At the beginning of the postwar period of economic growth in Japan, highways were more for transporting parts and goods to jump-start the economy than for going on a Sunday drive. Even into the 1980s, pit stops in highway rest areas were still the stuff of nightmares. Surrounded by trucks belching acrid clouds of diesel smoke, motorists would find available food limited to soggy noodles and nefarious hot dogs, and worn-out, dirty squat toilets made for unpleasant experiences.
However, these same service areas are now meccas for tourists — reinvented as destinations in their own right. How they were transformed into their current Disneylandlike state has a lot to do with reform of the byzantine rules that govern them — a subject that could fill a long tome. Simply stated, they are now run by agencies working to elevate these former truck stops to profitability with the help of local governments and third-party developers. Particularly in the last 10 years, they have morphed into a network of sophisticated — if not overly glitzy — entertainment centers that rake in truckloads of money every year.
First and foremost, they have become epicurean centers — an extension of the unprecedented gourmet boom that Japan is still in the midst of. A core pillar of their business had always been mediocre fast food. One type was derived from street stalls, offering a large variety of cash-on-demand goodies-to-go — the most common being noodles. Another type has been the family-style sit-down restaurant offering uninspired fare. Both of these have changed radically. High-profile chefs have been brought in, and original menus featuring dishes you can only eat on the highway have gained kudos.