Gunma Prefecture · Kanto
道の駅 甘楽
A roadside station where you can fit stone-oven pizza and a walk through Obata's castle town into a break.
Illustrative image — not an on-site photograph
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Eat, shop, play, take in the view or rest. Choose from the station’s strengths to suit your day.
A lunchtime favorite. If there is a wait, browse the shop or get soft serve.
A Kanra-style meal with pheasant meat and glutinous millet. Check the day's availability notice.
Compare local processed foods and direct imports from Certaldo in one shopping trip.
Use the station as a starting point for Obata's waterways and garden.
On rainy or hot days, an indoor stop can make the trip easier.
Kanra is easier to enjoy if you first choose whether to wait for stone-oven pizza, walk through Obata castle town or visit nearby parks with children. Get parking, restrooms and mealtimes sorted before setting out, and the station becomes your gateway to Kanra rather than just a rest stop.
Michi-no-Eki Kanra is a convenient stop before or after entering the castle town of Obata from Tomioka IC or Kanra Smart IC on the Joshinetsu Expressway. Browse seasonal vegetables, fruit, konnyaku (a firm jelly made from konjac), miso, apple juice and pickles at the farm shop. For a meal, try Todoroki Miso Pizza baked in a stone oven or Momotaro Rice with pheasant meat and glutinous millet. If time allows, walk to Ogawa Weir, Rakusan-en Garden and the Matsui Family Residence to experience more of Kanra than its shops.
If you plan to eat in Kanra, consider Todoroki Miso Pizza, baked in a proper stone oven. It combines pizza dough made with local flour and Kanra miso, making it a reason to stop here for a meal. There can be a wait at lunchtime; leave room in your plans to browse the shop or get soft serve while you wait.
At the farm shop, look for seasonal vegetables, fruit, konnyaku, miso, apple juice and pickles. Wine and extra virgin olive oil imported directly from Kanra's sister city of Certaldo, Italy, sit alongside local produce: a shopping stop that brings the town's farms and international ties together.
South of the station is the Matsui Family Residence. A little farther on are Ogawa Weir, traces of the old samurai residences and Rakusan-en, a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty. With young children, take a short walk along the waterway; with more time, continue to the garden. You can adjust the distance after lunch.
Spend your time at the station or add somewhere nearby. These ideas help you plan around your companions and the weather.
Check the pizza wait first. If it is long, choose vegetables and konnyaku in the shop before you eat. Afterward, consider mulberry tea soft serve or a Momotaro Rice bento to take away, so even a short visit feels complete.
Park → restroom → order pizza → shop → eat → make any last purchases.
Pizza and the restaurant finish earlier than the shop, so switch to shopping if you arrive in the evening.
After tourist information and a meal at the station, walk to the Matsui Family Residence, Ogawa Weir and Rakusan-en Garden to see how Kanra's waterways and garden connect. Rakusan-en closes at different times by season, so head to the garden first if it is already late afternoon.
Station → Matsui Family Residence → Ogawa Weir → Rakusan-en Garden → shopping at the station.
Walking in the sun can be tiring in midsummer; take drinks and rest in the shade.
Instead of staying at the station for a long time, add Konnyaku Park or Mentai Park for a change between eating, looking around and a little play. Use the roadside station as your base for restrooms, lunch and shopping.
Michi-no-Eki Kanra → Konnyaku Park → Mentai Park Gunma, or the reverse order.
On weekends and during long school breaks, parking areas and interiors at each facility can get crowded; an earlier start is easier.
Shorten the walk at Ogawa Weir and plan around the station's restaurant and shop, Konnyaku Park and Mentai Park Gunma. Keeping stops close to the car can make the day less tiring for young children and older companions.
Eat at the station → shop → Konnyaku Park or Mentai Park.
Indoor facilities can also have waits on event days and during long school breaks.
Farm products, souvenirs and imports from Certaldo, among other items.
Last-order time. Allow for waiting and sellouts.
Soft serve and similar items. Check event dates for participating products.
Last-order time. Momotaro Rice, set meals, udon and soba.
Stars show the editorial recommendation for each age group on a five-point scale. Read the reasons alongside each rating.
Plan restrooms, nursing and diaper changes in advance, and keep the visit fairly short.
The station is mainly for shopping and meals. Walking around means more carrying; switch to an indoor facility on hot days.
Soft serve and a short waterway walk can help keep them engaged.
If the pizza wait is long, switch to the shop or a rest in the car instead of relying on the restaurant alone.
Adding Konnyaku Park or Mentai Park brings a change between looking and eating.
Use the station for restrooms, a meal and shopping, then add play time at nearby facilities.
Combining Ogawa Weir, Rakusan-en Garden and Konnyaku Park connects learning with food.
The waterways and garden give a castle-town walk points of interest, but shorten it according to the heat and distance in summer.
Go after parking so it is easier to move on to the pizza wait or a walk.
Pizza visitors can converge at weekend lunchtime; use the shop or sweets as options while you wait.
On rainy or extremely hot days, Konnyaku Park or Mentai Park Gunma can make the outing more comfortable.
Permanent spaces and dated events are listed separately. Events can change both the atmosphere and crowds; use the official links for details.
Checking event dates.
The serving hours for pizza and mulberry tea soft serve shape how you plan your stop.
Seasonal vegetables, fruit, processed foods and imports from Certaldo change what there is to shop for.
Combine spring cherry blossoms, a walk along Ogawa Weir and Rakusan-en Garden in different seasons to get more from the stop.
Trips combining Konnyaku Park, Mentai Park Gunma and Gunma Safari Park work well for families with children.
During regional stamp rallies, it is easier to combine the roadside station, Rakusan-en Garden, Konnyaku Park and Mentai Park in one day.
Practical ideas and things to consider when spending time here.
Visitor accounts often mention weekend waits for pizza. To make use of the time, browse vegetables, konnyaku, miso and wine in the farm shop before your meal.
Kanra Town presents the station as a starting point for historic walks in Obata and tourist information. A short route to the Matsui Family Residence, Ogawa Weir and Rakusan-en Garden adds more of Kanra to a food-and-shopping visit.
Cherry-blossom season makes Ogawa Weir appealing, while Rakusan-en Garden changes through spring, summer, autumn and winter. On a seasonal visit, use the garden's closing time to decide whether to eat at the station first or head straight there.
With young children, it may be easier to use the station for food, restrooms and shopping, then move to Konnyaku Park or Mentai Park Gunma, than to spend a long time inside the station. On rainy or extremely hot days, decide on an indoor stop first.
The shop is open until 18:00, but pizza and the restaurant have earlier last orders. Later in the day, browse konnyaku, miso, pickles and wine and take a shorter break rather than counting on Momotaro Rice or pizza.
With 65 standard-car spaces and four large-vehicle spaces, do not count on parking immediately at weekend lunchtime or during touring events. For a short break, narrow your plans; for a half-day visit, account for nearby parking and travel between facilities.
Official videos show the market and nearby park before you visit. Audio and captions are in Japanese.
If the video does not load, watch it on YouTube
See the station's atmosphere, including its wine, pizza and sweets, in the video.
Opening and closure days, individual businesses and facilities for children or dogs can affect your plans.
Specialities, places to eat, sweets and bakeries can all give you a reason to stop. Check individual menus for current prices and availability.
A meal, a sweet treat, market shopping or something to take away: choose a focus for the day instead of trying everything at once.
This stone-oven pizza pairs dough made with local flour with Todoroki miso, making it a distinctive Kanra meal. If there is a wait, browse the shop first.
Seseragi-tei suits a meal of seasonal flavors and Kanra specialties. Last orders are relatively early, so avoid a late lunch.
Even on a shopping-only visit, soft serve gives children and adults a pleasant break.
The shop's processed farm products are take-home choices that can recall Kanra at dinner or breakfast the next day.
These shelves show the link with Kanra's sister city. Pair them with local vegetables for a Kanra-inspired meal at home.
If the map does not load, open it in Google Maps
A roadside station where you can fit stone-oven pizza and a walk through Obata's castle town into a break.
After eating at the station, walk to this daimyo garden associated with the main Oda family line.
A short walk along the waterway reveals Obata's castle-town character.
An indoor stop that adds to the station's food and shopping options for families or rainy days.
Add an indoor break and shopping to a family tour of Kanra at this spicy cod-roe theme park.
When you want to round out a half day of pizza and shopping with a quiet garden walk.
For a short walk after eating, or to see the spring cherry blossoms and waterway.
For preschool or elementary-school children, rainy or extremely hot days, or a deeper look at Kanra's food theme.
For an indoor detour on rainy or hot days, or a food-themed tour with Konnyaku Park.
Send your travel companions a possible stop.
