Ooya Parking Area Outbound (Bound for Tohoku)

Parking area with Stamina Kun, Skyberry Popcorn and Tonari No Totoro Goods

Ooya is a small parking area in Tochigi on the Tohoku Expressway heading away from Tokyo toward Tohoku. We were just stopping off for a leg stretch, which Ooya isn't really suited to as they don't have a good area to walk around. However, we were pleasantly surprised by some unexpected finds. The first thing that caught our eye was the Tonari No Totoro shop, which is easy to spot with Totoro and some friends sitting outside. You can sit beside them to get a photo take, but there is a sign to take care you don't knock them over. The shop is called High Chara station and they sell Ghibli, Hello Kitty, Anpanman and Tomica goods. Another neat find was Stamina Kun (only in Japan), a statue out the front promoting the food I guess. The sign beneath him says he's featured on TV, this does not surprise me at all! The parking area also proudly promotes that it is a seller of Skyberry Popcorn (strawberry flavoured) and that it is the only parking area that stocks the popular treat with a huge fan base. The parking area has loads of benches outside as well as some indoor seating. There is a great selection of vending machines. They sell decent ice-cream and homemade onigiri from the kiosk at the front of the building. There is a Doutor coffee shop and a restaurant beside it. They have parking for 55 large vehicles and over a hundred cars. There are 5 car spots for wheelchair users or lower mobility patrons. There are 30 toilets for men, 30 for women. The webpage is currently only available in Japanese through the NEXCO website.