Port City Jun 30, 2017:

bus station There is something called "bus station", which is apparently on the roadside. In the city where I live, bus stations are along motorways and have toilets, benches/chairs, vending machines for drinks, top-up machines for pre-paid bus cards in addition to a small office where they handle prepaid cards. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_station

Sheila Wilson Jun 29, 2017:

Research station; work station; radio station You need to expand the definition from just trains and buses. And it clearly isn't a service station (oops, there's another) as they don't serve fuel. My idea of a railway station doesn't match yours actually, Tony. There are no trains on my island but I went to the UK lately and spent far too much time at stations with waiting areas, ticket and beverage/snack machines, loos, and precious little else.

Tony M Jun 29, 2017:

@ Port City (2) All the other facilities are merely accretions that have become added on to the underlying notion of 'station — for the very reason that you often have to wait for your train; this is of course quite the reverse situation from a 'motorway services' area, which usually exists to allow you to make a brief pause / rest / comfort break, but without changing your mode of transport.

For all these reasons, I think 'station' is out of the question — unless perhaps it is prefaced with 'service station' (US: 'gas station'), which is possibly closer to what this is seeking to refer to.

Compare a 'port' or a 'port terminal' — would you really ever call that a 'sea station'?

Tony M Jun 29, 2017:

@ Port City The more you say, the more I am convinced their own 'official' term is a poor choice.

But the description is at odds with Asker's own description — if this is a simple rest area with possibly toilets, tourist information, picnic area, ... then it does not at all have the same sort of facilities as a railway station, with shops, buffet, ticket office, etc. So what it does / doesn't have is actually crucial here!

If it has those sort of 'station' facilities, then it is indeed a '(motorway) services' or 'service area' — but this is NOT what Asker told us at the outset!

I think 'station' is a mis-translation, undoubtedly caused by the non-native speakers failing to really realize exactly what 'station' means: a place where you go to catch a train! If this were to be a 'road station', that would be a place where you go to catch road transport — in EN, normally a 'bus station' or 'coach station' (= the type of transport, not the route on which it runs)

Port City Jun 28, 2017:

The Japanese term itself was an eye-catching expression when the facilities first came into being because the operator used (and still uses) "eki" (train station) for the roadside facilities to imply that the facilities have, for road users, what train stations have for train users, such as toilets (restrooms), somewhere to sit down (and eat), and shops. It's a bit difficult to convey the nuance without sounding odd in English. But since "michi-no-eki" is translated as "roadside station" in their own website, I think it's better to stick to their expression for the sake of consistency. If you like, you can add "rest area" in brackets.

philgoddard Jun 28, 2017:

The answer is there in your question: rest area. I'm not sure what you mean by "translated as". What are you translating into what?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rest_area
Your question header is "road station", but that term does not appear in the text.