The One-Day Road Trip
First, you will need to set on your way with no real plan, and stop at the first seven-eleven after only being on the road for ten minutes…this is customary. Then you are ready to maybe glance at your road map, if you have one, and make some kind of rough plan as to where you are headed. For me, the one-day road trip always involves beer, onigiris, surfing and onsens. And I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my free days off….but we are all different aren’t we!
If you are like me, then you may find yourself heading down south to the Boso Peninsula, where you will no doubt stop at several combinis on the way, stocking up on Kirin, Snickers, daifuku and surf wax. After a couple of hours, you will stop off on the side of the road and check the surf, and no doubt don your wetsuit and hit the waves. After surfing, you re-trace your steps, stopping off at the same combinis on the way home, and jumping into the nearest onsenA hot spring, often used for bathing. Bathing facilities are often, but not always, communal. May be outdoor or indoor. you can find. Once you are completely refreshed, you may chose to top the entire day off with a delicious serving of sashimiFresh, raw seafood sliced into bite-sized pieces and served with soy sauce, wasabi, and ginger. and tempuraDeep fried seafood and vegetables that have been dipped in batter made from water, flour, and eggs. at your favourite restaurant.
Now, you have yourself a great one-day road trip. And you could have spent your free day sitting at home watching baseball, or spending all your money cruising around Tokyo shop hopping…not that these aren’t fun things to do!
Seriously though, when you do get a day off and you want to try something new, jump in the car and head off for a day trip. You don’t have to hit the coast, the mountains are equally as beautiful, but I recommend that you do make an effort to see as much as you can of Japan. It is a unique country and is worth seeing as much as you can.
| 
| 
