Toyota Noah: A Family Minivan Rental in Okinawa
Traveling with family and carry-on suitcases in a Toyota Noah in Okinawa
Haisai! I’m CULT.
Today I’m reviewing the Toyota Noah, a seven-seat minivan you can rent in Okinawa for a family trip, with a reasonable price and a decent amount of trunk space. The rental company is Aosora Rent-a-Car, and its partner is White One Rent-a-Car. It’s a Japanese company, but Korean-language assistance is available through an intermediary, so it’s a good option if you’re after value for money. AI translation is so good these days 😀
When I used it, the daily rate was 9,000 yen, or 11,200 yen including insurance, which I think is reasonable for eight people. It’s much cheaper than the big rental companies, for a start. You can’t collect the car at the airport, but staff can drive you there when you return it. They also offer free car delivery to hotels, Airbnbs and paid parking lots in central Naha.
Collecting the Car
Spend your first day relaxing in Naha, then have the car brought to your hotel when you need it.
Toyota Noah Summary
If you’re choosing a car for a family trip, start by thinking about how much luggage you’ll bring in the Noah.
Details
The company that manages the Noah I’m reviewing has never offered airport pickup. They’ve only offered rides to the airport after you return the car.
The photo above shows Akamine Station. You can take the monorail one stop from the airport and collect the car here. That’s a little inconvenient, but the really convenient part is.. they deliver the car for free in Naha and Tomigusuku, an area near the airport. If you take a taxi or public transport to a hotel in central Naha on day one and only need a car from day two or three.. they’ll bring it to your hotel. Most companies charge for delivery, but this company has always operated on a delivery basis.
If you don’t need a rental car on your first day in Okinawa, this service will be really convenient. For returns, too, just agree on a location in Naha or Tomigusuku through chat, and a staff member will come and collect the car. Pretty damn convenient, right? They can also drive you to the airport in the same car when you return it, so you can plan your Okinawa trip smartly.
A Look Around the Car
It may not have many features, but sliding doors on both sides make things easier for children and older passengers.
The Noah is a Toyota minivan, and you’ll see it everywhere in Okinawa. It normally seats seven, but you can take the extra headrest from the back and fit it to make room for eight. If seven people each bring just one carry-on suitcase, there’s enough trunk space for those plus a stroller. You can also open up the golf bag compartment for more space, so unless someone sabotages the plan by bringing a big suitcase, it’s good value for a family trip.
Well.. if you want something nicer, there’s the Toyota Vellfire or Alphard, but the price jumps sharply.. Realistically, settling for a Noah gives you a decent trip at the more affordable end of the range.
Features vary from car to car, but this Noah has sliding doors on both sides. They’re handy when you’re traveling with children or older passengers. Dad is usually the one driving.. so he can keep the kids from doing anything dangerous. The second-row seats slide smoothly back and forth, making it easy for people in the third row to get in and out.
Here’s the front seating area. There are small armrests, with quite a bit of space between them, so you can fit another bag or two here.
White One Rent-a-Car’s vehicles are good value, but they don’t have many special features. This company really only includes the essentials. Honestly, even when a car has lots of features, you often return it without having tried them during your trip.
Hmm.. the rear camera works well. But today.. I wanted to show you something cute, so I took a photo of Pretty Cure on TV. It uses satellite DMB, of course, so reception cuts out in tunnels or inside buildings. Is Pretty Cure not well known in Korea?
Just think of it as Japan’s Teenieping. Though quite a few adults watch this one too..
The cigarette lighter adapter has two 2.4A USB Type-A ports. They’re Type-A, so charging isn’t particularly fast. Your phone does charge with Google Maps and music running. Just very slowly. I asked why they didn’t put in a better one.. and apparently these go missing all the time. So they fit a decent one rather than an expensive one.. -_-;;
The cup holders.. are aftermarket cup holders. They didn’t come with the car; they’ve been added in front of the A/C vents. The driver’s cup holder really should be in front of the A/C vent. That’s the proper setup in Japan.
Here are the second-row seats. They seat three, but if only two people sit here, the middle seat can serve as an armrest and cup holder.
Here are the third-row seats.
Normally this row seats two, but there’s a headrest in the trunk. Fit it to the left of center and you can set the row up for three. It’ll be a bit cramped, but if the travelers are slim, eight people can manage the trip.
Trunk Space
Carry-on suitcases are fine, but it’s a different story if someone brings a big one.
As I said at the start.. peace will reign if all eight people bring carry-on suitcases, without a single troublemaker. In the photo on the right, two carry-on suitcases are standing upright. Judging by eye, you could fit six upright, with two more on top, and raise the headrests to stack another two strollers. As long as nobody brings a suitcase one size bigger.
Large 28-inch suitcases.. two and you’re done.. Korean travelers don’t often bring large suitcases to Okinawa anyway, but this is an issue for Taiwanese travelers. They do a lot of shopping, so they all bring big suitcases.
Opening the golf bag compartment gives you a little more room. But the moment you open it.. this game of Tetris gets very complicated.
Fold the third-row seats out of the way to turn it into a five-seater.. and you’ve got enough cargo space to move house. This is usually the kind of space people need for seminars or corporate events. Or for bringing expensive bikes over for a cycling trip. But if I were going to use the car like this, I’d just rent a Toyota Sienta. It’s cheaper, gets better fuel economy and gives you this much cargo space.
Anyway, if you’re organizing a corporate event in Okinawa, it’s worth knowing you can use the cargo space this way.
Driving Impressions
The fuel economy is disappointing, but the difference in rental cost compared with an Alphard brings me back to the Noah.
I’ve driven the Noah several times, so there’s nothing particularly new to me. It only has the basic features you need when traveling, which I think makes it a decent choice for Okinawa. The Toyota Alphard Hybrid gets much better fuel economy, but it costs too much to rent.. For a trip from southern to northern Okinawa over four nights and five days, fuel costs differ by about 1,000–2,000 yen compared with an Alphard Hybrid. The rental cost, though, differs a lot.
I think it’s excellent value for eight travelers.
How easy is it to drive?.. If you’ve driven a Hyundai Staria or Kia Grand Carnival.. very easy. Those vehicles are much bigger. Even allowing for Japan’s narrow roads and tight parking lots.. if you can drive a Staria or Grand Carnival, this is all eas.. Just don’t get overconfident..
It’s always the people making a big song and dance about their 20 or 30 accident-free years who take a car out and crash it within an hour.
I took the Noah on a round trip from Naha to Bisezaki using the highway. Naturally, fuel economy looks good on the highway, but once you include city driving, it ends up around 7–8 km/L. Yes, that’s poor fuel economy.. but I keep saying this: even if an Alphard uses less fuel, once you consider the rental rates, traveling in the less fuel-efficient Noah works out much cheaper.
Refueling and Returning the Car
After filling the tank, you can have a staff member come to your Naha hotel to collect the car.
This car has a foot-operated parking brake on the left. The reason I explain this every time is.. apparently lots of people leave it on and ask, why is the car so slow? Of course it won’t go properly with the parking brake on.. So be aware that it’s foot-operated. The fuel door release lever is at the upper right of the photo, marked with a fuel pump symbol. Pull it to open the fuel door.
You need to fill the tank before returning the car.
Most gas stations in Okinawa are self-service.. but there’s usually a staff member somewhere on site.. so you can ask for help if you’re unsure. Well.. it’s not particularly hard, so don’t panic. You can more or less figure it out just by looking. It’s easy if you have a credit or debit card 😀
The fuel economy certainly isn’t great. Still, it seats eight.. For the same route I drove, a Toyota Aqua, Toyota Prius or Honda Shuttle would keep fuel costs in the upper 1,000-yen range. But those are small cars, and this is a big one..
Anyway, keep the receipt. Show it to the staff when you return the car. Usually, you’ll need a receipt from about an hour before the return!
If you’re returning the car in Naha, you can do it at your hotel. As I mentioned, a staff member will come, check the car and take it away. Or if you’re heading straight to the airport from the hotel.. and there’s room in the car, a staff member may drive you to the airport in this same vehicle when you return it.
Or you can return it at Akamine Station like I did. Though.. does anyone actually need to return it there? You can return it at a hotel, Airbnb or nearby paid parking lot, so there’s no real need to come all this way…
Oh, don’t worry about communicating. They use a very good translation app, and chat messages can all be translated these days, right? They use translation apps constantly.. and they’re really good at it.
Booking and the Cost for Three Nights and Four Days
Book through the Aosora link and work out the cost for your rental period.
Book through the link above
Let’s crunch some numbers.
For three nights and four days, suppose you arrive at Naha Airport on day one and start the rental at 2 p.m., then return it four days later at 2 p.m. When I used it, the daily rental rate was 9,000 yen, plus 2,200 yen for insurance, totaling 11,200 yen per day. The longer you rent, the lower the rate.
For 72 hours, the rental cost was 25,650 yen and insurance was 8,800 yen. That’s 34,450 yen in total. If.. you rent it for about 10 days, the rate drops further, so check the cost for your travel dates in advance. There’s certainly a price advantage 😀
The Toyota Noah is good value for a family trip with six to eight people. I hope this helps make your Okinawa trip a little more affordable and comfortable. That’s it for now; I’ll be back soon with another Okinawa rental car review. Mata yasai
- The Noah I rented normally seats seven, but fitting the headrest from the trunk to the left of center in the third row makes room for eight. Three people in the third row will be a bit cramped, though, so you're looking at slim passengers.
- Six carry-on suitcases fit standing upright, with two more on top. Two large 28-inch suitcases fill it up, so if eight people are traveling, you'll need to coordinate suitcase sizes.
- The second row seats three, but with only two passengers, the middle seat can serve as an armrest and cup holder. The seats slide back and forth, making it easy to get in and out of the third row too.
- The company managing this car doesn't offer airport pickup. Take the monorail one stop from the airport and collect it at Akamine Station.
- Chat messages are translated, and staff keep translation apps running to communicate with foreign customers. They're skilled at using them, so you don't need to worry about communication.
- The parking brake is foot-operated, on the left. Pull the lever at the upper right marked with a fuel pump symbol to open the fuel door.
- Keep the receipt after filling the tank. You'll show it to the staff when returning the car; usually, you should refuel and get the receipt about an hour before the return.
