# Michi-no-Eki Kitagawa Hayuma

> Right at Kitagawa IC, where Route 10 meets the Higashi-Kyushu Expressway, this is the first stop in northern Miyazaki. The toll-free stretch around the interchange makes it the expressway's unofficial service area, and the restaurant does Nobeoka's chicken nanban.

- Prefecture: Miyazaki
- Type: Michi no eki
- Address: Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan
- Opening hours: Mon–Sun 08:30–18:00
- Hours note: The market, restaurant and takeout counter keep separate hours, with different hours over New Year. Check the official notices; parking access does not mean the shops are open.
- Parking and toilets: free, open 24 hours
- Official site: https://kitagawa-hayuma.jp/

The name comes from hayuma, an old word for the post horses kept at relay stations under the ancient road system, and the station sign is shaped like a big horse. It opened on Route 10 as an ordinary roadside stop. When Kitagawa IC opened next door in December 2012, expressway drivers could pull in too, and because that section is toll-free, it now does the job of a service area.

Chicken nanban, fried chicken with sweet vinegar and tartar sauce, is said to have started in Nobeoka, and the restaurant pairs it with Miyazaki's cold soup, hiyajiru, in a set meal. The raw whitebait bowl is the other big seller. In the market you will find local vegetables, deli food such as salt-seasoned fried chicken, local sake and a pudding made with Nobeoka Gakuen High School.

Tour buses use it as a rest stop, so lunchtime can be busy. JR Hyuga-Nagai Station is within walking distance, but trains on this stretch are infrequent, so most visitors drive. The shop and restaurant are open year-round; New Year hours differ.

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Source: Michi-no-Eki Kitagawa Hayuma — Japan Voyage