Dream Drive is a campervan rental company in Tokyo. It rents custom-made campervans designed to be super comfortable and serve as a relaxing space to come back to after a day of exploring the great outdoors Japan has to offer. The company also provides maps with places to stay and bathe and routes to follow.

Dream Drive’s Response to Covid-19

Before Covid-19, Dream Drive was mainly focused on the international inbound traveler, who likes to make longer-term trips. Unfortunately, the company had to refund a lot of these customers due to the pandemic, which has been extremely difficult for their business. Dream Drive has since pivoted its focus to the local ex-pat market, offering a way to escape the city and distance with loved ones while avoiding public transport and the local populace. Many of the company users are repeat customers that often use our suggested routes and destinations.

Extra precautions the company has taken:

  • All van surfaces are disinfected, with professional-grade cleaning products
  • All bedding is cleaned and sterilized off-site by hotel suppliers — it truly is a hotel on wheels.
  • New manuals on what to do in case customers are feeling ill during the trip
  • Mapped onsen and places to sleep all over Japan so customers can easily find places to park and stay for the night
  • A new drop-off service where Dream Drive delivers the van into town and picks up from town after the trip, reducing the need to use public transport
  • All staff related to van rentals are commuting to and from work without public transport

Message from Dream Drive

“Part of our vision has been to send more people to rural Japan to promote unique destinations only easily accessible by car. Covid-19 has been a massive challenge for many and tragic for some. I have seen a friend’s businesses failing and if the situation continues, it might be the case for many others, which is quite sad. But I do believe and hope that for the companies that are able to navigate this, there could be a great season of domestic travel afterward.

Our small team has continued to build vans throughout this season. We have a new van ready to rent every two weeks at the moment, the Kuma, which is for families and groups. We will have seven vans suitable for groups by June.

We hope to welcome you soon and help you build great memories of Japan and with loved ones.” — Jared Campion, Founder of Dream Drive