Marine Town Ito
Once in Japan we discovered that michi no eki or roadside stations are plentiful, free and very safe. There is plenty of parking, clean toilets, often there is a restaurant and usually there is a shop selling fresh fruit and veg and local handicrafts, rather like a farmers market. There is no electric hook up though. They differ from european service stations in that they do not sell petrol.
Some were near tourist attractions, others relatively quiet spots. Our iPad that came with the van had an app that showed the location of these rest stations and would direct us there.
We never came across a campsite other than signs to the odd field where tents could pitch in the summer. We saw a few local motorhomes and they were always on these road stations too which gave us the impression that the serviced campsites so familiar in europe either don't exist or are rare in Japan, there certainly were not many motorhomes.
Some were near tourist attractions, others relatively quiet spots. Our iPad that came with the van had an app that showed the location of these rest stations and would direct us there.
We never came across a campsite other than signs to the odd field where tents could pitch in the summer. We saw a few local motorhomes and they were always on these road stations too which gave us the impression that the serviced campsites so familiar in europe either don't exist or are rare in Japan, there certainly were not many motorhomes.
Michi no eki at Ito Marine Town
Michi no Eki at Spa complex at Namerikawa
Michi no eki sites in a small area of Honshū
An indication of just how many rest stations there are in Japan
We hired our campervan for a month and most of the time we parked on these road stations and had no problems whatsoever.
We established that many Japanese use these parking spots to overnight in their cars and it was not unusual to find a family in the toilet block in the morning cleaning their teeth. What impressed us was how enterprising people were when overnighting in saloon cars never mind estates or people carriers.
We established that many Japanese use these parking spots to overnight in their cars and it was not unusual to find a family in the toilet block in the morning cleaning their teeth. What impressed us was how enterprising people were when overnighting in saloon cars never mind estates or people carriers.
Fishermans Wharf
Click on one of these links to go to another page:
Japan Introduction
Our vehicle
Tokyo
Izu Peninsula
Central Honshū
Western Honshū
Kyoto
Shrines & Temples
Japan Introduction
Our vehicle
Tokyo
Izu Peninsula
Central Honshū
Western Honshū
Kyoto
Shrines & Temples
