How to Use Self-Service Petrol Stations in Okinawa
👋 Haisai! This is CULT.
Today, let’s briefly explore how to refuel when returning a rental car in Okinawa and how to use self-service petrol stations.
For Japanese people, it’s a very straightforward process, and although some petrol machines may not support English for foreigners, the principle is the same for all. Once you understand this principle, anyone can easily refuel.
📌 Location of the Petrol Station
Unmanned petrol stations can be easily found anywhere in Okinawa, but it’s usually best to refuel near your car rental return location. Most Okinawa car rental offices are slightly south of Naha Airport, so I’ll use the ENEOS petrol station I frequently visit as an example. For your information, ⏰ operating hours for unmanned petrol stations are 24 hours.
Self-service petrol stations look roughly like this. The photo isn’t of the ENEOS brand, but just keep in mind that this is the general vibe. Not much different from other countries, right?
🛢️ Let’s Refuel
First, park your vehicle near the fuel cap and turn off the engine.
Typically, the fuel cap on Japanese vehicles is located on the rear left side from the driver’s perspective. However, there are some unusual vehicles with the fuel cap on the rear right side, so it’s good to check in advance. The fuel cap lever is usually a switch with a fuel cap mark located at the bottom of the driver’s seat, which you pull to open the lid.
Don’t worry, as I always provide photos explaining where it is when I review rental cars 😘
Regarding the colour of the fuel caps, from left to right: 💚 Green is diesel 💛 Yellow is premium petrol ♥️ Red is regular petrol.
Most of the vehicles you rent will likely use ♥️ Red is regular petrol.
This is usually where you get stuck at unmanned petrol stations.
Japanese people can manage on their own… As for foreigners, since you won’t have a membership or anything like that, just touch the option that seems unrelated to you, and the payment methods will appear like this. Here, you should select 💳 CREDIT card.
This petrol station does not support English, and although it says Apple Pay is available, it didn’t work. If English were available, it would be much easier.
I will be paying with a credit card, so I touch the credit card icon.
Insert your credit card into the card slot and wait a moment for it to be returned.
The payment method is post-payment, meaning the final fuel amount is charged 1-2 weeks after refuelling. Therefore, you should keep the equivalent amount deposited even after returning to your home country.
After retrieving your card, you can now select the type of fuel. Usually, it’s regular gasoline, so you would touch the red button. If the rented vehicle is a luxury sports car, choose the yellow premium gasoline, and for diesel vehicles, press the green button to refuel.
Then, take the fuel lever and insert it into the fuel inlet that you opened earlier to start refuelling.
Most unmanned petrol stations in Okinawa do not have a clip to hold the fuel lever, so you need to hold it by hand until the refuelling is complete. I did see one unmanned petrol station with a clip, but it’s easier to assume they don’t have them. When you hear a click from the fuel lever, it means refuelling is complete, so remove the nozzle and close the fuel cap.
Then, return the nozzle to its original position and the receipt will be printed.
This is how the receipt is printed, and it might be an issue when returning the rental car, so please keep it safe. Disputes related to refuelling are a common issue. After refuelling, you can return the car to the rental office. Easy, right?
I’ll be back with more helpful information for your Okinawa trip. Matayasai 👋
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