Before you go
This site offers information based on guidance from road companies, public agencies, rental car companies and others, to help you get ready for your trip (as of September 2026), but tolls, discounts and the way toll booths work can change. Before you leave, always check the official guidance listed at the end of this article, and the company you’re booking with, for the latest details.
Buy time on the expressway for the long stretches, then take it slow on local roads once you get there.
Split it that way, and you’ll have plenty of time left for scenic roads and detours.
There are just three things to know about expressways: the ETC card you pay with, the toll booth where you pick your lane (for how to get through one and pay, see “Getting Through the Toll Booth and Paying Tolls“), and the service areas that make good places to stop along the way.
First, let’s get a rough idea of how much the expressway tolls will cost.
How much from Tokyo to Kyoto?
Almost all of Japan’s expressways charge tolls. Here are two examples, both for a standard car, on routes that avoid urban expressways such as Tokyo’s Shuto Expressway.
Tokyo IC (IC = interchange) → Kyoto-higashi IC (about 430 km): 10,070 yen on a weekday. About 4 hours 20 minutes with no traffic jams.
Sapporo-kita IC → Asahikawa-takasu IC (Hokkaido, about 130 km): 3,800 yen on a weekday. About an hour and a half.
In Hokkaido, you can work out a rough figure yourself: the usual toll is about 25 yen per km, plus 150 yen (there are exceptions, such as central Sapporo). For 200 km, that’s a little over 5,000 yen.
For other destinations, look it up in a road company’s toll search, entering the day you’ll travel. Tolls change by date, too.
On weekends, paying by ETC costs less
Look up the same two examples again for a Saturday, and here’s what you get.
| Weekday | Saturday (cash, etc.) | Saturday (ETC) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo IC → Kyoto-higashi IC | 10,070 yen | 10,070 yen | 7,340 yen |
| Sapporo-kita IC → Asahikawa-takasu IC | 3,800 yen | 3,800 yen | 2,660 yen |
ETC has a weekend and holiday discount (休日割引): on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, expressways in regional areas are 30% off. Sections near Tokyo and Osaka, Golden Week (around late April to early May), Obon (around mid-August), the New Year holidays, 3-day weekends and some other periods aren’t covered.
The discount applies when you go through the entrance toll booth in an ETC lane. So put the card in before you get on (see the “ETC Card” article).
Ask when you book which discounts work with the card you rent (see “What to ask when you book” in the “ETC Card” article).
Take the expressway, or the local roads?
From Tokyo to Kyoto, it’s a little over 4 hours on the expressway. To see how different it is on local roads, get directions in a map app and compare.
From New Chitose Airport, it’s about 300 km to Hakodate and about 450 km to Shiretoko. In Hokkaido, just getting from one town to the next is a long drive.
An expressway toll is money that buys you travel time. Think of it that way, and it gets easier to decide where to get on and where to get off.
※ Expressway tolls and discount conditions differ by road, date and time. When you actually drive, check the road company’s guidance.
