The parking lot was pretty small and when we arrived at 8:45, there were only a few spots left. We learned later that there were five other supplementary parking lots with a combined space for an additional 124 vehicles. Combined with the 58 spaces in the main lot, it came out to a reasonable 182 spaces in total. Most of the supplementary lots were a short walking distance from Roadside Station Nikko.

Within the greater roadside station complex, there was also a multipurpose event hall, a museum dedicated to Japanese composer Toru Funamura who was born in Nikko, and a 7/11 convenience store. This was a lot to pack into such a tiny space. The 7/11 surprised us as they are direct competitors with the roadside station and surely chip away at its overall sales. Typically, roadside stations like to maintain a monopoly on the goods and services that are sold within their target area.

We stopped by the tourist information center to pick up a manhole card and take a look at their tourism pamphlets. We were super disappointed to find that they had run out of them. As a conciliation, they did give us copies of their (bridge cards) which was another series of collectable cards featuring the water infrastructure of the given area.

We then headed over to the main building. Outside they had a nice selection of plants for sale. They even had kokedama which we had recently made at the Ibaraki Urban Green Festival in Mito. We were surprised at how reasonably priced most of the plants were.

Roadside Station Nikko Local Products Store

We headed inside. The general layout of the building was a large souvenir shop in the middle with supplementary shops and booths on the outside. It was still early, but the shops were beginning to fill up with customers. They had a large selection of fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables. They were also well stocked on their regional specialties, which included yuba (tofu skin), senbei (rice crackers), Nikko Rusk (essentially a sweet flavored crouton) to name just a few.

While walking around we found this famous eki-ben (special station bento) for sale. It was a staple on the SL Taiju (special steam powered locomotive train) which ran from Tobu Nikko Station to Kinugawa Onsen Station. All the contents were delcious. We were surprised with the variety of flavors and textures they were able to cram into such a small bento. The highlight was a commemorative spoon shaped like a coal shovel that was included in the bento.

We also passed a number of refrigerated coolers where they had a variety of goods for sale. We saw a number of marinated vegetables, bentos, and other prepared foods. As we were walking by, some locally produced fruit juices caught our eye. We decided to try a bottle of both their peach and apple juices. Both were really delicious. They had a very lite, but fruity taste and a fragrant smell.

It was still pretty early and we were a little short on time, so we decided to pass on getting any food. They had a number of options from a quick service restaurant, to a good selection of prepared foods, to a delcious looking gelato and waffle place. When we come back, we’d like to try a couple of their options.

Final Thoughts

We enjoyed our time at Roadside Station Nikko. The parking situation was a little stressful since we didn’t know about the supplemental lots. If the main lot had been filled when we went, I’m not sure we would have found out about the extra lots. Other than the parking, the main building was modern, updated, and packed with cool and interesting things. We can’t wait to come back.

More to Come…

Here is the link to their website.