2025-03-16 / Last updated : 2025-11-02 Pop-Head pop_i Culture　～カルチャー（文化）～

Roadside Station

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Roadside Station – みちのえき (道の駅) –

Roadside stations were born from a suggestion made at the “Regional Development and Exchange Symposium in the Chugoku Region of Japan” held in January 1990 (Heisei 2), which suggested that “it would be nice to have roadside stations that have toilets, like train stations.”

The purpose of roadside stations is to create rest spaces on public roads where anyone can easily stop by at any time of the day or night.

The nearest roadside station is about a 30-minute drive from where I live, and I often go there to buy groceries or to use the restroom.
It conveys local culture by selling local specialties, products, and gourmet food.

Roadside stations work to cooperate with local communities by establishing tourist and recreational facilities and cultural sharing facilities with the aim of promoting local areas.
Many roadside stations are located in or near areas registered along Japan Scenic Roads, and they function as hubs for disseminating information about and activities related to Japan Scenic Roads.

Roadside stations have three functions: a place to rest (nap in the car and toilets), an information dissemination function (road conditions), and a community cooperation function.
Roadside stations are lively and unique places created together with the community, and serve as places for drivers and local residents to interact.

In recent years, attention has been drawn to the disaster prevention functions of roadside stations due to the role they played during the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Kumamoto Earthquake, but the reason they are not yet widespread worldwide is because Japan has a good public safety record, and I think it would be difficult in other countries.

Roadside Station Hachioji Takiyama（みちのえきはちおうじたきやま）
Hachioji Takiyama Roadside Station is the first and only roadside station in Tokyo.
P1: 5 large cars, 55 regular cars, 2 cars for the disabled (24 hours)
P2: 4 large vehicles, 41 regular vehicles (8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
1-592-2 Takiyamacho, Hachioji City, Tokyo 192-0011
https://www.michinoeki-hachioji.net/

Roadside Station Grand Terrace Chikusei（みちのえきグランテラスちくせい）
This is one of the largest grand stations in northern Kanto, a complex “hybrid roadside station” that is still new, very clean, and even has a Starbucks Coffee.
Parking: 361 cars (43 large cars)
1850 Kawasumi, Chikusei City, Ibaraki Prefecture, 308-0801
https://granterrace-chikusei.com/

Post here

Roadside Station Fruit Park Ashigakubo（みちのえきかじゅこうえんあしがくぼ）
Roadside Station Ashigakubo Fruit Park is a special place where you can enjoy Chichibu’s nature and fresh local flavors.
P1: 83 regular cars (3 handicapped cars) / 5 large cars / approx. 30 motorbikes
P2: 50 regular cars / approx. 30 motorcycle cars
1915-6 Ashigakubo, Yokoze-machi, Chichibu-gun, Saitama Prefecture, 368-0071
https://michinoeki-ashigakubo.com/

Roadside Station Showa（みちのえきしょうわ）
Located just an hour from central Tokyo, Roadside Station Showa is in the nature-rich Kasukabe Showa district, where the rural scenery evokes a sense of nostalgia.
Parking: 42 large vehicles, 160 regular vehicles, 2 handicapped parking spaces
Toilets: 15 for men, 29 for women, 2 for disabled people
995 Kamiyanagi, Kasukabe City, Saitama Prefecture, 344-0121
https://www.michinoeki-showa.or.jp/

Roadside Station Healthy Terrace Sakuminami（みちのえきヘルシーテラスさくみなみ）
It is located directly opposite the Saku Minami I.C. on the Chubu-Odan Expressway, almost in the center of eastern Shinshu, and offers excellent access to tourist destinations such as Saku City, Karuizawa, Ueda, Tateshina, and Lake Shirakaba.
105 standard-sized vehicles, 30 large vehicles, 3 wheelchair-accessible parking spaces, 3 disabled parking spaces
Toilets: 15 for men, 20 for women, 2 for disabled people, 2 for ostomates (available 24 hours)
7-1 Tomono, Saku City, Nagano Prefecture, 385-0061
https://healthyterrace-saku.jp/

Roadside Station Chichibu（みちのえきちちぶ）
In addition to selling Chichibu soba noodles and other local specialties, the facility also has a restaurant where you can sample Chichibu’s local cuisine, and a facility called “Chichibu no Mizu” that provides delicious, safe, free drinking water.
12 large vehicles, 83 regular vehicles (including 2 for disabled people)
〒368-0023　4625 Omiya, Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture
https://www.michinoeki-network.jp/chichibu/

I often go for drives to relax, and I also need to use the toilet, so I often use roadside stations.
As of January 31, 2025, there are apparently 1,230 roadside stations in Japan, so it’s impossible to visit them all in my lifetime, but I would like to introduce some of my recommended roadside stations and those I have visited.

There is only a limited number of roadside stations that I can introduce, so for details on roadside stations across the country, please check the official website below.