Asia

Driving around Japan is an outlier move. Most people opt for the stellar train system, watching the countryside blur past at 300 km/h from the window of a Shinkansen. It's fast and efficient, but it leaves you stranded the moment you want to escape the major cities, trading smooth rails for confusing rural bus connections. Also, it leaves you with a somewhat sour taste that the "real Japan" is always out of reach. But, as it's always the case here, there is an alternative: trade the crowded platforms and rigid timetables for the total freedom of the open road.