Photo Trip Report: Japan in a Van

[migrant]

There look like some big tents. Do they rent the tents or are they all visitors?

[buksida]

They were all visitors, mostly city hi-sos with all the fancy gear. This was the only campsite we stayed at as we found an alternative ... all will be revealed in the coming installments ...

[caller]

Great pics, as expected! Do you know what height you were, at the camping area?

It was around 900 meters, but we would be going much higher later in the trip.

Yes, I expected you would. I thought you might have been higher than that already. I must check one of my old pics. It showed the height I was at.

[buksida]

Day 2
I was totally unprepared for the cold weather and froze the first night as temperatures dropped to around 6-7 degrees overnight. Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep in the unheated RV. Waking up groggy after a second night of very little sleep, I powered down a strong coffee and forgot about the mental cobwebs as the clear morning view of Mt Fuji was breathtaking.

The campsite (Fumotoppara) near the foot of Fuji was very commercial, but we wanted something easy for the first couple of days. Just like Bangkokians, Tokyoites are very similar … flash cars, all the top-range branded camping gear, yappy foo-foo dogs, and selfie-obsessed. This camping ground was their Mecca and it was very busy despite being mid-week.

We decided to decamp for the day and drive to a nearby waterfall called Shiraito Falls which was pretty spectacular. Unlike Thailand, there is no dual pricing in Japan and attractions such as this are cheap to enter (about 100 baht per person).

Not wanting to freeze to death for another night, we drove back to the nearest urban area and a huge shop called Donki (Don Quijote), which was a sensory overloading labyrinth selling absolutely everything from golf balls to pickled fish, to acquire some blankets.

We stopped at one of Fuji’s five lakes on the way back to the campsite for a few photos. Before finding a parking spot for the van it was time for a shower (when its freezing cold, you don’t tend to want to get wet so much). Japanese showers, like their Onsens (hot springs), are communal and entered in your birthday suit. I’m way beyond caring about my physical appearance at my age so no problem there, and the hot water was welcome. Japanese toilets are also a thing to behold – heated seats, an array of bidet cleaning and drying options, deodorant sprays, and even ‘private mode’ that plays music to disguise your noises, on a keypad to your right.

It gets dark at about 5 pm in late October and a spectacular moonrise over Fuji rounded off our second day as we started to slowly acclimatize to the rapidly falling temperatures.

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To follow: Fujiyoshida

[Big Boy]

Strangely enough, I've got a UK friend doing a 'luxury hotel' version of Japan at the same time - it's uncanny, no camp ground or camper van, but for many of these photos, you could have been stood side by side. I'm getting a double whammy of great photos

[buksida]

You get more of a feel of a place by camping there and experiencing it than staying in swanky hotels and doing tours to grab a few snaps IMO.

That said, the van trip involved a lot of work in planning and organizing day by day so I reckon we'll be wanting more luxury and an easier trip when we get older!

[Big Boy]

I agree entirely, there is much more fun/self-satisfaction doing it your way. We see the tour bus thing here enough. Stop at A, take your selfie, stop at B take your selfie, etc., etc. Of course, he wouldn't have been freezing cold overnight, but his cozy hotel room could have been anywhere in the world. Your experience will be an extra memory of Japan that he missed out on. I still look back on the cold weather I experienced in Vietnam. I probably talk about that experience more than anything else in Vietnam. Your way is definitely better, and takes a lot more balls to do it that way.

[Nereus]

Well, you have definitely got the hang of that new camera, some professional shots there!

You have not mentioned the language barrier, or do you have a way around that? I recall that when I was there, buying food was even a problem. Except for the lifelike plastic food displays, we would hae gone hungry!

[pharvey]

Cracking photo's yet again buks. Do like the idea of the Camper Van - how was the walk to the WC on the chilly nights though

Seriously though how did you find the roads/traffic/driving with the van? Obviously the main cities are chaotic, but elsewhere?

[Motyduke]

Thanks for this so nice report. Amazing pics ! Which camera you use ?

[buksida]

Well, you have definitely got the hang of that new camera, some professional shots there!

You have not mentioned the language barrier, or do you have a way around that? I recall that when I was there, buying food was even a problem. Except for the lifelike plastic food displays, we would hae gone hungry!

Those were all shot on the old camera, the Nikon D7200. I needed the tripod and some shutter speed tweaks for some of them.

Yes, language was an issue but Google translate app came to the rescue, it also has a camera function where you take a photo of a sign or food packaging and it translates it for you. It didn't always work though.

Cracking photo's yet again buks. Do like the idea of the Camper Van - how was the walk to the WC on the chilly nights though

Seriously though how did you find the roads/traffic/driving with the van? Obviously the main cities are chaotic, but elsewhere?

It was too cold to go out some nights so I used a bottle and the mrs had some disposable toilet bags she found online before we went. All in the planning mate!

Driving was a breeze compared to Thailand, Japanese drivers are as polite on the roads as they are in person, and they obey the road rules and are not all in a rush to get there first with total disregard for everyone else as Thai drivers are. Traffic levels were also much lower, probably due to the super efficient public transport network and the fact that your vehicle is not a status symbol in Japan as it is in Thailand.

Thanks for this so nice report. Amazing pics ! Which camera you use ?

Nikon D7200, edited in Lightroom. The camera is a few years old but I upgraded later in the trip.

[migrant]

Great as always, thanks!!

[migrant]

It was too cold to go out some nights so I used a bottle and the mrs had some disposable toilet bags she found online before we went. All in the planning mate!

I can understand. In W Stockbridge Massachusetts and now -8. Just got inside from smoking a cigar, damn necessities of life!!

[buksida]

Day Three
Going to bed early means getting up early and I’m glad I did as the sunrise over Fuji was equally spectacular and the crunching of frost underfoot brought back childhood memories. However, it was time to decamp and head to Fujiyoshida to meet some friends who were over at the same time. Before we did so, we stopped at another of the area's five lakes for a few more shots.

We met the gang at Fuji station and piled them into the van to drive up to the uber-touristy Arakurayama Sengen Park for the famous view of the shrine overlooking Fuji (which was obscured by clouds on this day.) This was the most touristy place I’ve seen so far, a lot of Chinese and quite a few Thais too.

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To follow: Kamikochi

[Dannie Boy]

As many have already said - great photos Buks!!