On a campervan trip, you'll often use the expressway to travel long distances.
While it's great to travel comfortably, one thing that concerns many people is: "How much will the highway toll cost?"
Highway tolls aren't necessarily higher just because you're driving a campervan — they're determined by the vehicle classification.
Depending on the vehicle's structure and weight, it may be classified as a standard car, or sometimes as a medium or large vehicle.
| Category | Types of Vehicles Included |
| Light vehicles, etc. | Kei cars, motorcycles (including those with sidecars) |
| Standard vehicles | Small vehicles (standard passenger cars, etc.), trailers (towing light vehicle, etc. + towed vehicle with 1 axle) |
| Medium vehicles | Standard cargo vehicles (gross vehicle weight under 8 tons and maximum load under 5 tons, with 3 axles or fewer), microbuses (seating capacity 11-29 people, gross vehicle weight under 8 tons), trailers (towing light vehicle, etc. + towed vehicle with 2 or more axles, or towing standard vehicle + towed vehicle with 1 axle) |
| Large vehicles | Standard cargo vehicles (gross vehicle weight 8 tons or more, or maximum load 5 tons or more, with 3 axles or fewer), large buses (seating capacity 30 or more, etc.), trailers, etc. |
| Extra-large vehicles | Cargo vehicles with 4 or more axles, special-purpose vehicles, extra-long trailers, etc. |
It's easy to imagine that kei campervans are charged at the light vehicle rate, and van-conversion campervans based on the Hiace are charged at the standard vehicle rate.
Cab-conversion campervans (cabcons) are tall and large, so many people might assume they'd fall into the "medium vehicle" category — but in most cases, they're actually charged the "standard vehicle" rate.
Most campervans rented in Japan fall under the standard vehicle rate.
In particular, the types commonly used as rental vehicles are:
These are generally calculated as falling under the "standard vehicle" category.
Cab-conversion campervans based on the Camroad may look large, but most models have a gross vehicle weight in the high 2-ton to high 3-ton range, meaning they're classified as "standard vehicles" under the highway's vehicle classification system in most cases.
Vehicles that fall into the medium or large vehicle categories are limited to special cases, such as large bus conversions or full conversions. These are rarely handled by typical rental shops and mainly apply to cases where owners of large campervans use them for personal use.
In other words, it's safe to assume that highway tolls for a typical rental campervan will be at the "standard vehicle" rate.
Simply insert your ETC card, and it will be automatically classified just like a regular passenger car.
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