On several of our previous car trips, we learned about the valuable nature of ETC service and parking areas. They were great places to park and spend a night in the car. Many of the larger ones had 24 hour restaurants, shops, and convenience stores. Some of them even had shower and laundry facilities. We would stay at many of them during our New Year’s Road Trip in Japan.

We wanted to get an early start to our trip. So, we decided to leave Friday night after work. We got off at 16:40 and rushed home to finish packing. We were able to hit the road by 18:30 and made our way south. Fortunately, traffic was really good, but the constant rain did make the drive a bit more challenging. We powered through and were able to make good time. This was despite getting a little lost in Tokyo after taking a wrong turnoff and then missing an exit.

We got into the Suruga Bay Numazu Service Area around 22:30. We got a quick bite to eat at the attached 24 hour Ministop. After, we stopped by the restrooms to brush our teeth before heading to the car to set up for the night.

Car Setup

Our car setup was a semi-double mattress placed on some elevated platforms that we purchased from Amazon. They were specifically designed for our car and gave us a decent amount of storage underneath. Winter was in full swing, so we made do with a large insulated blanket that we used as a base layer to sleep on. Our main layer was a blanket that was originally meant for a kotatsu. We had some back up blankets that we just threw out on top for added insulation. It was more than enough to keep us warm despite the temperature in the car dipping below 0 C. To cover the windows we ordered these plastic black shades that stuck to the windows with suction cups. They gave us almost total privacy during the night. We decided to splurge and bring our normal sleeping pillows with us.

During the night we moved our duffel bags and some Muji storage crates to the front seats. During the day we laid them out on our bed. We pushed our seats forward a bit to give me some extra leg room. I’m 171 cm tall and the length of the bed without the seats pushed forward was 173 cm. Pushing the seats forward gave us an additional 10 cm of clearance. We were seasoned pros by that time, and were able to set the car up in under 10 minutes.

Final Thoughts

I’m really glad we left Friday night. It gave us a nice head start on our New Year’s Road Trip in Japan and it helped break up the driving. The investment in the additional sleeping platform, the kotatsu blanket, and our normal pillows allowed us to get a good nights rest. The sleep we got was comparable to what we might get in our bed at home. We woke up the next day ready to continue our New Years Road Trip.

More to Come…

*Click Here for Day #2 of our New Year’s Road Trip in Japan.