A recording apparatus for use with a reproduction-only optical information storage medium, including: a recording unit which records data on the reproduction-only optical information storage medium; and a controller which controls the recording unit to form, on the reproduction-only optical storage medium, a plurality of areas and at least one transition area. Each transition area is located between two adjacent areas. The transition area allows data to be smoothly reproduced from the reproduction-only optical information storage medium at a low error generation rate. Also, since the optical information storage medium provides standards for the transition area, it is compatible with existing optical information storage media.