This is also a controversial topic among Japanese. The rules of the parking areas in the highways and the michi-no-eki do not allow car camping, but allow "resting" for safe driving. But if you are very obviously sleeping overnight in your car for 8h, will the staff actually bother you about it?
I worry mostly because instead of black curtains, I bought silver cushioned sheets to cover the windows. It's reflective and very obvious from outside, so any staff would notice it easily.
Any tips about places to park and sleep quietly when traveling without making a nuisance to anyone? A toilet nearby is a must. I know a few fish markets and large michi-no-eki with onsens do allow it, but these are not so easy to come by. Any website with maps and tips on car-camping?
by AbjectAmpole
14 comments
Just sleeping in your car overnight I don’t think they will care, longer than a day or two they might have an issue.
Just search for a campground on Google maps.
There are tons of people who block their windows off with curtains/silver sheets/etc. at SAs and michi-no-eki’s and sleep overnight. Even RV’s/campers. Move away from the front of the building and noone will bother you with the possible exception of if they need to plow the parking lot first thing in the morning in snow country.
Where you do run into trouble is if you pull out a tent/bivy while motorcycling and decide you want to rest a bit before heading on. If you’re in plain view they’ll bother you rarely. Most of the time though as long as you’re not like camping on the sidewalk they’ll leave you be.
I sleep overnight at roadside stations all the time. Expressway ones are great, I’ve had problems with bike gangs at public ones. But, still sleep in my car at both frequently.
Fujikawaguchiko Lawson’s parking lot. /s
I’ve owned a camping car for over a year now with almost weekly trips and basically do 99% of my sleeping in Michi-no-ekis and highway parking areas and I’ve never been bothered.
I think the distinction between “Car Camping” is if you were to actively start setting up chairs and a table and stuff. But if you’re just inside your own car chilling/sleeping, nobody gives a shit.
I’ve car camped at Shonan port lighthouse parking a few times. You can’t leave the lot (the car) after 930 and I don’t know if it’s actually allowed but a few people do it and spend the night in their cars and either fish in the morning or drive off at 530. It isn’t free parking but I’ve never paid more than 2000 yen for over night and leaving the next day in the afternoon. Also people who have stayed overnight when I was there usually had drinks in the car and weren’t a nuisance
Edit it’s the parking lot at the end of the road nearest the lighthouse. You can’t miss it because it’s a dead end
I took a month-long roadtrip across japan and slept at michi-no-eki parking practically everyday in the car. zero fucks were given. tons of cars were doing same thing.
I done a lot of car camping throughout the season when I was living in Ishikawa. Mainly I rely on this car camping location website that’s contributed by a lot of Japanese. There you can check the rating and review of each michi-no-eki, how quiet are them, whether they have onsen nearby, etc.
https://syachuhaku.fxtec.info/index.php?車中泊マップ（近畿、東海、北陸）
There’s a lot of website that rates the onsen around JP that I also use to plan road trips
I live near a Michi-no-eki. Every single day I’m there after the snow melt there is someone in the carpark camping. It’s always camper vans, side doors open, but curtains covering the entrance. Also, never anything outside of the car. My guess is keep it inside the car and no one will care.
Wow, I never heard that car-camping was discouraged in those places. I would do that regularly pre-COVID, with silver-backed mats in the windows.
https://preview.redd.it/sn6mlzgn054d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=28a5ed0b013a23999893ebd8d4908535f0a89b79
I’ve spent a *lot* of time car camping in Japan (in a lil’ kei car, to boot!) , and I’ve only ever *once* been bothered about it (at a Lawsons, bc I’d inadvertently parked in the employee parking [I think–my Japanese was not perfect at the time, and I was half-asleep]). They just asked me to change spots.
For michi-no-ekis, not only have I had no trouble car camping, I’ve literally set up a tent (when hiking, not driving) and had no issues (granted, I did it in a very out-of-the-way spot, and only from 11pm~7am).
Among “developed nations”, the acceptance of public sleeping is one of the under-appreciated truly “Japanese” traits.
some convenience stores are set up for truckers to catch some shut eye. They have massive car parks and very long parking spaces. You can sleep at those but be quiet or your soon hear from the drivers. Refrigerated trucks will have an engine running constantly but not too loudly.
The only time I ever camped in a car (and not an actual campsite) was at a park in Kawaguchiko, next to the Stella Theater, to watch some comets. It was absolutely fine and nobody said anything to us about it.
In case you are looking for a very specific place.
[This custom Google map](https://goo.gl/maps/EE9mRDE9LejLwnii8) contains layers for Michi-no-eki and free campsites.