¥2,000 per day at the major companies (VanTripJapan, updated 12/10/2026). So ¥9,000 to ¥14,000 per day, ¥108,000 to ¥168,000 for 12 days, or €613 to €953. A bigger van costs much more (¥14,000 to ¥20,000 per day for a van conversion, same source).
- Fuel: ¥170.1 per litre of regular petrol, national average on 26/10/2026 (OpenGov.jp, from the official Agency for Natural Resources and Energy survey). For 1,100 km at 8 to 10 litres per 100 km (our estimate; a van does about 10 km per litre according to VanTripJapan), so 88 to 110 litres: ¥14,969 to ¥18,711, or €85 to €106.
- Nights: ¥300 to ¥1,000 at a municipal campground, ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 at a private one, ¥3,000 to ¥5,000 at an "auto-camp" (VanTripJapan, 12/10/2026); ¥2,000 to ¥5,000 at an RV Park (Hokkaido Campingcar). At ¥1,000 to ¥5,000 per night for the van (sources do not always say whether prices are per vehicle or per person), over 12 nights: ¥12,000 to ¥60,000, or €68 to €340.
- Total: ¥134,969 to ¥246,711, or €766 to €1,400, so around €770 to €1,400.
Where to sleep in your van
- Roadside stations (michi-no-eki): Japan's transport ministry says a nap in your vehicle to recover from fatigue is fine, but it generally asks visitors not to stay overnight. Some stations have spaces set aside for the night: check each station's own site (Hokkaido Campingcar, 23/10/2026). Never set up a table, chairs or a stove outside.
- Expressway service areas: NEXCO West Japan's rules ban long stays, camping and living in a vehicle (same source).
- Public roads: the law bans leaving a vehicle in the same spot for 8 hours in a row overnight, even with no sign; fine up to ¥200,000 (same source).
- The simple option: a campground or an RV Park (a paid car park set up for vans, ¥2,000 to ¥5,000 a night, Hokkaido Campingcar). This is what our budget counts.
- At Lake Kawaguchi: sleep at one of the lakeside campgrounds, not in a car park.
Updated 31 October 2026
When to go
March to May, October and November
- Jan : Outside the best time
- Feb : Outside the best time
- Mar : Best time
- Apr : Best time
- May : Best time
- Jun : Outside the best time
- Jul : Outside the best time
- Aug : Outside the best time
- Sep : Outside the best time
- Oct : Best time
- Nov : Best time
- Dec : Outside the best time
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