tripitaka 0 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 The government announced this as part of an economic stimulus package. Apparently it's only for use on weekends. Very good news for car owning skiers I guess. Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Yes indeed!!! Link to post Share on other sites
wattiewatson 0 Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 im not saying it wouldnt save you a ton of money compared to current prices. But its still Y1,000. i think one of the most overpriced things about japan are the roads Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 ww - have to disagree with you there - think the toll roads in Japan are awesome. Recently went to Fukushima by toll road, only took 3.5 hours from Yokohama and that was on a weekend. The only place we got stuck in was the area after the daisan - around SW Tokyo - and the start of the Tohoku Toll road in Tokyo. Everything before and after that was clear sailing, so to speak. Although it cost 6k one way, hearing that price has dropped on weekends to 1k, thats a bargain for those roads, especially for us Tokyoites and Yokohamians (I made that last one up!) - to go skiing and boarding on the cheap. And if you're like me, and go in a group, that makes it much cheaper than taking the shinkansen now as well, considering the price of petrol has dropped to around 135yen a litre for regular. Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Good thing that the gas dropped again to last years prices. Winter is the time I use the car the most. Link to post Share on other sites
egglesby 1 Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 They are good - but, remember, they should be because they are very expensive. And you might expect there to be more than 2 (or even just 1) lanes as there are in many places. Link to post Share on other sites
Matt 0 Posted November 2, 2008 Share Posted November 2, 2008 hmmm...pity they didn't make the trains cheaper instead. Lots of CO2 gonna be released this year in Japan... Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Originally Posted By: Matt hmmm...pity they didn't make the trains cheaper instead. Lots of CO2 gonna be released this year in Japan... Damn politicians. Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 I know a fair few places where the expressway is just 1 lane "wide". Link to post Share on other sites
keba 0 Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Without trying to throw the thread too far off-track, are there a lot of toll roads between Sapporo and Rusutsu or Furano? We will be hiring a car for our trip, and the weekend ETC might be the way to go, if holidaying foreigners can access the scheme, that is. Link to post Share on other sites
axellieb 0 Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Between Sapporo and Niseko / Rusutsu there are no toll roads (except maybe around Sapporo for a few kilometers). Between Sapporo and Furano there is a stretch of expressway you could use but it's not that long either. Rental cars often have a ETC device installed so you can slide in your own card. HOWEVER, all ETC cards I know are based on a credit card that is issued in Japan. You need to ask the credit card company to issue the ETC card to you. I just tried to find some info on the 1000 yen offer but I cannot find anything (and I do read Japanese). Link to post Share on other sites
keba 0 Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Thanks for the info. I've got a couple of months until the trip, so I might make some enquiries. Link to post Share on other sites
wattiewatson 0 Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Originally Posted By: RobBright ww - have to disagree with you there - think the toll roads in Japan are awesome.....Although it cost 6k one way, hearing that price has dropped on weekends to 1k, thats a bargain for those roads Dont disagree that they are good but but dude, 6,000 yen one way is pretty steep for a toll. Pretty sure there are some kickbacks going on in there. I would usually take the toll roads for a journey over 2 hours. Less than 2 hours i would go local. I went on them long distance, Nagano to Shikouku, we had 6 people in the van and still felt it in the wallet. Its not like the gas isnt being taxed. Matt Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 Must agree, nice as they are they are wayyy expensive. Wonder how much cheaper it would take for them to get busy and then chocca like parts of the UK motorway system. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I think only four or five expressways break even. It's just the main ones like the Tomei and the Meishin. Their original charter said they'd be returned to the public once the construction costs had been covered, but they've ended up subsidizing all the other ones in inaka. Most of the inaka ones are incredible wastes of money. They're a pleasure to use though because there's noone on them. FWIW, once you get north of Newcastle, the main road to Scotland is a one-lane A-road with no central reservation that jams up with motorhomes and caravans in summer. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Originally Posted By: Mr Wiggles I think only four or five expressways break even. It's just the main ones like the Tomei and the Meishin. Their original charter said they'd be returned to the public once the construction costs had been covered, but they've ended up subsidizing all the other ones in inaka. Most of the inaka ones are incredible wastes of money. They're a pleasure to use though because there's noone on them. FWIW, once you get north of Newcastle, the main road to Scotland is a one-lane A-road with no central reservation that jams up with motorhomes and caravans in summer. Not totally accurate, only from the Newcastle area is it a 1 lane A-road. Down the west coast from Glasgow and heading towards Manchester its Motorway. The A9 North, from Perth up the spine of Scotland (thru some awesome scenery) towards Inverness is also a 1 lane road, altho there are plans afoot to change this to dual carriageway. Its a pain in the ass if there are roadworks (and there always are!!) Link to post Share on other sites
moloneb3 0 Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 How do you get the ETC card? Also, does it apply if you pay at the gate? Is it 1000JPY also? Link to post Share on other sites
ShinyDiscoBall 2 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 M6 up to Carlisle and then the Msomethingelse up to Glasgow. Isn't that a 2 laner for at least part of the way? Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 2 laner as in a Dual carriageway or do you mean 1 lane in either direction? Pretty sure its at least a dual carriageway Link to post Share on other sites
2pints-mate 0 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 North of Carlsile the M6 turns into the A74(M) dual carriageway (check out the trendy M in brackets). Somewhere south of Glasgow, at Junction 13 near Abington, it turns into the M74. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 thought so...cheers 2pints Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 My brother lives in Aberdeen and uses that road all the time. Its not "north of Newcastle" though. You wouldn't use it to go to Edinburgh. Newcastle to Carlisle is sixty miles due west. Anyway, the basic point was that there are major regions like Lothian (700,000) and Tyne and Wear (1,100,000) joined with a simple A road. Compared to that, Japanese highways with massive long tunnels and mile after mile of elevated sections for next to no traffic are a huge gift to the motorist, even when there is only one lane. They may make (regional) political sense, but its economic madness to build them. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Obviously you wouldn't go from Newcastle to Edinburgh, via Carlisle. Just pointing out that there are roads going North that are dual carriageways Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 Is it 1000yen on weekends from now? Or or this something planned for the future? Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Good question. I haven't heard details. Anyone. Link to post Share on other sites
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