{"id":6559,"date":"2026-05-28T07:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=6559"},"modified":"2026-05-28T07:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:00:08","slug":"another-side-of-kyoto-the-prefectures-top-10-road-stations-for-traveling-foodies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=6559","title":{"rendered":"Another side of Kyoto \u2013 The prefecture\u2019s top 10 \u201croad stations\u201d for traveling foodies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

We\u2019re headed to Kyoto today, but not to see the temples or shrines<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Temples and shrines are the first things that come to mind when travelers think of Kyoto<\/strong>, but the prefecture is also a treasure trove of outstanding michi no eki<\/strong>, or \u201croad stations.\u201d<\/strong> These combination roadside shops\/rest areas offer a variety of unique local products, from foods and drinks to handicrafts, and with Kyoto Prefecture\u2019s rich culinary legacies, its road stations include ones in famous green tea-growing regions and fishing ports on the coast of the Sea of Japan.<\/p>\n

Today we\u2019re asking our Japanese-language correspondent Susan<\/strong>, a native of Chiba Prefecture who\u2019s travelled to 850 michi no eki, including all of the ones in Kyoto, for his list of 10 best Kyoto road stations, presented in no particular order.<\/p>\n

1. Ocha no Kyoto Minami Yamashiro-mura<\/strong> (Minami Yamashiro Village)
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

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Minami Yamashiro is the only town in Kyoto Prefecture that\u2019s legally classified as a \u201cvillage\u201d (mura<\/em> in Japanese), and that alone brings a lot of travelers to this road station. Locally grown tea<\/strong> is the star attraction here, and in the attached restaurant you can dine on soba noodles with green tea mixed into their buckwheat flour. Looking for something sweeter? The Muracha<\/strong> (\u201cVillage Tea\u201d) Pudding<\/strong> is not to be missed, with a deep, direct delivery of green tea flavor in every bite.<\/p>\n

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2. Michi no Eki Miyama Fureai Hiroba<\/strong> (Nantan City)
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

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You\u2019ll find this road station on the way to Kayabuki no Sato, a beautifully preserved historic neighborhood with traditional thatched roof Japanese farmhouse architecture. The thing you\u2019ve got to try if you come here is the Miyama Milk<\/strong> from the local dairy, or at least the ice cream, frozen yogurt, or cheese<\/strong> made with it.<\/p>\n

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The gelato is Susan\u2019s personal favorite, rich but with a clean finish, and the lines get long for it on the weekends, but it\u2019s worth the wait.<\/p>\n

3. Michi no Eki Funaya no Sato Ine<\/strong> (Yosa)
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

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On its north side, Kyoto Prefecture stretches all the way to the coast of the Sea of Japan, and that\u2019s where you\u2019ll find the town of Yosa and Ine, a neighborhood of traditional fishermen boathouse homes built out over the water<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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The refreshments on offer here include locally made soba and small-batch sake, but Susan also gives a special mention the hisuku<\/strong>, skewers of dried fish that you can buy from the outdoor Umyado stand to snack on while you admire the scenery.<\/p>\n

4. Michi no Eki Nagomi<\/strong> (Funai)
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

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Heading back into the more mountainous inland, we come to this michi no eki in the town of Funai, situated next to the Yuragawa River<\/strong>. This is a tranquil spot befitting its Nagomi name (which means \u201charmony\u201d), and your heart will feel even more at ease if you\u2019re indulging in a cup of Mont Blanc pudding<\/strong> at the attached Nagomi Cafe.<\/p>\n

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Seasonal highlights include spring strawberries, autumn chestnuts, winter mochi, and in summer, a special \u201cayu garden\u201d<\/strong> where you can experience catching ayu (a kind of river fish) by hand, then having it grilled up by the staff for you to enjoy at its freshest flavor.<\/p>\n

5. Michi no Eki Mizuho no Sato Sarabiki<\/strong> (Funai)
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

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We\u2019re still in Funai for this easy-to-access road station off the the Kyoto Expressway, near where travelers enter the lush countryside of the Tamba Highlands. The Mizuho district is famous for its buckwheat farms, and also for the soba noodles<\/strong> made from the grain, so naturally you can enjoy a bowl of them here, and the hiratake mushrooms<\/strong>, gathered in the local mountains, are delicious too.<\/p>\n

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This road station\u2019s most unique feature, though, is its mini field hockey court<\/strong>. The Mizuho district hosted national field hockey championships during a sports event back in 1988, and the game has remained popular in the area ever since.<\/p>\n

6. Michi no Eki Umi no Kyoto Miyazu<\/strong> (Miyazu City)
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

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Yes, the building itself looks cool, but this one is primarily on the list because it offers a great vantage point for seeing Amanohashidate<\/strong>. Considered one of the three most beautiful views in Japan, Amanohashidate is pine tree-covered sandbar that stretches across Miyazu Bay and is supposed to look like a bridge climbing into the heavens, especially so if you bend over and view it through your legs so that it\u2019s upside down.<\/p>\n

\u25bc Susan and a friend in front of Amanohashidate<\/p>\n

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The road station here has an attached shop with local sake<\/strong> and other souvenirs, but the main appeal really is the view, so make this one a daytime visit.<\/p>\n

7. Michi no Eki Tango Okoku Shoku no Miyako<\/strong> (Kyotango City)
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

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Shoku no Miyako translates to \u201cCapital of Food,\u201d<\/strong> and the scale of this road station certainly warrants that distinction, as its approximately eight times the size of Japan\u2019s famed Koshien baseball stadium<\/strong>. Whether you\u2019re in the mood for Kyoto Tanba Kurowagyu steak<\/strong> or wood-fired pizza, there are restaurants here that are happy to oblige, and big eaters will enjoy the noodle shop with all-you-can-eat udon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With so much to eat, you might want to have two meals here, and there are go-karts, a petting zoo, and even a hotel<\/strong> if you need something to do or somewhere to relax between chow-down sessions.<\/p>\n

8. Michi no Eki Springs Hiyoshi<\/strong> (Nantan City)
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Aside from being valuable parts of public infrastructure, many dams in Japan have become tourist attractions in and of themselves. This road station is situated next to the Hiyoshi Dam<\/strong>, and fatures facilities such as an onsen hot spring bath, heated swimming pool, sauna, and outdoor BBQ spaces<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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If you need provisions, the souvenir shop sells locally sourced mushrooms and eggs<\/strong>, and there\u2019s even a campground with cottages for overnight guests.<\/p>\n

9. Michi no Eki Kyoto Shinkoestumura<\/strong> (Nantan City)
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This road station is right off the Kyoto Jukan Expressway\u2019s Sonobe Interchange, making it super-easy to access while driving across or around Kyoto Prefecture. Locally grown Onshin rice<\/strong> is the pride of the place, and aside from sacks of the rice itself you can taste it in the mochi rice cakes and senbei rice crackers<\/strong> sold in the souvenir shop.<\/p>\n

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This michi no eki also has a good selection of nama yatsuhashi<\/strong>, Kyoto\u2019s representative sweet treat of a folded triangle of soft mochi with sweet red bean paste inside. Granted, you can find nama yatsuhashi at plenty of other places in Kyoto, but this road station\u2019s easy expressway access makes it a very convenient place to pick up an extra box or two on your way home.<\/p>\n

10. Michi no Eki Maizuruko Toretore Center<\/strong> (Maizuru City)
\nWebsite<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And last, we\u2019re back on the north coast of Kyoto Prefecture to stop at Maizuru Port, one of the largest seafood markets along the Sea of Japan<\/strong>. As soon as you step inside, you\u2019ll be surrounded by the bustling energy of merchants hawking fresh catches of fish, crab, and oysters, among other saltwater delicacies.<\/p>\n

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This is basically the Tsukiji of road stations, with delicious snow crab<\/strong> in winter, iwagaki oysters<\/strong> in summer, and buri<\/strong> (yellowtail) in autumn, no matter when you visit, you\u2019ll find something great to eat.<\/p>\n

Photos \u00a9SoraNews24<\/em>
\n\u25cf Want to hear about SoraNews24\u2019s latest articles as soon as they\u2019re published? Follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re headed to Kyoto today, but not to see the temples or shrines. Temples and shrines are the first things that come to mind when travelers think of Kyoto, but…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6559\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}