Sano Service Area (Inbound)

Parking area with a lodge hotel

Parking area on the Tohoku expressway heading into Tokyo. There is a small hotel, more like a lodge, in this parking area. There is a comfortable restaurant as well as take out eateries. The take out eateries include three food vans, one of which sells pretty decent gyoza (dumplings). The service area is known for its "Sano Ramen" and it tastes very good. The restaurant is relatively well priced given its convenience. They have a nice kids meal that comes on an Anpanman plate. There are lots of the usual facilities you find at a parking / service area: toilets, bins, vending machines, smoking area, small green area to stretch your legs. There are plenty of car parking spots. You can see Mt Fuji, weather permitting, from the small green area behind the lodge hotel. The opposite direction's parking area is actually right beside this one; you can go down a stairs to it. It has a small rabbit hutch. Sano parking areas are a good place to break up a long journey on the Tohoku expressway.