[SECProto]

> language barrier isn't really an issue day to day. Most people in the huge urban centers (such as where you'd pick up the RV) speak English well.

This is not the general experience in Japan, and advising people to expect English speakers is misleading :) That said, you will certainly still get by, and if you're nervous about it there are definitely other (more expensive) rental options with strong English language support - one of them is linked from the blog.

[blamazon]

Good point, not a precise statement from me. I personally did not want to use one of those more expensive options so I called around to find an agency that was open to renting to a foreigner, but wasn't too targeted at renting to foreigners. So, definitely selection bias there since my memory is the ones I didn't go with basically just said no, which isn't enough data to show if there was enough English support to complete a complicated rental transaction.