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Most expressways in Kyushu, except in the Oita area, do not impose winter-tire restrictions, and the main response to heavy snow is closing the road. Mountain roads around Kokonoe, Aso and Ebino Plateau, however, assume winter tires or chains on snowy or icy days. Driving on snow or ice with normal tires and no chains is a violation, and the fine for an ordinary car is ¥6,000. The Rakuten Ichiba links in this article are advertising (ad).
In short
- Driving between Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Kagoshima on expressways: heavy snow mostly means road closures. In the Oita area, staff check for winter tires at interchanges and service areas (section 2).
- Going to Kokonoe, Aso or Ebino Plateau: where to check conditions and live cameras for each area are in the sections below.
- Going by rental car: Toyota Rent a Car and Nippon Rent-A-Car do not equip studless (winter) tires as standard at their Kyushu stores, so you request them when you book (section 7).
Checked with official pages on October 18, 2026 (Japan time).
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1. Snow-road rules and where to check: expressways, Kokonoe, Aso, Ebino Plateau
| Place | In heavy snow or ice | What to carry | Where to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expressways | Closures (winter-tire restrictions in the Oita area only) | Winter tires and chains | NEXCO West Japan, JARTIC |
| Kokonoe | Snow and ice control on Route 210 and Yamanami Highway; a section planned for closure | Anti-slip gear is assumed | Oita Disaster Prevention Portal |
| Aso | Route 57 Takimuro Pass and others; closures when vehicles get stuck, fitting checks | Winter tires plus chains | Kyushu road live cameras |
| Ebino Plateau | The access road can be under chain restrictions | Chains | Miyazaki road restriction info |
| Passes in Fukuoka and Oita | Concentrated snow clearing on 9 sections, including Route 201 Yagiyama Pass and Route 10 Tateishi Pass | Winter tires and chains | Ministry of Land (MLIT) road info |
2. Kyushu expressways close in heavy snow instead of restricting tires
NEXCO West Japan does not impose winter-tire restrictions like those in other regions on most Kyushu expressways (the Oita area is the exception). It gives these reasons: the snowfall season is short, snowy and snow-free sections are mixed, and cars with chains and cars with winter tires together make driving harder. It says this was decided after consulting the prefectural police, who enforce the restrictions. FAQ (NEXCO West Japan, Japanese)
Instead, roads close in heavy snow. An announcement dated January 22, 2026 says expressways may be closed over a wide area of Kyushu, and that when an expressway is closed, the parallel national road may be closed at the same time. Beware of snow and icy roads from heavy snowfall (Jan 22, 2026, Kyushu Regional Development Bureau and others, Japanese)
According to the same announcement, in the heavy snow of January 2016 the Kyushu Expressway was closed for a long time, and the 35 km stretch of Route 3 between Dazaifu IC and Hirokawa IC took about 6 hours instead of the usual 1 hour. When an expressway stops, the parallel local roads stop moving too.
In the Oita area, the NEXCO West Japan Oita Expressway Office checks for winter tires at interchanges and service areas during heavy snow. The same page also mentions that since December 2018, fitting tire chains has been mandatory in heavy snow. Chains become mandatory under a chain restriction on a section designated by the national government (see the MLIT list below). Winter-tire restrictions (Oita Expressway Office, Japanese)
The MLIT “chain restriction locations” list covers passes and other places where restrictions are imposed in unusual snowfall, such as when a special heavy-snow warning or emergency announcement is issued. When checked on October 18, 2026, the list showed no Kyushu sections. About chain restrictions (MLIT, Japanese)
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3. Kokonoe: Yamanami Highway and Route 210 Mizuwake Pass
Snow and ice control on roads managed by Oita Prefecture in Kokonoe Town and Kusu Town assumes that passing vehicles have anti-slip gear fitted. The Oita Prefecture Kusu Civil Engineering Office (which manages Route 387 and prefectural roads in Kusu and Kokonoe) says its response may not keep up at night or early in the morning, and that it may not spread de-icing agent while snow is falling. Road response to snow and ice (Oita Kusu Civil Engineering Office, Japanese)
The same page links to live cameras on Route 210, at Makinoto Trailhead and Senomoto on the Yamanami Highway (Beppu-Ichinomiya Line), and north of the Jusanmagari bends at Kyusuikyo. You can see the road surface before you leave.
For Mizuwake Pass on Route 210, a document dated December 10, 2024 from the MLIT Oita River and National Highway Office gives the section planned for closure in heavy snow as “in front of the Seven-Eleven Kokonoe IC store (78K400) to Kawakita intersection (93K200)”. While the road is closed, people who live inside the section may drive to their homes if they have winter tires or chains, but passing through Mizuwake Pass is not allowed. Request regarding driving on Route 210 in heavy snow (Oita River and National Highway Office, Japanese)
For fees and access to Kokonoe Forest Park Ski Area, see our article on skiing in Kyushu: Kyushu ski areas article (Japanese).
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4. Aso: Route 57 Takimuro Pass in winter
In winter at Aso, sudden ice and snow can change road conditions completely and cause vehicles to get stuck. A leaflet from MLIT, Kumamoto Prefecture and the Kumamoto Prefectural Police asks drivers going to the Aso area on cold days to check the weather and roads, fit winter tires, and carry and fit chains. It also says that when large vehicles get stuck, roads are closed early, and that in snow, staff may check and instruct on chains and winter tires (created in 2017). Winter in the Aso area: beware of icy and snowy roads (MLIT and others, Japanese)
The Kyushu Regional Development Bureau lists Route 57 Takimuro Pass (Ichinomiya-machi, Aso City) as one of the “preventive traffic restriction sections” where snow is cleared in a concentrated way during heavy snow (as of the January 2024 announcement). Beware of snow and icy roads from heavy snowfall (Jan 22, 2024, Kyushu Regional Development Bureau and others, Japanese)
Traffic restrictions inside Kumamoto Prefecture, on prefectural roads and on roads managed by the national government, NEXCO and Kumamoto City, can be checked on the prefecture’s “Road information and road cameras” page. The phone line is the Japan Road Traffic Information Center (050-3369-6643). Road information and road cameras (Kumamoto Prefecture, Japanese)
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5. Ebino Plateau (Miyazaki): the access road can be under chain restrictions
Ebino City says the access road to Ebino Plateau may be under chain restrictions in winter. It asks visitors to check road information before going, and links to Miyazaki Prefecture’s road restriction information and live images. Ebino Plateau (Ebino City, Japanese)
Miyazaki Prefecture’s restriction information shows, on a map, closures, chain requirements and time restrictions on national and prefectural roads managed by the prefecture. Miyazaki road restriction information (Japanese)
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6. Nine preventive traffic restriction sections, including passes in Fukuoka and Oita
The Kyushu Regional Development Bureau has chosen 9 national-road sections as “preventive traffic restriction sections”, 4 of them in Fukuoka Prefecture and 2 in Oita Prefecture. These are places where large vehicles and others easily get stuck on steep climbs in heavy snow. Snow is cleared in a concentrated way there, and the road may be closed. The list is as of the January 2024 announcement (the January 2026 announcement has no list). Beware of snow and icy roads from heavy snowfall (Jan 22, 2024, Kyushu Regional Development Bureau and others, Japanese)
| Route | Section | Prefecture |
|---|---|---|
| Route 3 | Okagaki Bypass | Fukuoka |
| Route 201 | Yagiyama Pass, Yagiyama Bypass, Karasuo Pass | Fukuoka |
| Route 10 | Tateishi Pass, Akamatsu Pass | Oita |
| Route 210 | Mizuwake Pass | Oita |
| Route 57 | Takimuro Pass | Kumamoto |
| Route 57 | Unzen area | Nagasaki |
| Route 225 | Kawabe Pass | Kagoshima |
The table groups sections by route, so the 9 sections appear in 7 rows. Prefectures are sorted by where each route runs.
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7. Rental cars in Kyushu: request studless tires when you book (Toyota, Nippon)
Toyota Rent a Car and Nippon Rent-A-Car do not include Kyushu among the stores and areas with studless tires as standard equipment. In Kyushu, you request them when you book.
| Company | Standard equipment | Studless tires | Chains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toyota Rent a Car | Stores in Hokkaido, Tohoku, Niigata, Gifu, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Nagano and Tottori. None in Kyushu | Option. Cars and vans ¥2,200, wagons and SUVs ¥3,300 (up to 24 hours) | Price differs by store; some stores have none |
| Nippon Rent-A-Car | Hokkaido, Tohoku, Chubu, Hokuriku. None in Kyushu | Option. Via the website or app, for departures from October to May | Not offered. Bring your own |
Toyota Rent a Car publishes the eligible stores and periods in a list for April 2026 to May 2027. The studless option fee is a fee that does not apply in areas and periods where studless tires are standard, and carrier and tire chain fees differ by store. You can book on the website, at the reservation center (0800-7000-111), or by phone with the store you will use. Optional equipment (Toyota Rent a Car, Japanese) Stores and periods with studless tires on all cars (Toyota Rent a Car, Japanese)
Nippon Rent-A-Car names “Aso and Kokonoe” as snowfall areas, and asks customers to request studless tires for outings and one-way rentals. If you go to a snowfall area without studless tires, it may refuse the rental. Cars with studless tires are limited in number and may not be bookable. Studless tire option (Nippon Rent-A-Car, as of April 21, 2026, Japanese)
Nippon Rent-A-Car says that in snowfall severe enough to bring a special heavy-snow warning or an emergency announcement, chains are required even with studless tires on some expressway and national-road sections, and it does not offer tire chains as an option anywhere in Japan. If you rent from Nippon Rent-A-Car, bring your own chains. Toyota Rent a Car’s chain stock differs by store, so check at the store you book.
If you buy chains to take with you, non-metal types such as fabric ones are easier to fit. Search for non-metal tire chains on Rakuten Ichiba (ad)
8. Where to check road conditions on a snowy day in Kyushu
A poster from MLIT, the Snow Center and others recommends that if you must go out, you load a blanket, food and drink, a shovel, and an anti-slip aid (dry sand in a plastic bottle) in the car. The Kyushu Regional Development Bureau’s January 2026 announcement also asks drivers to fit winter tires, carry chains and fit them early, and check the latest weather and traffic information.
- Weather: Snow forecast (Japan Meteorological Agency, Japanese)
- Expressway and local-road restrictions: Japan Road Traffic Information Center (JARTIC), iHighway (NEXCO West Japan), NEXCO West Japan Customer Center 0120-924863
- National roads (national government): Road information system (Kyushu Regional Development Bureau), Kyushu road live cameras
- Prefectural roads: Oita Disaster Prevention Portal, Miyazaki road restriction information, Kumamoto road information, Saga restriction information, Nagasaki restriction information. Fukuoka Prefecture’s restrictions are distributed through JARTIC. (These pages are in Japanese.)
A folding in-car shovel for clearing snow or getting unstuck fits in a trunk. Search for in-car shovels on Rakuten Ichiba (ad)
FAQ
What happens if I drive on a snowy mountain road with normal tires?
Driving on a snowy or icy road with normal tires, with no winter tires or chains, is a violation. The fines are ¥7,000 for a large vehicle, ¥6,000 for an ordinary car, ¥6,000 for a motorcycle and ¥5,000 for a moped. These amounts are from a poster by MLIT, the Snow Center and the Japan Automobile Tyre Manufacturers Association, and are based on prefectural rules (except Okinawa). Beware of snow and icy roads from heavy snowfall (Jan 22, 2026, Kyushu Regional Development Bureau and others, Japanese)
Do I not need chains if I have studless tires or 4WD?
MLIT explains that under a chain restriction, even a studless-tire car without chains cannot pass, and the same applies to 4WD. Chains normally go on the drive wheels. Metal, rubber and fabric chains can be used, but spray-type products cannot. About chain restrictions (MLIT, Japanese)
Sources
23 pages we checked
- FAQ (NEXCO West Japan, Japanese)
- Beware of snow and icy roads from heavy snowfall (Jan 22, 2026, Kyushu Regional Development Bureau and others, Japanese)
- Winter-tire restrictions (Oita Expressway Office, Japanese)
- About chain restrictions (MLIT, Japanese)
- Road response to snow and ice (Oita Kusu Civil Engineering Office, Japanese)
- Request regarding driving on Route 210 in heavy snow (Oita River and National Highway Office, Japanese)
- Winter in the Aso area: beware of icy and snowy roads (MLIT and others, Japanese)
- Beware of snow and icy roads from heavy snowfall (Jan 22, 2024, Kyushu Regional Development Bureau and others, Japanese)
- Road information and road cameras (Kumamoto Prefecture, Japanese)
- Ebino Plateau (Ebino City, Japanese)
- Miyazaki road restriction information (Japanese)
- Optional equipment (Toyota Rent a Car, Japanese)
- Stores and periods with studless tires on all cars (Toyota Rent a Car, Japanese)
- Studless tire option (Nippon Rent-A-Car, as of April 21, 2026, Japanese)
- Snow forecast (Japan Meteorological Agency, Japanese)
- Japan Road Traffic Information Center (JARTIC)
- iHighway (NEXCO West Japan)
- Road information system (Kyushu Regional Development Bureau)
- Kyushu road live cameras
- Oita Disaster Prevention Portal
- Saga restriction information
- Nagasaki restriction information
- Japanese version of this page (日本語版)
Checked with official pages on October 18, 2026 (Japan time).
