[Sangetsu]

Yes, you can do necessary repairs to your own car, and you can get a car inspection checklist which you can fill out yourself, thus saving the expense of hiring a garage to do the work. The greater part of the fee is the annual road tax rather than the inspection itself, and the tax is based upon the age of your car and it's engine size. The larger the engine the higher the tax will be.

On my last car, which was 2 years old but had a 6 liter engine, the fee was 120,000 yen per year. Add the high cost of fuel and parking in Japan, you will probably end up using a bicycle quite a lot.