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Chuo Freeway / Traffic Jams / Rent-a-car Important note: I have some bad news:
Saturday July 29 happens to be the first day of summer
holidays in all of Japan, and even without accidents caused
by careless or inexperienced drivers, traffic jams on the
Tokyo end of the Chuo Freeway are a certainty. There is
a major bottleneck in the freeway at the Kawaguchiko exit
(where the majority of cars turn off for the Mt. Fuji
lakeside cottage country), but once this bottleneck is
passed it should be relatively smooth driving up to
Matsumoto.
The highway to
Matsumoto is well built and easy to drive. The
Chuo
Freeway
(Chuo Kosoku Doro) goes directly from Tokyo up to
Okaya (180 km) where it then continues up to
Matsumoto and Azumino (35 km) as the
Nagano
Freeway
(Nagano Kosoku Doro). On a regular day without
traffic, one can expect to travel to Matsumoto
easily in 2.5 hours. The highway is a tollroad, and
the toll is 4,850 yen one way from Tokyo. The best
exit for the wedding ceremony is to get off the
highway at the Toyoshina interchange, one
exit NORTH of Matsumoto. For information
on the highway, try out the following sites: There is also a
page you can use to check out the expected traffic
jam conditions: About the expected traffic jams: On July 29, the expected traffic jam between the first toll booth on the highway (Takaido) and Otsuki (an exit about 1/3 of the way to Matsumoto) is expected to be approximately 50 km in length. This will add approximately 2.5 hours on top of the 2.5 hour typical trip time, making it 5 hours in total. Below are the expected traffic jam lengths in kilometers, with expected point to point travel times as provided by the Japan Highway Authority:
Rent-a-Car If you were planning to come to Matsumoto by car because of the convenience, I highly recommend that you instead come by train to Matsumoto and then rent a car for a day or two in Matsumoto.  Car rentals are possible in Japan. Toyota, Mazda, and Nissan all have their own car rental services available. I have used Toyota rent a car at times, but have recently found the Eki-Mae rent-a-car to be more economical and convenient. Rates are approximately 8,000 yen per day for a small car. For the Matsumoto Station Eki-Mae rent-a-car call: 0263-32-4690 The Eki-Mae rent-a-car home page can be found at: http://www.ekiren.co.jp/ (in Japanese) |
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