🌾 Niigata · 2 days
Uonuma, Tokamachi & Ojiya Drive: Koshihikari Rice Country, Terraced Hills and Snow Country Roads
A 2-day Uonuma, Tokamachi and Ojiya drive through Niigata's Koshihikari rice country: terraces, hill villages and an onsen finish, with 6 michi-no-eki.
Uonuma and Tokamachi are the inland half of Niigata that the coast roads miss: a basin of rice fields ringed by mountains, buried in snow for months and green and gold the rest of the year. The south of the basin is where the Uonuma Koshihikari grown here gets its name, and the road north follows the Shinano river valley up through Tokamachi to Ojiya. Michi-no-Eki Mitsumata is the first stop, a small station in the Yuzawa mountains with a restaurant, a cafe, EV charging and free Wi-Fi, and the trailheads for the Shijuhachi falls and the Tashiro Nanatsugama gorge are a short drive away.
From Mitsumata the route runs through Minamiuonuma, where the station has 178 car bays, 13 large bays and a small museum, then into the hills around Tokamachi. Matsudai Furusato Kaikan sits beside the old Matsudai castle site, close to the Bijinbayashi beech forest and the Hoshitoge terraced rice fields, and the thatched hamlet of Oginoshima is a short drive away. Kurosu 10 Tokamachi has an onsen, a museum and 362 car bays, Segae no Sato Senda is a quiet stop in the upper valley, and the last stop, Chijimi no Sato Ojiya, has an onsen, showers and the longest hours on the route, open until 22:00. Six michi-no-eki, in driving order, from the Yuzawa mountains to the Ojiya basin.
The stops, in driving order
- 1 Michi-no-Eki Mitsumata 道の駅 みつまた · Niigata
Michi-no-Eki Mitsumata (道の駅 みつまた) is a government-designated roadside station in 南魚沼郡湯沢町, Niigata, Japan, registered in 2013 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a restaurant, a cafe, a local-products shop, EV charging and free Wi-Fi. There is free parking for about 13 cars and 3 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are 5月-11月9:00-17:00【レストランラストオーダー16:30】 (火曜日定休)、12月-4月10:00-18:00【レストランラストオーダー17:30】(火曜日定休）. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Minamiuonuma, Shin'Etsu Sakae and Minakami Mizu Kikou Kan.
Nearby: ⛰Mt. Yagio (5.1 km) · ⛰Mt. Kirinoto (7.7 km)
- 2 Michi-no-Eki Minamiuonuma 道の駅 南魚沼 · Niigata
Michi-no-Eki Minamiuonuma (道の駅 南魚沼) is a government-designated roadside station in 南魚沼市, Niigata, Japan, registered in 2012 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a cafe, a local-products shop, free Wi-Fi, a tourist-information desk and a museum or gallery. There is free parking for about 178 cars and 13 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are ◆今泉記念館 9:00–17:00 ◆四季味わい館 夏期(5月–11月) 9:00–18:00 冬期(12月–4月）10:00–17:00 ◆ちゃわんめしたっぽ家 夏期(5月–11月) 10:00–18:00 ラストオーダー17:30 冬期(12月–4月) 10:00–17:00 ラストオーダー16:30. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Mitsumata, Kurosu 10 Tookamachi and Shin'Etsu Sakae.
Nearby: 🌄十日町展望台 (5 km) · ⛰Iiji San (5.3 km)
- 3 Michi-no-Eki Matsudaifurusato Kaikan 道の駅 まつだいふるさと会館 · Niigata
Michi-no-Eki Matsudaifurusato Kaikan (道の駅 まつだいふるさと会館) is a government-designated roadside station in 十日町市, Niigata, Japan, registered in 1995 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a restaurant, a cafe, a local-products shop, free Wi-Fi and a tourist-information desk. There is free parking for about 116 cars and 6 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are 8:30–17:00. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Jonnobino Sato Takayanagi, Segae Eno Sato Senda and Kurosu 10 Tookamachi.
Nearby: 🏯松代城 (0.8 km) · 📸美人林 (3.6 km)
- 4 Michi-no-Eki Kurosu 10 Tookamachi 道の駅 クロス10十日町 · Niigata
Michi-no-Eki Kurosu 10 Tookamachi (道の駅 クロス10十日町) is a government-designated roadside station in 十日町市, Niigata, Japan, registered in 1997 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a hot-spring (onsen) bath, a restaurant, a cafe, a local-products shop and EV charging. There is free parking for about 362 cars and 6 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are 9:00–18:00（11月–3月は17：30まで）. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Segae Eno Sato Senda, Matsudaifurusato Kaikan and Jonnobino Sato Takayanagi.
Nearby: 🏯大井田城 (3.8 km) · 🏛星と森の詩美術館 (3.8 km)
- 5 Michi-no-Eki Segae Eno Sato Senda 道の駅 瀬替えの郷せんだ · Niigata
Michi-no-Eki Segae Eno Sato Senda (道の駅 瀬替えの郷せんだ) is a government-designated roadside station in 十日町市, Niigata, Japan, registered in 2000 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a restaurant, a local-products shop, a tourist-information desk, a park and a baby room. There is free parking for about 73 cars and 5 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are 8:00–17:45（施設・季節により異なる）. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Jonnobino Sato Takayanagi, Kurosu 10 Tookamachi and Matsudaifurusato Kaikan.
Nearby: 📸赤谷十二神社の大ケヤキ (0.7 km) · 🏯節黒城 (3.8 km)
- 6 Michi-no-Eki Chijimino Sato Ojiya 道の駅 ちぢみの里おぢや · Niigata
Michi-no-Eki Chijimino Sato Ojiya (道の駅 ちぢみの里おぢや) is a government-designated roadside station in 小千谷市, Niigata, Japan, registered in 1994 as one of the country's official michi-no-eki rest stops for road travellers. On-site you'll find a hot-spring (onsen) bath, a restaurant, a cafe, a local-products shop and showers. There is free parking for about 78 cars and 12 large vehicles. Typical opening hours are 10:00–22:00. Like every michi-no-eki it offers free parking and 24-hour restrooms, making it a reliable stop on a Chubu road trip or campervan tour. It also makes a handy base for reaching nearby stations such as Echigo Kawaguchi, Yunotani and Segae Eno Sato Senda.
Nearby: 🏛うぶずなの家 (11.3 km) · 📸Hasegawa Sake Brewery (12.1 km)
Make this route yours — load all 6 stops into the planner, reorder or remove stops, then open the finished trip in Google Maps.
Customize this route →Onsen baths and beds along this route (Niigata · 10 with onsen / 4 with rooms)
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Chijimino Sato Ojiya 道の駅 ちぢみの里おぢや · Ojiya, Niigata · on the route -
Kurosu 10 Tookamachi 道の駅 クロス10十日町 · Tōkamachi-shi, Niigata · on the route -
Jonnobino Sato Takayanagi 道の駅 じょんのびの里高柳 · Kashiwazaki, Niigata · ~5 km off the route -
Kaze No Oka Yoneyama 道の駅 風の丘米山 · Kashiwazaki, Niigata · ~24 km off the route -
Yoshikawa Touji No Sato 道の駅 よしかわ杜氏の郷 · Jōetsu-shi, Niigata · ~24 km off the route -
Kuni Ue 道の駅 国上 · Tsubame, Niigata · ~40 km off the route -
Umiterasu Nadachi 道の駅 うみてらす名立 · Jōetsu-shi, Niigata · ~47 km off the route -
Tainai 道の駅 胎内 · Tainai, Niigata · ~101 km off the route -
Sekigawa 道の駅 関川 · Sekikawa, Niigata · ~109 km off the route -
Asahi 道の駅 朝日 · Murakami, Niigata · ~125 km off the route
♨ All 143 michi-no-eki with an onsen bath🛏 All 81 michi-no-eki with rooms on site♨🛏 All 46 michi-no-eki with both onsen and rooms📍 Every michi-no-eki in Niigata
Route tips
- Start from Echigo-Yuzawa Station, which has rental counters, or from Yuzawa IC on the Kan-Etsu Expressway. Mitsumata is the farthest stop from the main roads, so go there first, in the morning, and work north.
- Two of the six have an onsen: Kurosu 10 Tokamachi (9:00–18:00, 17:30 from November to March) and Chijimi no Sato Ojiya (10:00–22:00, with showers). Neither has rooms, so book the night in Tokamachi or Yuzawa and use Chijimi no Sato as an evening bath on the way out.
- Hours are short on the hill stops. Matsudai Furusato Kaikan is 8:30–17:00, Segae no Sato Senda 8:00–17:45 and Mitsumata 9:00–17:00 from May to November (10:00–18:00 December to April, closed Tuesdays). Plan the Hoshitoge terraces and Bijinbayashi around Matsudai for the morning.
- Large-vehicle room is best at Minamiuonuma (13 large bays, 178 cars) and Chijimi no Sato Ojiya (12 large bays). Mitsumata has only 3 large bays. EV charging is at Mitsumata and Kurosu 10 Tokamachi. This is among the snowiest ground in Japan: studless tyres or chains from December to March, and some hill roads close in winter.
Before you drive
- Can you drive in Japan? License rules by country
- Renting a car in Japan: the complete guide
- Can you sleep overnight at a michi-no-eki?
FAQ — Uonuma & Tokamachi
How many days do you need for the Uonuma & Tokamachi route?
2 days is a comfortable pace: roughly 90 km of driving with 6 michi-no-eki stops along the way. You can compress it, but the stops are the point.
Where does the route start and end?
It starts at Echigo-Yuzawa, Niigata (Joetsu Shinkansen or Kan-Etsu Expressway Yuzawa IC) and ends at Ojiya, Niigata (Ojiya IC on the Kan-Etsu Expressway). Load all 6 stops into the free MichiStops route planner to reorder, add or remove stops, then open the finished trip in Google Maps.
When is the best season to drive this route?
Year-round; rice terraces are green in summer and gold in September–October, and the whole area is heavy-snow country from December to March.
Do I need to rent a car?
Yes — michi-no-eki are roadside stations, realistically reachable only by rental car or campervan. Most visitors can drive in Japan with a 1949-convention International Driving Permit; check the license rules for your country before booking. License rules by country →
Can I sleep overnight at the michi-no-eki on this route?
Resting overnight in your vehicle is tolerated at most michi-no-eki, but tents, awnings and open-air cooking are not allowed. Read the overnight-stay guide for the etiquette. Overnight-stay guide →