About Japanese Expressways and Service Areas (SA) - Why our family can drive long distances with children

My Family's Car Life

Highway with my second daughter

The other day, I was at my monthly tradition of "Visiting the graves of both familiesWe drove down the highway to the cemetery to go to "the Recently, I have been taking my 2-year-old daughter along with me on the way."I'm hungry," "I have to pee," "I want some juice.Each time I have to stop the car at a SA or PA, it takes me 1.5 times longer than when I go alone because of the time it takes me to get there.(It's a real pain in the ass.)

However, my second daughter seems to like visiting the graves, she will clean and water the graves, and when she leaves, she says, "Grandma and grandpa, I'll be back!I was so happy to see them waving to the graves....I guess my ancestors will be very disappointed if I don't take my second daughter with me every time.I think, "I'm going to be there every time," so I try to go with them every time these days.

When traveling like this with a 2-year-old child, I am very thankful that Japan's expressways have SAs and PAs at key locations.

Especially the new SAs that have been built recently.It is as beautiful and varied as if it were a combination of a food court and convenience store in an ion mall!I am excited just by entering the building. I am especially thankful for the "restrooms," especially with children in tow.

Toilets in Japanese SAs are spacious and numerous. They are also invariablyPrivate restrooms with attached diaper changing areas are available.My second daughter still wears diapers. Our second daughter still wears diapers, so as a parent, I am quite grateful to be able to change her diaper at the SA and dump it directly into the toilet before leaving.

Also, more and more SAs have nursing spaces these days. Amazing...!

Also in Japan, SA has aLots of souvenirs on sale.I am also glad to know that I am not the only one. My family is not in the habit of buying souvenirs when we travel, and(Maybe I just don't have many friends I can give it to.)."I keep thinking I'll buy it later and then forget about it.I often stop at the SA on my way home to buy local souvenirs, which is honestly a big help.

I remember once, I went to Nagoya on business and completely forgot to buy souvenirs for my children on the way home. On the way there, I found a "I'm sorry, but I'm sorry.Oh shit!Otsu, realizing that "the(Shiga Prefecture)I stopped at an SA in Nagoya, where they were selling Nagoya souvenirs, so I was able to buy a perfect gift (lol).

Recently, I would like to visit Takarazuka Kita SA, which was newly built by Shin Meishin, because I heard that it looks like an outlet store and has a very well-equipped kid's space.I heard Takarazuka Kita SA is really nice.I said.

I won't go. It's too crowded, I don't like it (-_-)

I have not been able to go yet because I was told to (blast).

Service Area Conditions in Germany

A few years ago, I drove on the autobahn in Germany. The number of SAs was very small for the distance, and the feeling of SAs was so different from Japan. Most of them wereThe store looks like something between a convenience store and a kiosk.It was dark and small, and although there was space for refreshments, the variety was quite small.

In addition, the restrooms were dirty, and there was a charge for them, so I did not feel inclined to casually stop at SAs. Some SAs were as spacious and well-equipped as restaurants, but most of them were smaller and dirtier than PAs.

Thanks to Japanese sa...

It is said that "Japanese highways are full of cars driving slowly in the passing lane" or "German highways are easy to drive because the manners of the Germans, such as giving way quickly when a fast car comes up behind, are widespread. But on the other handIt is hard to find a country overseas that has such a wide variety of service areas like Japan.I also think it might be.

In fact, my wife and I took our two small children to Fuji Speedway and back.(Approx. 1,000 km)The Porsche is comfortable to drive, of course, but the performance of the Porsche is also very important.SAs on Japan's highways are well stocked.This is significant.

There are service areas and parking areas at key points, clean toilets, diapers can be changed in the toilets, food courts have children's lunch menus, some SAs have playgrounds, souvenir tasting is fun, and so on. The SAs are supported in large part by the SAs.

In this way, I hope we can enjoy our own car life on the highways of every country, as they all have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Mina.

Mother of three children, and the owner of the Porsche blog "A Porsche Came to Our House". Until a few years ago, I was not interested in cars at all, but when my husband bought a Porsche, I became...

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  1. PorscheDreamer

    Hello.

    Our children (in the past) have slept through the entire car ride since they were small children, so they have not experienced much difficulty in doing anything.
    Still, I think that SA has improved a lot in recent years. In the past, I had a problem when I ordered a children's menu at a restaurant in one of the SAs and took one bite and didn't eat any more. I took one bite for the sake of trying it, and to tell you the truth, it tasted bad. I remember immediately saying, "You don't have to eat this," but I don't remember what I did after that. After that, I may have eaten many homemade lunches.

    This may be off topic, but is the last Super Aguri F1 car on display at Suzuka SA? It is nostalgic.

    The major difference between the Autobahn and Japan is that on the Japanese highways, there are toll booths, so you basically never get off the train until you reach your destination, whereas on the Autobahn, there are no toll booths, so you can go anywhere along the way. And so far, it's free. In my experience last year, it is true that you have to pay to use the restrooms, but it seems that some restaurants give you a free ticket if you go to the restaurant first. I didn't know that, so I went to the restroom first.

    • Mina.Mina.

      PorscheDreamer.

      >My children (in the past) have slept through the entire car ride since they were small children, so they have not experienced much difficulty with anything.
      I envy you (laugh). My children are already really noisy all the time, as if they get excited (laugh), but the return trip is a little better.

      Autobahn, oh by the way, when you went to the bathroom you got a free restaurant voucher!
      It somehow brought back memories.

      Highways are really different around the world.
      I was reminded once again that I would like to drive more on various roads in other countries.