On April 24, Nexco East Japan Area Tract will launch a campaign to liven up the driving experience by distributing a map introducing local soft serve ice cream sold at SA/PAs in the Tohoku region.
Soft serve ice cream at SA/PAs has become a popular gourmet food with annual sales of approximately 720,000 units in the Tohoku region alone, amounting to approximately 300 million yen. In 2026, as in the previous year, a campaign will be launched on April 24, just before Golden Week, to promote “#Sofukatsu”. In 2026, the campaign will continue to promote “#Softlife” by starting on April 24, just before the Golden Week holidays.
A total of 31 types of soft serve ice cream are available, including 20 newly developed items. These range from those featuring local landmarks, such as “Hachimantai Dragon Eye Blue Soft Cream” (540 yen) at Iwateyama SA (downhill) and “Bandaisan Soft” (600 yen) at Bandaisan SA (uphill), to “Bacon Crunch Soft” (700 yen) at Shiwa SA (uphill), “Reward☆” at Maesawa SA (downhill), and “Reward☆” at Hachimantai Dragon Eye Blue Soft! Ice Bucket with Maesawa Beef Cured Ham! (950 yen) at the Maesawa SA (downhill), and a wide variety of other products. In addition, a menu that combines popular items from the stores with special soft serve ice cream, such as “Barizaku Nanbu Senbei Soft (burnt caramel)” (680 yen) at Takizawa PA (up/down), will also be available.
A scratch-off campaign will be held from April 24 to May 31 for customers who purchase the soft serve ice cream shown on the map. If the scratch card is scratched and the winner is selected, the customer will receive one of the soft-serve ice creams listed on the map for free. Even if you do not win, you will receive a limited number of original stickers.
In addition, in honor of “Soft Ice Cream Day” on July 3, a special event is planned for three days only, from July 1 to 3, in which all soft ice cream items on the map will be sold for 300 yen.
Details of the campaign can be found on a special page on NEXCO East Japan’s portal site “DRAPLA.
© Source travel watch