Before you go
This site offers information based on guidance from public bodies, expressway companies and others, as a starting point for planning your trip (as of October 2026; it isn’t an explanation of the law). How road closures are announced and where the notices appear differ by region and by road, and they can change, so before you set off, check the latest details in the official information listed at the end of this article. If you actually run into trouble in the snow, follow the instructions of the police and road staff, and the guidance of the company you rented from.
On a day when a heavy-snow notice is out, swap the day you cross a mountain pass with a day you walk around town. If you go in spring, the mountain road in Hachimantai that was closed all winter opens, and you can drive between walls of snow.
Roads in Japan can close in winter. But many of the roads that may close, including roads closed ahead of time as a precaution, can be looked up in advance.
Roads close in three main situations.
Roads that stay closed all winter → If you’ll take a mountain road, check before you go
Roads closed ahead of time before heavy snow → If a notice comes out, make that day a day you don’t drive
Roads that close, or traffic that stops, while you’re driving → Get somewhere with a roof before you get stuck. If a snowstorm leaves you unable to move, wait in your car for help
1 Roads that close in winter In spring, they become “roads between walls of snow”
Some mountain and pass roads stay closed all winter.
Gunma Prefecture closes roads along its borders and in the mountains every winter, when snow or avalanches make them unsafe to use. In fiscal 2025, this covered 16 sections on 14 routes managed by the prefecture, 138 km in total. It also says the end of the closure period can change depending on the snow.
Roads that close in winter are announced prefecture by prefecture and section by section.
NEXCO CENTRAL writes on its English page that car navigation systems show routes based on normal road conditions and don’t take that day’s road conditions into account.
If you plan to take a pass or mountain road, check before you go whether it’s a road that closes in winter.
When a road that’s closed in winter opens in spring, the road itself becomes a destination.
The Hachimantai Aspite Line, which crosses Iwate and Akita, is closed in winter (from early November to around mid-April). The tourism promotion organization for Tohoku says that when it opens in mid-April, it becomes the “Snow Corridor,” where you can drive between walls of snow left by snow clearing, and you can enjoy it until around early May. The dates vary from year to year.
2 Roads closed before heavy snow The bigger the snow, the earlier you know
When heavy snow is forecast, national roads and expressways may close roads ahead of time, before cars get stuck. This is called 予防的通行止め (preventive road closure).
At these times, there are three things worth knowing so you won’t be caught off guard.
・Roads may close even when there’s no snow on them. The Chubu Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and a conference of road authorities in the Tokyo metropolitan area say that roads may be closed ahead of time, including sections with no snow or only a little.
・National highways running alongside an expressway may close too. On some days, getting off the expressway and taking local roads instead isn’t an option.
・Even cars with winter tires can get caught up. The Tokyo-area road conference calls on drivers to avoid driving or change their plans, saying they could get caught in long lines of traffic caused by other cars’ accidents or by stuck cars.
Three notices issued one year
These are the notices from February 2026, when heavy snow was feared in Kinki and other regions.
On February 3, five days ahead: “Heavy snow is possible around the 8th.” On the evening of February 6: “Sections likely to be closed.” It wasn’t a decision yet; it was a notice that a closure was likely. On the morning of the 8th, notices of preventive road closures appeared as well (they weren’t necessarily about the same sections).
On heavy-snow days, roads don’t necessarily close without warning. You can sometimes pick up signs several days ahead. But it isn’t always this many days ahead; in some years, MLIT’s heavy-snow announcement came out the day before.
While you’re traveling, check the notices for the roads to where you’re going and the weather every day.
If a notice comes out, swap that day’s pass crossing with plans for another day. On its English page, the national road office in Shizuoka lists staying at or going back to your accommodation and changing your destination as what to do when roads are closed, and it ends with “enjoy your trip!” If you swap your destinations around, your trip doesn’t stop.
On days you still go out
If you have no choice but to go out, notices from national road authorities, expressway companies and others in Kinki call on you to fill up on fuel and take food and water with you. JAF (Japan Automobile Federation) says it’s also important to keep a blanket and a shovel in the car.
3 Where to check Sites you can enter in English, Korean or Traditional Chinese
Where you check what’s “closed right now” differs between national roads and expressways.
National roads → MLIT’s 道路情報提供システム (Road Information Provision System)
It shows traffic restrictions, weather and road surface information for national highways and other roads managed by the national government. You can get in through the buttons labeled “英語(English)”, “中国語(中文-繁體字)” and “韓国語(한국어)” at the bottom of the Japanese homepage.
Expressways → NEXCO EAST’s ドライブトラフィック（ドラとら） (Drive Traffic, “Dora Tora”)
It shows traffic information for most NEXCO expressways and for the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway routes. Besides English, you can also switch it to Korean or Traditional Chinese. The legend on the English map includes “Road closed” and “Chain Regulation.” You can also see what the roads look like on live cameras.
The Shuto Expressway, the Hanshin Expressway and roads run by local road public corporations don’t appear on either.
Weather → Japan Meteorological Agency warnings
The Japan Meteorological Agency also issues “heavy snow” and “snowstorm” warnings and advisories in English, Korean and Traditional Chinese. A weather warning isn’t a notice that roads will close. But a day when a heavy-snow warning looks likely is a day to check the road notices too.
Sometimes you can read just the titles of advance notices
Advance notices saying a road “might close on a certain date” sometimes have their content in Japanese.
Still, on NEXCO CENTRAL’s “News” page, when heavy snow was feared in February 2026, the notice titles could also be read in English, Traditional Chinese and Korean. In English, for example: “Heavy snow is expected around February 8th” and “Regarding sections likely to be closed due to heavy snow.” The content they opened to was in Japanese.
If you see “heavy snow” or “closed” in a title, you can mark that day as a possible day you don’t drive.
4 If a road closes while you’re driving Go back to your accommodation, or change where you’re going
Sometimes the road ahead closes while you’re driving.
If road staff are there, follow their instructions and make a U-turn or take a detour (Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau’s English guidance).
What to do after that is the same as on the Shizuoka English page in section 2. Check for a detour. Stay at or go back to your accommodation. Change where you’re going.
Stop before you’re stopped
When the weather starts getting worse, pull in somewhere you can stop on your own, before you get stuck.
In a 2022 English article, JNTO (Japan National Tourism Organization) writes that if you’re caught in a snowstorm, you should leave the road, go into a nearby place with a roof, like a convenience store or a bus shelter, and stay there until it’s safe to go back on the road.
The Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau’s English guidance says to use a 道の駅 (Michi no Eki, roadside station) if you feel heavy snow is making things dangerous. At a Michi no Eki, you can use the parking lot, restrooms and telephones 24 hours a day, and some also have shops or restaurants.
Even after a road closes, you’re told when it’s expected to reopen
On expressways in Hokkaido, NEXCO EAST’s Hokkaido branch announces when closures are expected to be lifted. The Chubu Regional Development Bureau also says it will announce the outlook for lifting closures on sections with preventive road closures.
Wait at your accommodation or a Michi no Eki until the closed road reopens. You can build that whole waiting time into your travel plans.
5 If a snowstorm leaves you stuck Wait in your car for help
What we cover here is when you can’t see ahead in a snowstorm or blizzard, and your car can’t move.
If your car stopped because of an accident or breakdown, the steps are different. See the article “If Your Car Stops on the Expressway.”
Wait in your car
If a snowstorm leaves you stuck, there are four things to do.
Call for rescue right away, and wait in your car.
Clear the snow from around the muffler (tailpipe) from time to time.
After clearing the snow, let fresh air in as well.
Turn off the engine as much as possible.
Calling for rescue right away and waiting in your car comes from the guidance of the Cabinet Office (Disaster Management). Before that, the Cabinet Office (Disaster Management) also calls on drivers to stop their car in a safe place right away if they sense danger, such as not being able to see ahead.
The Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau’s English guidance explains why you shouldn’t get out of the car. If you leave your car in a snowstorm, you may lose track of where your car is. That’s why you shouldn’t get out. It says to get out only when you can see a place where you can take shelter, or a place where you can contact rescuers.
Ask the police or other services for rescue (110). How to make the call when it’s hard to speak Japanese is in the article “Japan Emergency Numbers (110, 119) and Japanese Phrases for Accidents and Breakdowns.” After that, also let the rental car company know, using the number on the paperwork you got when you rented. JAF’s number is in the article “Japan Emergency Numbers (110, 119) and Japanese Phrases for Accidents and Breakdowns.”
What to do while you wait
You clear the snow from around the muffler because if the tailpipe gets blocked by snow, exhaust fumes can get into the car and there’s a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning (Cabinet Office (Disaster Management), Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau, Ehime Prefectural Police, JAF).
Letting fresh air in goes together with clearing the snow from around the muffler. The Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau says to open a window slightly, and Ehime Prefectural Police say to ventilate the car appropriately. In an experiment JAF carried out in Hokkaido in 2015, opening a window slightly wasn’t enough to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. That’s why you do both: clear the snow, and let fresh air in.
JAF advises turning off the engine as much as possible while snow is falling.
Clear the snow even if you’re in an electric vehicle. JAF writes that if the area around the car gets buried in snow, the doors may not open, or you may not be able to move the car right away even once the road is passable again.
Big snowfalls are announced ahead of time. If you plan from the start to make a day with a snowstorm forecast a day for watching the snow from your accommodation, you’re less likely to ever need this section.
Related articles
・The whole picture of a winter road trip (where to rent, when to drive and what to do on days you don’t drive) → “Driving in Japan in Winter, Hokkaido Included“
・Winter tires, 4WD and chain rules → “Winter Tires (Snow Tires), 4WD and Chains“
・When your car stops on the expressway because of an accident or breakdown → “If Your Car Stops on the Expressway“
・Calling the police, the rental car company and JAF → “Japan Emergency Numbers (110, 119) and Japanese Phrases for Accidents and Breakdowns“
・How to drive on snowy roads → “How to Drive on Snowy Roads“
・Quick answers for when you’re in trouble → “Snowy Roads and Winter Driving Q&A“
・The Japanese on electronic signs and road signs → “A Mini Japanese Dictionary for Snowy Roads“
For now, just this
If you’ll take a mountain road, check before you go whether it’s a road that closes in winter.
If a heavy-snow notice comes out, make that day a day you don’t drive.
If a snowstorm leaves you stuck, wait in your car for help, and clear the snow from around the muffler.
