Snow tyres mandatory in Hokkaido & Tohoku, fog lights, NEXCO road-condition codes, recovery from skid.
From December to March in Hokkaido, Tohoku (Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Yamagata, Miyagi, Fukushima), Kōshin'etsu (Niigata, Nagano, Yamanashi), Hokuriku (Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui) and the San'in coast, rental operators WILL NOT release a car without studless tyres. Add-on ¥1,080/day at booking. Japanese studless (スタッドレス) use rubber that stays flexible at -20°C — do not confuse with all-season tyres.
Before setting off, check roadic.nexco-east/central/west for the colour-coded map. Green = normal. Yellow = wet or slush. Blue = compressed snow. Red = icy — slow down to 30-40 km/h. Purple = closed. The same info is on dashboard VICS receivers in Japanese cars. English overview at japan-guide.com/transport/winter.
On ice: if the rear slides out, steer INTO the skid (same direction as the rear), lift off the throttle gently — do not brake hard. ABS handles braking automatically; just keep steady pressure. On packed snow downhill: use engine braking (downshift) rather than foot brake to avoid locking. Keep 3x normal following distance.
Heavy snow drops visibility to 50 m. Turn on front fog lights (フォグランプ) — located on the dashboard as an orange icon with slanted rays. Do NOT use high beams in snow (reflects back). Winter wiper blades are silicone-coated and softer than summer blades; rental cars in snow regions come pre-fitted.
Gloves, warm jacket and boots — standing in snow while scraping windows is not fun in trainers. Small shovel (the rental desk will lend one on request in Hokkaido). Phone in a sock — cold batteries die fast. Vacuum flask of hot drink. And most important: pay the ¥1,100/day for CDW — icy snow accidents are the #1 winter claim.
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