Travel - car rental and JR pass

I’m excited to travel Japan w my parents, next week! There are two topics I have questions about:

  1. Car rental - We plan to rent a car in Hokkaido (w Nippon or Toyota, I think) and I’m wondering if there are any details I need to know (i.e. Tolls? What’s this ETC card? Do I need one? Anything tricky about parking?). Also, I think I would like to pick up the car at Chitose Airport and drop it off in Hakodate. Would anyone discourage that? Is it better to pickup/drop off at the airport and just take the train down? Is it a nice drive? Are there good places to stop along the way?

  2. JR Rail pass - I just want to make sure we get the right one… it’s a bit complicated, as you know! For the latter part of our trip, we are going from Hakodate to Tokyo (Tue - 15/5), spending a few days in Tokyo, traveling to Kyoto/Osaka/Nara (Fri - 18/5) and then going back to Tokyo (Wed - 23/5) to fly out the next day (24/5). Can someone recommend the right JR pass option for us? Sorry, I’ve read the blogs, but I just want to make sure!

Thanks a lot for your help! I really love this site. :slight_smile: