Terms & Booking Policies
Terms & booking policies
These terms set out the conditions for using the car rental service Hakuba Rent a Car, operated by Be Village Inc., together with our privacy policy. By making a booking, you agree to these terms.
Last revised: August 2026
Contents
1. Booking and formation of contract
1-1. Advance booking required
Hakuba Rent a Car operates on an advance booking basis. Our branches are not permanently staffed, so if you arrive without a reservation we may be unable to rent to you.
1-2. Provisional bookings and confirmation
When you submit a request on the booking page, the reservation is provisional and not yet confirmed. Your booking is confirmed only once online credit card payment is complete.
If payment is not received within 48 hours of the provisional booking, it is cancelled automatically.
For bookings made within 48 hours of the pick-up time, payment is due within 10 minutes. If payment is not completed in that window, the booking is not confirmed and is cancelled automatically.
1-3. Payment methods
We accept online credit card payment only (VISA, Mastercard, AMEX, JCB, Diners). Cash is not accepted.
1-4. Changes to a booking
To change your dates, vehicle class or options, or to cancel, please submit a request from your member page. Changes may result in a price difference, and we may be unable to accommodate them depending on availability.
2. Rates and discounts
2-1. Displayed rates
All rates shown on this site include tax. Basic third-party liability insurance is included. Vehicle repair costs and NOC (Non-Operation Charge) are not included.
2-2. Long-term discounts
In the standard season (December to March), rentals of 3 days or more receive 10% off and rentals of 7 days or more receive 20% off. Discounts apply to consecutive rental days.
2-3. Green season discount
During the green season (April to November), all vehicle classes are 40% off. However, the discount is not available during Golden Week, Silver Week and other extended holidays, three-day weekends, or the Obon and summer holiday period. Standard rates apply during those periods.
2-4. Student plan
A student plan is available on the kei car only, at a fixed rate of ¥8,800 per day in the standard season and ¥5,500 per day in the green season (tax included).
Available only to students enrolled at a school in Japan.
Please present your original student ID at pick-up. Without it, standard rates apply.
Cannot be combined with long-term discounts, coupons or any other promotional offer.
2-5. Not included in the rate
Fuel, toll charges, parking fees, optional equipment, additional coverage, shuttle fares, and any penalties or additional charges set out in these terms are not included in the rental rate.
3. Cancellation policy
Cancellation fees are calculated from your pick-up date and time. Cancellations are handled through your member page.
| When you cancel | Fee |
|---|---|
| More than 1 month before pick-up | Free |
| 1 month to 1 week before | 20% of the rental fee |
| 1 week to 48 hours before | 30% of the rental fee |
| Within 48 hours of pick-up | 50% of the rental fee |
| No-show without notice | 100% of the rental fee |
Refunds are processed back to the credit card used for payment. Depending on your card issuer's billing cycle, the refund may not appear until the following month or later.
If you shorten a booking, the same cancellation fees apply to the days removed.
If your rental becomes impractical because of a natural disaster, suspension of transport services or other force majeure beyond your control, please contact us and we will discuss it individually.
4. Driving licence requirements
To drive in Japan you need one of the following. If you cannot present the original at pick-up, we will decline to rent to you. Photocopies and digital images are not accepted.
1. A Japanese driving licence — a valid licence issued in Japan.
2. An International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention. The booklet must state “1949 GENEVA”, and you must also carry your home country licence.
3. A foreign licence with an official Japanese translation. If your licence was issued in Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, Slovenia, Monaco or Taiwan, you may drive with the original licence together with an official Japanese translation.
Please check before you travel
✕ An IDP issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention, common across the EU, is not valid in Japan.
✕ An IDP is valid for one year from the date of issue. Please make sure yours remains valid for the whole of your rental.
4-1. Registered drivers
Only drivers named on the rental agreement may drive the vehicle. If you plan to share the driving, everyone must present their licence at pick-up.
4-2. Age
There is no upper age limit provided you hold a licence valid in Japan. However, insurance and all coverage apply only to drivers aged 21 and over. If a driver under 21 is at the wheel, no insurance or coverage applies.
5. Insurance and coverage
5-1. Basic coverage (included in the rate)
Personal injury liability: unlimited per person
Property damage liability: unlimited per incident, no excess
Personal accident cover: up to ¥30,000,000 per person
Roadside assistance: up to ¥150,000 per incident
5-2. Additional coverage options
Vehicle repair costs and NOC are not part of the basic coverage. You may choose one of the following.
| Option | Price | Excess | NOC |
|---|---|---|---|
| A: Basic coverage only | ¥0 | Repairs payable in full | Not included |
| B: Vehicle coverage | ¥3,300 | ¥100,000 | Not included |
| C: Vehicle coverage + NOC waiver | ¥5,500 | None (¥0) | Fully waived |
5-3. NOC (Non-Operation Charge)
If a vehicle needs repair or cleaning after an accident, theft or soiling, we charge the following as compensation for the period it cannot be rented out. This is separate from the repair cost itself.
| Situation | NOC |
|---|---|
| Vehicle can be driven back | ¥55,000 |
| Vehicle requires towing | ¥110,000 |
| Vehicle requires cleaningSoiling of the interior, lingering odours, or heavy sand, mud or snow | Up to ¥20,000 |
Cleaning NOC is charged according to the extent of the soiling, up to a maximum of ¥20,000. With Option C, all of the above NOC charges are waived in full.
6. When we may decline to rent
We may decline to hand over a vehicle, even where a booking has been confirmed, in any of the following cases. Where we do, the booking is treated as a same-day cancellation and the rental fee is not refunded.
You cannot present the original of a valid driving licence.
You have been drinking, or appear to be under the influence of alcohol.
There is reason to believe you cannot drive safely because of medication, fatigue, illness or a similar cause.
The person collecting the vehicle is not the person who made the booking.
There is reason to believe the prohibited conduct set out in these terms is likely to occur.
You belong to, or have a close relationship with, organised crime or other antisocial forces.
You have previously failed to pay, damaged a vehicle, or breached these terms on a rental with us.
Any other circumstance in which we judge the rental to be inappropriate.
7. Prohibited conduct
The following are prohibited during your rental. If we discover a breach, we may terminate the contract, recover the vehicle, and charge you for all resulting loss. No insurance or coverage applies where these terms have been breached.
Allowing anyone not named on the rental agreement to drive.
Subletting, transferring, pledging or otherwise disposing of the vehicle.
Using the vehicle to carry passengers for hire, or for any other commercial purpose.
Racing, competition, testing, towing, or any other use outside normal driving.
Driving on unpaved roads, riverbeds, beaches, private land or anywhere other than public roads.
Entering roads closed for the winter, or closed forest roads.
Modifying the vehicle, removing equipment, or applying stickers or paint to the bodywork.
Taking the vehicle outside Japan, or to an island by ferry without our prior consent.
Smoking in the vehicle. All our vehicles are non-smoking.
Carrying pets in the vehicle.
Any use that breaks the law, or use in connection with a criminal offence.
Passing through an ETC-only lane on a toll road without an ETC card inserted.
About ETC-only lanes
Passing through an ETC-only lane without an ETC card inserted may constitute an offence under Japan's toll road legislation, and generates an unpaid-toll enquiry and administrative work for us. If you do not have an ETC card, please always use a general (cash) lane. Where a breach comes to light, the penalty set out below applies.
8. Return and fuel
8-1. Return time
Please return the vehicle to the branch stated on your rental agreement by the agreed date and time. Late returns incur an additional charge based on the overrun. If you expect to be late, please contact us in advance through your member page or by email.
8-2. Fuel
We hand the vehicle over with a full tank and ask you to return it full. If it is not full, we will charge for fuel according to our standard calculation. Petrol stations around Hakuba are limited, so please allow time to refuel.
8-3. One-way drop-off
You may collect at Hakuba Station Branch and return to Cortina Norikura Branch, or the other way round. Please let us know when you book. If you return to a different branch without arranging it in advance, we may charge a relocation fee.
9. Penalties and additional charges
The following amounts are charged in addition to the rental fee, to the credit card registered with your booking.
| Reason | Charge |
|---|---|
| Passing an ETC-only lane without a card insertedCovers the unpaid-toll enquiry and our administrative costs | 2× the toll amount incurred |
| Unpaid parking fineThe fine itself remains payable by you separately | ¥25,000 |
| Smoking in the vehicleCharged as cleaning NOC | Up to ¥20,000 |
| Heavy soiling or lingering odoursPet hair, vomit, heavy sand, mud or snow and similar | Up to ¥20,000 |
| Fuel not returned full | Per our standard calculation |
| Late return | Based on the overrun |
| Lost or damaged keys, documents or equipment | Actual cost |
Cleaning charges are set according to the extent of the soiling, up to a maximum of ¥20,000. In addition to the above, we will charge the actual amount of any loss we suffer through a cause attributable to you.
10. Accidents and breakdowns
If the accident is not reported to the police, no insurance or coverage applies at all. Please call 110 however minor the damage.
If you have an accident or break down, please work through the steps below in order.
1. Help anyone who is injured. Call 119 for an ambulance immediately.
2. Report it to the police. Call 110 and obtain a police report.
3. Contact us and the support desks. Call the branch on +81-50-1785-0790 and the accident support centre on 0120-256-110. If the vehicle cannot be driven, also call the roadside assistance desk on 0120-365-110.
Insurance and coverage may not apply if you fail to report an incident to us, or if the account you give of it is untrue. Please follow our instructions when arranging repairs, towing and similar. Costs incurred for work carried out without our consent are not covered.
11. Personal data and privacy policy
We handle the personal data collected in connection with your booking and rental in accordance with Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information and other applicable law, as set out below.
11-1. What we collect
We collect the following when you book, collect a vehicle, or contact us.
About you — name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address and nationality.
Your entitlement to drive — the details on your driving licence, your International Driving Permit, and your passport if you are visiting from overseas.
Your booking and rental — booking details, pick-up and return times, the vehicle used, options chosen, shuttle requests and where you are staying.
Payment — a record of the transaction. We do not hold your credit card number; see 11-5 below.
Accidents — the circumstances of any accident or breakdown, the contents of the police report, and details of any other party involved.
Your member page — the email address you log in with, and your booking history.
11-2. How we use it
We use your personal data for the purposes below. If we ever need to use it beyond these purposes, we will ask for your consent first.
Entering into and performing the car rental contract
Verifying that you are entitled to drive. Checking driving licences is required of rental operators under Japan's Road Transportation Act and related regulations.
Contacting you about confirmations, changes and cancellations
Processing payment and billing
Arranging the shuttle service
Liaising with insurers, repairers and roadside assistance providers after an accident or breakdown
Responding to the authorities and recovering costs where a traffic offence, parking fine or unpaid toll comes to light
Providing and running your member page
Answering your enquiries
Sending you information about our services. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Meeting legal obligations, and exercising or defending our legal rights
11-3. Sharing with third parties
We do not share your personal data with third parties without your consent, other than in the following cases.
Where required by law.
Where it is necessary to protect someone's life, health or property and obtaining consent is not practical.
With insurers, repairers, roadside assistance providers and the other party's insurer, to the extent needed to deal with an accident or breakdown.
In response to an enquiry from the police, a road authority or an expressway operator about a traffic offence, parking fine or unpaid toll.
Where we need to assist a national or local government body carrying out its statutory duties, and seeking consent would impede that work.
We do not transfer personal data to third parties located outside Japan.
11-4. Service providers
We may engage external providers to handle personal data on our behalf, to the extent needed for the purposes above. These include:
Our payment processor, for handling online payments
Our hosting and systems providers, for running the website and member page
Our email delivery provider, for sending booking confirmations and similar messages
We set out how personal data must be handled in our contracts with these providers, and supervise them as required.
11-5. Credit card details
Your card number, expiry date and security code are collected and processed directly by our payment processor. We never hold them ourselves.
What we hold is limited to a record of the transaction — that it completed, the amount and the date and time. Communication on the payment page is encrypted. The handling of card details is also subject to the terms of our payment processor.
11-6. Security measures
We take the following measures to guard against loss, leakage or damage to personal data.
Organisational — we appoint a data protection manager and maintain internal rules on handling personal data.
Personnel — we limit who may handle personal data and provide the necessary training.
Physical — paper records such as rental agreements are stored in lockable storage.
Technical — website traffic is encrypted with SSL/TLS, and access to our systems is controlled by permissions.
11-7. How long we keep it
We keep personal data for as long as needed for the purposes above, and for any period required by law. Once that period ends, we delete or destroy it promptly.
Rental records are retained in accordance with Japan's Road Transportation Act and related regulations. Information held in your member page is deleted after you ask to close your account, once any outstanding matters have been settled.
11-8. Cookies
This website uses cookies where they are needed to provide the service — for example, to keep you logged in to your member page. These cookies are not used to identify you personally.
We may in future introduce analytics tools to understand how the site is used. Any information collected in that way is processed statistically and does not identify individuals. If we do, we will update this policy to say so.
You can refuse cookies through your browser settings. Please note that with cookies disabled, some features — such as logging in to your member page — may not work.
11-9. Your rights
You may ask us to tell you the purpose of use, disclose, correct, add to, delete, suspend the use of, erase, or stop sharing the personal data we hold about you.
Please contact us using the details at the end of this section. Once we have verified your identity, we will respond within a reasonable period as required by law. If the law prevents us from complying, we will tell you and explain why.
You can also view and update the information held in your member page yourself after logging in.
11-10. Contact us
For questions about how we handle personal data, or to make a request under section 10, please contact:
Be Village Inc. — Personal Data Enquiries
12856-125 Chikuniotsu, Otari Village, Kitaazumi District, Nagano 399-9422, Japan
Email info@hakubarentacar.com
Phone +81-50-1785-0790 (8:00–18:00 JST)
12. Limitation of liability
We are not liable for loss arising where your rental becomes wholly or partly impractical because of heavy snow, icy roads, an earthquake, a typhoon or other natural event, a road closure, or the suspension of transport services. We will, however, discuss the treatment of cancellation fees individually.
We are not liable for the loss, theft or damage of money or belongings left in the vehicle.
We do not warrant the accuracy of information provided by in-car equipment such as satellite navigation.
Where we are unable to provide a vehicle for a reason attributable to us, our liability is limited to a refund of the amount you have paid.
13. Governing law and jurisdiction
These terms and the rental contract are governed by the laws of Japan.
Any dispute between us arising out of these terms or the rental contract shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Matsumoto Branch of the Nagano District Court as the court of first instance.
This English text is provided for your convenience. In the event of any discrepancy between the Japanese and English versions, the Japanese version prevails.
14. Revisions to these terms
We may revise these terms where the law changes, where our services change, or where it is otherwise necessary. Revised terms take effect from the time they are published on this website.
For bookings already confirmed, the terms in force at the time of booking apply — except where a change in the law must take effect immediately.
15. Statutory business disclosure
Disclosure required under Japan's Act on Specified Commercial Transactions.
| Business name | Be Village Inc. |
|---|---|
| Responsible officer | Makoto Wakita, Representative Director |
| Address | 12856-125 Chikuniotsu, Otari Village, Kitaazumi District, Nagano 399-9422, Japan |
| Telephone | +81-50-1785-0790Shared by both branches, 8:00–18:00 |
| info@hakubarentacar.com | |
| Price | As shown on each vehicle page (tax included) |
| Costs beyond the price | Fuel, optional equipment, additional coverage, shuttle fares, toll charges and parking fees |
| Payment method | Online credit card payment only (VISA, Mastercard, AMEX, JCB, Diners) |
| Payment timing | At the time of booking — within 48 hours of the provisional booking, or within 10 minutes for bookings made within 48 hours of pick-up |
| Service delivery | At the pick-up date and time specified in your booking |
| Returns and cancellation | As this is a service, returns are not available. Cancellations are governed by section 3, Cancellation policy. |
Any questions?
If anything here is unclear, please get in touch at info@hakubarentacar.com or call the branch on +81-50-1785-0790.