Source: Japan Camping-Car Rental Center | © Campingcar, Inc.

Forget Olympic Lodging Worries with Rentable “Japanese Hotel on Wheels” from Japan CRC

If you're planning on visiting Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics and have yet to make reservations for a place to stay, you may have a very unpleasant surprise in store when you start your search. For example, at travel fare aggregator website Booking.com, any search for a week's lodging in the Tokyo area during the Olympic period causes a pop-up to appear with the discouraging message: "94% of places to stay are unavailable for your dates on our site." (at time of writing). If you're looking for a Japanese style ryokan or inn, your chances are even slimmer. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, the city is expecting a 14,000-room shortfall for an expected 10 million visitors. This is driving up hotel prices sometimes as high as four times normal price and three times for Aribnb.

The camper-van solution

One smart solution to the problem is to escape form the lodging crunch all together by renting a camper-van during your trip. The number of foreign tourists renting RVs during their trip to Japan is growing year by year. And it's not hard to see why. Not only can you sleep relatively comfortably, you can also open up worlds of possibilities for traveling around and exploring Japan. And if you're worried about parking during the Olympics, there are camper-van accessible parking areas in Tokyo, some of them in close proximity to the Olympics venues (see our map below).

Fortunately, Japan Camping-Car Rental Center has the perfect camper-van for you:

Hokusai’s “Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji” Specially designed Camper-van

The closest thing to a Japanese hotel room foreign visitors are likely to find on four wheels, this beautifully designed camper-van by Japan CRC allows you to experience Japanese culture and freely explore Japan at the same time.

Two famous Japanese landscape prints are displayed on the sides and back of the RV. These prints are from "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji," produced by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai at the height of his career. Among them, "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" and "Fine Wind, Clear Morning" are two of Hokusai's greatest works, often described as the artist's "indisputable masterpieces".

Photo courtesy of Japan Camping-Car Rental Center | © Campingcar, Inc.

Interior

The Japanese theme continues inside, since the camper-van is decorated with Japanese curtains, Japanese cushions and even tatami mat flooring:

Photo courtesy of Japan Camping-Car Rental Center | © Campingcar, Inc.

Details

Vehicle Size: L 4,990 mm × W 1,990 mm × H 2,920 mm
Engine Displacement: 2,000 cc
Fuel Type: Gasoline
Transmission: AT
Driving Position: Right
Seating Capacity: 7
Sleeping Capacity: 7

Comes equipped with: Air-Conditioning, Navigation System, ETC Device, Rear Vision Camera, Fuel-Fired Heater, Inverter, Awning, Plumbing System, External Socket, Sub Battery, Refrigerator, Gas Stove

Options such as child car seats, ETC cards, multilingual GPS, WiFi Routers, sleeping bags, kitchen sets, tables and chairs, and more are also available.

Pricing: For the Olympic period (7/22 to 8/10), the Hokusai RV will cost 98,000 JPY for the first day and 90,000 JPY (excl. tax) for each additional day thereafter. For example, four days will be 368,000 JPY. If that sounds expensive, keep in mind that up to 7 people can ride and sleep in it, and it will be cheaper than renting almost all equivalent accommodations in Tokyo for a group of four, let alone seven people, and that's even before factoring in what you'll be saving in public transportation.

Rental locations: Shinagawa Station, Shibuya Station, Ebisu Station, Musashi Kosugi Station, Futako Tamagawa Station, Ryogoku Office, Ichikawa Office, Kanda Jimbocho Office.

For all the details on the Hokusai special edition RV and the other RVs you can choose from for your travel plans during the 2020 Olympics or any other time of the year, as well as other conditions and requirements for rental, please visit Japan Camping-car Rental Center's home page:

Japan Camping-Car Rental Center

If you're interested in renting during the Olympics period, please note that advance reservations begin from October 1st, 2019 (for reservations of 4 days or more).