Careless Car Shop

　　About 30 minutes' train ride took us to Yoichi, which is a small town, but is known as the home of Nikka Whisky Co.,Ltd. I'm going to refer to it later. Next, we rented a compact car at a car repair shop. I have always used Toyota domestically or Hertz overseas. I wanted to rent a car from Toyota, but there was neither a branch of Toyota nor branches of other major rental car companies. Most tourists who want to use cars rent their car usually in Otaru or Sapporo. Why did I bother to rent a car here in Yoichi after moving from Otaru to here? You'll know the reason in the following entry.
　　Next, the shop clerk asked me to examine the body, which is a regular procedure at a car rental shop. The car had lots of scratches and dents. It seemed that it was for their customers while the customers' car was in the shop for repair or something. Examining the car, I found rear tire signs of wear. We Japanese call the warning "slip sign" that emerges on the surface of tires after use and urges you to replace it. The clerk exchanged the car for another small 660cc car. Such poor maintenance would not be the case for the major car-rental companies like Toyota, Nissan, Hertz, and so on. I felt slightly uneasy about the car, but we had no other option. We headed for Kamui-misaki Cape by this car.