Hello!
This might be a dumb question but here goes! I am trying to decide how I want to go from Sendai to Tokyo for a couple of days in December. I am traveling with one of my kids who needs to go to the bathroom often so the bus is out unless I can find one with a toilet.
In the past we’ve used the Shinkansen but I didn’t know if it might just be cheaper to drive myself. We have a decent car and I don’t mind driving. However, the place I’m staying doesn’t have parking available.
Should I just suck it up and take the train? Is there a place to park in Tokyo for more than a day at a time?
Thanks in advance.
9 comments
Yes there are plenty of parking in Tokyo.
Lots of paid lots (not cheap), but do the math to see if it’s worth it for your situation.
A car might be more convenient if you have a child, but depending on where you are staying, parking might be expensive. Try to find a parking spot that has a fixed maximum rate for the day.
Google Maps can tell you parking locations.
There are Times lots all over Japan. Most have a daily limit (MOST – check before you park). The daily limit will depend on location and desirability of the parking space. Check the spots near your hotel.
https://times-info.net/P13-tokyo/
For parking, there are plenty of private car parks and most will have a daily rate – not sure on the rules of keeping vehicles there overnight or for more than one day. Availability at a certain time will vary by area – expect to have to hunt for a space in central areas which will of course be the most expensive. The app PPPark! can find car parks and costs near a specific location. Akippa is a service which matches private property owners who want to rent a space with drivers (never used it but seems quite a few locations).
I have driven Tokyo to Sendai a number of times and it always feels like a loooong and tiring drive and it’s fairly monotonous. Many sections of highway between cities can be quite slow going.
Personally I would either fly or get the shinkansen depending on final destination.
On weekdays, Parking in Tokyo parking lots during the day (8am to 6pm) can be absurdly expensive 500yen for 20 mins etc) while overnight (ie. 10pm to 8am) can be absurdly cheap. Large, Higher end hotels also have parking but also not cheap.
You also have to be careful of some the public indoor/underground lots which close at 6pm or 8pm and won’t let you remove your car until morning – for an additional fee of course.
I’d take the shinkansen and then if you really need a car there are car sharing services like Times or Careco. But the state of Tokyo roads these days w more cyclists and cops ticketing u for almost any infraction makes it tough if u don’t know where you’re going.
Toilets are everywhere in Tokyo…any bldg with bars, coffee shops or restaurants, aswell as hotels etc will have public toilets and all the major stations do as well although sometimes u need to enter the kaisatsu access only area.
In my experience, Highway buses tend to stop at rest areas quite often, it mightn’t be much different from driving yourself (although of course you’d have the ability to leave the highway in an emergency if you had a car). You could perhaps check where they stop before you buy tickets.
Highway busses I have taken have all had toilets.
It’s 3000-and-something yen for 24 hours parking in Roppongi Hills, or a city owned parking lot nearby in Hiroo I can’t remember the name of. That’s probably the cheapest you’ll get and guarantee that there will actually be a space.
These are parking garages though, so you can’t park then go back and forth, your car is locked in until you need to drive off again.