Driving across Japan in a Honda N-Box
A fun way to see our favourite country.
So I had begun the May edition of this newsletter project weeks ago and I really think its a good one, but just as my smouldering hot wife Zoe and I were about to start our a road trip around Japan last week, Zo said “Why don’t you write about our trip, you can write about it whilst we are doing it”. Being another excellent great idea, the adventure itself also her work, I decided to bank the other story and try out a real time, coming to you live, hot off the press account of our amazing Japanese road trip. Finalising the email on the train back to Tokyo, I am happy I did.
Zo and I have been to Japan a couple of times each and its one of our favourite places. We both love how easy it is to get around the large cities with their train and underground systems being so efficient. As easy as it is though, we think the rail means you spend a lot of time underground and miss out on seeing just how actually big and vast the cities spread. Last time we were here, Zoe actually got us a sunset helicopter ride over Tokyo which was a pretty unreal way to take in its utter size.
Our plan this time was to swap the chopper for the most Japanese car I could possibly find and hit the road. We wanted to explore some of the coast line, see some outdoor land marks and end up in Osaka with eyes on the food markets.
Japan seems to be a pretty hot place to visit for Aussies right now, its close, its super cheap with price of Yen at the moment and its also cool as hell. Incase you’re thinking of going, I’ll add a heap of booking details and links along the way for anyone who is interested. So, trying my best to not sound like a travel blogger, lets get into it.
Day 1: Tokyo → Fujikawaguchiko
We picked up our car for the week from central Tokyo station, a Honda N-Box which Zoe quickly named “Nigel”. Zo laughed when I first told her what car I’d booked, hesitant of how small it was, but when it was bought around to us in the hire companies parking lot we couldn’t stop laughing. The rental company, Nippon rentals, couldn’t have been more helpful with the booking (which I had made a mistake with a per - classic Guy) and we were on the road within half an hour. I booked the car (as well as all the train tickets) through the app “Klook” and it cost around $870 for the week. Pulling out into the busy city traffic, we were very pleased with how spacious and comfortable the cockpit of the little N-Box was. Maps on and music up, we were on the road.
We had 120 kilometres to travel to Fujikawaguchiko, a town close to the base of Mt Fuji. We had left most accomodation unbooked for flexibility but I had splurged for the first night, really wanting to stay in a particular Airbnb that caught my fancy. It was a suspended yurt and camp quarters with panoramic views of Mt Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi and I was really looking forward to this one. Zo was happy after loading her bag with road trip snacks from a Family Mart and my only concern was the weather. Apparently it’s not easy to get clear views of Mt Fuji as the area attracts a lot of cloud cover due to the climate, there is 57% chance of clear skies so you have really got to nail the timing to get any view at all.
After crawling through the city, we ended up on the first freeway heading West bound. If you’re going to take a road trip through Japan, be sure to get an ETC card - it’s an electronic tolls collection car that enables you faster entry and exits from freeways. We did not get one and it limited a few of our freeway entrance options, dragging us through a bit more traffic than we liked. Would this ETC card be an issue?
“THERE IT IS!” Zo screamed and I almost swerved across two lanes as my day dreaming was rudely interrupted. As the freeway swept through rolling green hills, Mt Fuji poked her head through gaps in the mountains, still heavily covered in snow and towering with sheer size, it was breathtaking. I had the same feeling as seeing Uluru the first time, something from the natural world so ginormous, its easy to see how these places are deemed holy and worshiped for thousands of years.
We detoured down the famous Honcho Street to get some lunch and take a few pictures but the strip was quite underwhelming. Run down and swarming with tourists groups, we high tailed it up to our accommodation. The N-box purred up with side of the mountain, the tight windy roads taking us up to QOONEL+ camp retreat where our yurt was located. We couldn’t believe how great it was when we arrived, I acted to Zo like I knew it was going to be this good but to be honest I gave myself a pat on the back as I really nailed this one. It would have to be one of the best viewing spots of the mountain, the area super calm and peaceful.
From our deck, the clear view of Mt Fuji and the lake below were interrupted by only pine trees and cherry blossoms. The “no music” rule meant that we could only hear the waterfall in the back ground and the crackle of the fire. We were in heaven. The deck had a fire pit, camp kitchen and a table with a electric blanket so you could stay outside as long as possible during the cold spring evenings. Everything was thought out at the site, with nothing missing, nothing added without a purpose and nothing taking any attention away from the view.
This is the link to the accommodation on Airbnb here - if you’re thinking of making the trip, it was truely worth it. I sadly didn’t accept the offer of the supplied BBQ dinner as we planned on going into town for ramen, but if I’d known how truely nice this place was and how good the facilities were then I definitely would have.
Lunch: Snacks from a Family Mart near Honcho street. 5/10
Dinner: Ramen Fuku Chan. 9/10. A really awesome yet no frills ramen restaurant down by the lake.
Day 2: Fujikawaguchiko → Shimoda
We woke up and Mt Fuji had completely vanished. With the fog that rolled in, you’d be excused if you had any doubt that the mountain even existed. “Maybe she is on vacation” said the young hippy making us a coffee from a cool van built into the side of the hill. We walked around the water fall that we listened to all night before firing up Nigel and heading off toward a town called Shimoda on the Izu peninsula.
Before first picking up the car, we caught up with one of Zoes friends from the Tokyo Nike team and she recommended Shimoda for its relaxed vibe and beautiful beaches, with many little towns built around surf breaks. For anyone that doesn’t know Zoe, she loves surfing more than anything so it was decided on the spot to head to the area. We had booked some accomodation the night before on Airbnb which claimed to be a “ten second walk to the beach”
We detoured around Lake Kawaguchi where we saw Mt Fuji poke her head between the clouds, then through the Aokigahara Forest area, also known as the suicide forest. Unfortunately we didn’t have the time to venture around the area but the roads through made for great driving. There was some form of trail running event happening in the area and all the Japanese runners seemed to really love Zoe hanging fully out of the car going white girl crazy, clapping and cheering “wooo keep going!!! you got this!!!!”
One thing I noticed about Japan that I hadn’t really thought of before was just how green and lush it is. Our three hour drive was mostly through rolling green mountains and hills, the roads winding endlessly through a sea of trees. The forests clung to the steep mountains and the road was made of long sweeping curves, one after the next. After stopping at a small bakery, a strawberry stand and a road house for lunch I was starting to see this trip was as much about food as it was about driving.
We came into Shimoda, checked into the airbnb (which was literally ten seconds walk from the beach) before we took off to find some surf. A beach one headland over called Shirahama had a surf shop that almost seemed to expect us and before we knew it we were in the water. Surfing the small shore break we gazed down the coastline that was littered with surfers and people camped up on the beach and as the sun set, I could tell just how happy Zoe was which in turn made me also very happy.
Breakfast: Lake Bake: 9/10. A cool little bakery on the lake run by a local family.
Lunch: Some random ass road side stop with a food court. 2/10. It was as you’d expect it.
Dinner: Gorosaya. 10/10. We stumbled upon this place as everywhere in town was booked out being a Saturday night. It was authentic and really nice
Day 3. Shimoda.
Day three was spent in Shimoda and exploring the surrounding towns. We explored closer areas by foot and drove around to neighbouring towns, with a fuel station visit a highlight. Not having to leave the car, getting the windows washed and the traffic stopped for you when you leave were all part of an experience that would be ruined in Australia by people too busy and riddled with entitlement.
The N-Box is a funny little car and I have already been trying to convince Zoe to trade in her little Mazda for one. The front bench seat is plush with a big fold down arm rest and the foot well being one large cavity, not two. There is storage compartments everywhere and the car drives quietly and smooth. The wheels are only 14 inches and it would be lucky to be 10 centimetres above the ground, that being said it had no problem sitting at 110km/h on the freeway or climbing the rocky dirt paths where we explored near our first accomodation. Nigel officially rocks.
Taking some time to relax (like we’ve had it so hard!) the day focused on more food, easy exercise and relaxing on our balcony, waiting for another surf in the afternoon. We ate super well this day, ranging from super traditional udon noodles to a japanese guys take on woodfired pizza.
One thing I loved about this area is that it reminded me of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. All day, nice cars and groups of motorcycles packed with camping gear rode up and down the road that hung to the sides of the hills, every cafe and convenience store had groups of friends stretching whilst fuelling up on snacks and coffee. It made me excited for the next Standpipes ride or Thumpers trip. Brook or Elton if you’re reading, this is the first time I’ve considered getting a Harley…
Breakfast: Doug: 9/10. A great little bakery hidden in the tiny beach town run by one guy and we think Doug is names after his dog. One customer allowed in at a time, very popular.
Lunch: Gassou Udon: 10/10. A super traditional udon noodle restaurant in a building that hasn’t changed in over a hundred years.
Dinner: FermenCo: 10/10. A small pizza restaurant right on the beach. Great atmosphere ad stunning view, be sure to book if you want a table.
Day 4. Shimoda → Hamamatsu
We woke early to see if we could squeeze in a sunrise surf before we left for a four hour drive, but the surf gods had other ideas - “flat as a tack” meaning an early check out of the airbnb and getting some kilometres done early .
The day turned sour quickly and we spent most of the drive in the rain. The best part about the N-box’s comfy bench seat was that we could raise the arm rest and Zoe sat closer to me, almost cuddled up as she read out crossword clues for me to try and answer whilst steering the car back through the windy roads. The car, as aerodynamic as a brick, was far from being one with the mountains as we headed West. Coming into Hamamatsu we found a small local sushi place and the food was incredible. The owners who couldn’t speak any english (rather we cant speak Japanese) seemed to have their day made when our Google translate read aloud “This is our favourite meal from our trip” and everybody cheered.
Pulling into the outskirts of town, the beach section of Hamamatsu, we checked for some surf but the water was not looking appealing in the slightest. Like any country, the areas that are far from a busy civilisation can be far from inspiring. Maybe it was because it was gloomy and raining, but it seemed that everywhere we looked was lacking maintenance and care. Every post was rusty, weeds on and in everything, cracks in most bits of roads and cement and houses well overdue for a lick of paint.
That being said, it was appreciated. It can’t all be high tech and sensory stimulating like in Tokyo, or as clean and neat as Shibuya and Shinjuku where we were staying before the road trip. Hell, nothing was going to meet the level of accomodation we had near Mt Fuji. Checking into the accomodation that was an outdoor adventure hostel, we learnt there is a lot Hamamatsu has to offer when its not such horrible weather. This hostel was great, it was called 365BASE and the whole theme is outdoor adventure. You can hire bikes, canoes, electric scooters and camping gear, plus the common area felt like a show room for the brand snowpeak mixed with a vintage camping bazaar (some great inspiration for my camp game back at home - no disrespect to the Denalli tent!)
Hamamatsu is known for their Unagi, or Eel, being number one for quality AND quantity in Japan so we thought we best try some out whilst we were here.
Breakfast: Doug again
Lunch: Sushi Masa: 10/10: As I said our favourite meal of the trip, with the food being as great as the customer experience.
Dinner: Choraku Hamamatsu: 8/10. Everything was Eel. Delicious but maybe too much Eel for me
Day 5. Hamamatsu → Nara.
Leaving early to smash out 3 hours of driving, our “wing it” with the ETC card situation finally caught up with us. So the Electronic Tolls Collection card, or ETC is basically a complicated tolls card linked to a credit card and you cant just buy one somewhere like 7-11. Which is fine, unless your an idiot tourist in a hire car travelling rural Japan with no more than “good morning” and “thank you” in your vocabulary. See unlike in Melbourne where you can still enter tollways and be given a chance to ring a hotline and pay over the phone, pay online or be fined later, some of the Japanese expressways have physical barriers that don’t let you pass unless you have the right card.
Key word: some. For most of the way we have had three lanes of barriers where at least one accepts cash or card for your tolls. Leaving Hamamatsu, we were not as lucky and had trouble accessing the express-way and our 3 hour journey was being re-routed on maps to something like 5 and a half hours if we couldn’t access the road.
Whats the saying? They use the same word for crisis and opportunity in Chinese? Not Japanese unfortunately, so after coming up with a contingency plan, Zoe and I tried to turn this problem it into an adventure. Being quite rural meant there was little english spoken so taking to the Google translate app yet again, we headed in opposite directions. Using the app with service station attendants and a lady from 7-11, we came up with two options that both ended up being wrong anyway. Thirty minutes down the road and with a stroke of luck, we found a cash entrance to the freeway and were back on track.
If you’re going to hire a car in Japan - get the ETC card from the rental company!
Three podcasts later and we rolled into Nara Park, famous for the friendly Deer that roam the area. The park was pretty crowded and my favourite part was when the usually friendly deer take bites at those who don’t follow the feeding etiquette, a pretty clear set of instructions given when you buy the deer crackers.
Nara is a spot definitely worth visiting. Our accomodation was a super traditional hotel with some firm guidelines to ensure the experience is super genuine. The “no shoes inside” rule was one I was happy with, but the strict “NO TATTOOS” in the onsen meant Zoe went by herself before dinner.
The night before we had booked a place based on the food, but the empty and silent venue wasn’t the most fun. So, for dinner in Nara we decided to walk around and choose a restaurant based purely on vibe, which turned out great. A buzzing izakaya den with no other foreigners provided the perfect dinner for our last night of the road trip.
Breakfast: Family mart coffee. 10/10.
Lunch: A selection of small goods from a random oversized roadhouse. 4/10. Why didn’t we learn our lesson last time?
Dinner: Shikamaru. 10/10 - awesome atmosphere and great food. Plus some icey cold draught beers and some tasty sake for Zo.
Day 6. Nara → Osaka and our final day.
Having to get the car back by 10am we left Nara pretty early, dropping Nigel home at the Osaka central station. We were truely sad to leave this great little car behind as we grew very fond of it. Nippon car rentals again could not have been easier, they checked for a full tank of fuel then put us straight into a shuttle bus, we weren’t there for more than five minutes. Back in a big city meant back on the train so our road trip became once again just a trip, we were going to miss that little car.
So if you’re thinking of visiting Japan one day, my advice is definitely do a road trip, that was truely a great way to see a different side of our favourite country. A great mix of site seeing and “off the beaten path” style adventuring. The driving is easy and the food phenomenal with the overall adventure being relatively cheap as well. I’d even consider getting some camping gear next time and spending more time in the lush outdoors.
Also I just want to thank Zoe for the 8 minutes of the trip that she drove, it was a real pleasure to be your passenger princess for that time.
To wrap this up, I asked Zoe what her three top comments or recommendations would be for anyone wanting to hit the road in Japan.
Get the ETC card - more time exploring and less time finding freeway entry points.
Book your route and accomodation on the go - take recommendations from people along the way, stay in places longer if you like them, be flexible!
Get a Honda N-Box - “they are just so cute”. Also she wishes we could extend the road trip to see more and I agree.
