A Japan travel blog · 日本
Chasing Cherry Blossoms
Japan by car — the roads, the onsen towns,
and the food worth the detour.
Why we drive
The Japan the trains don’t reach
Most Japan travel writing assumes you’ll take the train. For Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, that’s the right advice — and we’d give it too.
But the Japan we keep coming back for isn’t on the Golden Route. It’s the Aso caldera at dawn, a roadside station selling produce picked that morning, an onsen town two hours from the nearest station. You need a car to reach any of it, and almost nobody writes in English about what that actually involves.
That’s what this site is for. We drive in Japan, we work out the licence paperwork and the toll systems and the parking so you don’t have to, and we write down what things really cost.
- 47
- Prefectures, all drivable
- 14,125
- Islands make up Japan
- 1200+
- Roadside stations (michi-no-eki)
- 27
- UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Start here · 始めよう
Planning your first drive in Japan?
Read these four in order — they are the paperwork, the tolls and the honest maths that stop most people before they ever leave home.
Renting a Car in Japan
The licence rules that stop most people before they leave home — IDPs, translations and the documents rental desks actually ask for.
Read the guideETC Card in Japan
Why declining the toll card in 2026 can leave you stuck at a toll barrier — and how to get one with a foreign credit card.
Read the guideExpressway Passes Compared
Two of the passes everyone still recommends no longer exist. Here is what replaced them, region by region, with real prices.
Read the guideJR Pass vs Renting a Car
The honest break-even maths, updated for the October 2026 price rise — when the train wins, and when the car pays for itself.
Read the guide
Not sure when to go? Start with the best time to visit Japan, month by month.
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“Under the cherry blossoms,
— Kobayashi Issa · 小林一茶Find the best time to visit Japan
there are no strangers.”
Browse by topic · 話題
Where will Japan take you?
Guides from the road — driving essentials first, then destinations, seasons, food and onsen. Every link below is a real article on this site.
Driving essentials
The four guides most first-time drivers need, in order.
- Renting a Car in Japan — licences, IDPs and what rental desks actually ask for
- ETC Card in Japan — why you need one in 2026 and how to get it
- Japan Expressway Passes Compared — which passes still exist, region by region
- JR Pass vs Renting a Car — honest break-even maths after the price rises
Destinations worth the detour
Neighbourhoods and cities we keep writing about.
Cherry blossoms & seasons
When to go, and what sakura actually means on the ground.
Food, onsen & practical
Eat well, bathe right, travel lighter.