# Roadside station

A roadside station (道の駅, Michi no eki) is a government-designated rest area found along roads and highways in Japan.
In addition to providing places for travelers to rest, they are intended to promote local tourism and trade. Shops may sell local produce, snacks, souvenirs, and other goods. All roadside stations provide 24-hour access to parking, public toilets, directional and tourism information, and other facilities.
As of August 2024, there are 1221 roadside stations across Japan: 128 in Hokkaido, 175 in the Tōhoku region, 188 in the Kantō region, 84 in the Hokuriku region, 136 in the Chūbu region, 158 in the Kansai (Kinki) region, 108 in the Chūgoku region, 91 in Shikoku, and 153 across both Kyushu and Okinawa.

## History

The concept for roadside stations came from a January 1990 symposium held by the Ministry of Construction's Chugoku Regional Construction Bureau: one of the participants suggested that roads could have stations in the same way that railways do. Experiments began in October of 1991 in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, and Gifu Prefecture, and the system for roadside stations was officially established on February 23, 1993. The first registrations were in April of 1993, resulting in 103 initial roadside stations.
On April 1, 2014, the Order on Road Sign, Road Line, and Road Surface Marking was revised to include road signs with directional markers for roadside stations.
On January 30, 2015, a system for "priority roadside stations" was established. The purpose of the system is to provide priority support to roadside stations that are deemed excellent in order to assist with regional revitalization. Priority roadside stations are divided into 3 categories:
* National Model Roadside Stations: roadside stations which continuously demonstrate outstanding regional revitalization abilities;
* Priority Roadside Stations: roadside stations that have excellent plans for regional revitalization, and are expected to be effective in the future with the assistance of priority support;
* Priority Roadside Station Candidates: roadside stations with the potential to become priority roadside stations.
Initially, 6 stations were designated National Model Roadside Stations, 35 were designated Priority Roadside Stations, and 49 were designated Priority Roadside Station Candidates.

### Registered Roadside Stations By Year

| Year | Total Number of Roadside Stations | Registrations (Deregistrations) | Change |
| 1993 | 115 | 115 (0) | |
| 1994 | 175 | 60 (0) | +60 |
| 1995 | 233 | 58 (0) | +58 |
| 1996 | 313 | 80 (0) | +80 |
| 1997 | 390 | 77 (0) | +77 |
| 1998 | 470 | 80 (0) | +80 |
| 1999 | 551 | 81 (0) | +81 |
| 2000 | 610 | 59 (0) | +59 |
| 2001 | 649 | 49 (0) | +49 |
| 2002 | 701 | 52 (0) | +52 |
| 2003 | 743 | 42 (0) | +42 |
| 2004 | 785 | 43 (1) | +42 |
| 2005 | 830 | 45 (0) | +45 |
| 2006 | 845 | 15 (0) | +15 |
| 2007 | 868 | 23 (0) | +23 |
| 2008 | 887 | 42 (0) | +42 |
| 2009 | 917 | 30 (0) | +30 |
| 2010 | 952 | 35 (0) | +35 |
| 2011 | 977 | 25 (0) | +25 |
| 2012 | 996 | 19 (0) | +19 |
| 2013 | 1,014 | 19 (1) | +18 |
| 2014 | 1,040 | 26 (0) | +26 |
| 2015 | 1,079 | 39 (0) | +39 |
| 2016 | 1,107 | 67 (0) | +67 |
| 2017 | 1,134 | 36 (0) | +36 |
| 2018 | 1,145 | 11 (0) | +11 |
| 2019 | 1,160 | 15 (0) | +15 |
| 2020 | 1,180 | 20 (0) | +20 |
| 2021 | 1,193 | 13 (0) | +13 |
| 2022 | 1,198 | 7 (2) | +5 |
| 2023 | 1,209 | 11 (0) | +11 |
| 2024 | 1,221 | 12 (0) | +12 |