Changes

Aside from SA/PAs, the second way to get on the expressway is to hitch outside an interchange. ICs do tend to be a bit closer to town, but in Tokyo they are usually in the middle of very heavy traffic and with few, if any, places where hitching is even remotely possible, so getting rides also takes considerably longer. It is generally preferably to sit on a local for an extra half an hour and maybe even pay a few yen for the privilege of not having to choke on exhaust for an hour.

The third method would be take a long-distance bus that uses the expressway and stops at a parking area along the way. However, cataloguing which routes go where on which roads and which service areas they stop at would be a fairly difficult enterprise, you'll also need to buy a rather expensive bus ticket just to get on the thing, and you'll probably freak out the bus attendants who will certainly notice if the only ''gaijin'' on the bus doesn't come back from the break.