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When you concentrate on touring throughout Japan, you most likely envision going to Tokyo, hopping on bullet trains, and hopscotching round Osaka and Kyoto to sort out a few of the hottest sights in Japan.
Nonetheless, my household and I lately took a barely completely different route method for our Japan go to. We rented a 16 ft tenting automotive.
Facet word: I lately wrote a put up on what I want I’d identified earlier than renting an RV in Japan, comparable to methods to discover an ideal rental firm or e book your campsites. You’ll be able to learn that article right here.
Then we drove it round a few of the much less touristy components of Japan. A few of these locations you’ve perhaps heard of, however a few of them you most likely haven’t. And sure, we after all visited a few of the common spots too, AND with a one and three-year-old our journey wouldn’t have been full with no journey to Disney.
On this video, we’re sharing our 13-day RV street journey itinerary throughout Japan, in case you ever determine to hop in an RV or van and make your manner throughout this wonderful nation. For every day we point out on this itinerary, you’ll be able to be taught extra or watch our vlog from that particular day by clicking the cardboard we hyperlink to within the higher right-hand nook.
And keep tuned for the tip of the video the place I’ll share some numbers from our journey, comparable to the price of our campsites, RV rental, and the way a lot we paid in toll roads.
You’ll see extra particulars, like hyperlinks to the place we stayed, under.
Day 1: Tokyo
The place we stayed: Shiba Park Lodge
What we did:
We flew instantly into Tokyo. What journey to Japan could be full with no go to to this wonderful metropolis? Not ours.
Earlier than arriving in Tokyo, we looked for family-friendly lodging. One suggestion that popped up was the Shiba Park Lodge. Upon their web site, I observed that they had rooms with bunk mattress configurations and with two little ones, we jumped on it.
The situation was nice, and we have been only a quick stroll away from the Tokyo Tower and an epic playground for the children.
We had a brief keep in Tokyo however tried to slot in as a lot as attainable. Here’s what we squeezed into at some point:
- The Shinjuku Gyoen Gardens are situated proper subsequent to the Shinjuku Practice Station, the preferred practice station on the earth. The gardens have been an oasis in a bustling metropolis and we have been even in a position to see cherry blossoms of their full magnificence within the backyard.
- If in case you have children (or simply if you wish to hit up an animal cafe), we spent our first afternoon in Tokyo at miPig cafe, which was a success with our one-year-old however our three-year-old couldn’t get out quick sufficient. It was a cool spot only a two-minute stroll from Takeshita Road.
- After hanging out with the pigs, we discovered a kid-friendly karaoke bar in Tokyo referred to as Rainbow Karaoke in Shibuya. That they had smooth serve on faucet and we jammed to Disney classics. Enjoyable was had by all.
Day 2: Tokyo
The place we stayed: Shiba Park Lodge
What we did:
Our second day in Tokyo we hopped in a cab go to to DisneySea. Regardless of touring with a child, each of our children might do nearly all of the rides within the park. On the day we visited, it rained virtually the whole day however we nonetheless had a blast. For those who go to whereas in Tokyo, you’ve received to hop round the entire popcorn stands and check out all of the distinctive flavors. Our favourite was the white chocolate matcha!
Even jetlagged and within the rain, everybody had a good time!
Day 3: Selecting Up Our Camper Van!
The place we stayed: Onoji Household Tenting Floor
What we did:
On our third day in Japan, we picked up our RV rental from El Monte RV. We’d researched and located a number of completely different RV rental corporations in Japan and since we have been visiting throughout peak cherry blossom season, availability was difficult. El Monte had good critiques and two areas in Tokyo. The staff was very responsive over e-mail, so we booked with them. (And sure, this is identical El Monte you see within the States!)
The pickup course of was comparatively seamless and the employees have been wonderful. We did a walk-through of the RV, realized in regards to the methods, and loaded up on provides on the grocery retailer throughout the road.
One last-minute determination that helped us out a ton with our rental was including on an ETC card, aka an digital toll assortment, so principally a toll move. The vast majority of the roads we’d journey throughout Japan have been toll roads, so having this card allowed us to simply move by way of every automated toll gate with out having to cease and pay. (I share the overall quantity we spent in tolls on the finish of the video).
We opted to drive straight out to Mount Fuji with our new to us RV. And due to a incorrect activate Google Maps, we ended up detouring by way of downtown Tokyo. What was initially purported to be an hour and a half drive turned out to be for much longer!
Nonetheless, we made it to our Onoji Household Tenting Floor earlier than it closed and awakened the following morning to essentially the most epic views ever.
Day 4: Mount Fuji
The place we stayed: Fumotoppara Campground
What we did:
We woke as much as crystal-clear views of Mount Fuji, which is uncommon in Japan. The campground was the very first auto park in all of Japan, constructed within the 70s. We have been one of some completely different RVs and most of the people camped in tents.
We woke as much as everybody exterior cooking their breakfast and making espresso and had the very best time making buddies with locals from Tokyo who had pushed out for a weekend tenting journey.
From our campsite we drove out to Lake Kawaguchi, which was purported to be probably the greatest locations to get a vantage level of Fuji. Different individuals received this memo too. It was a cute city alongside the lake and we have been there on a weekend, so it was a bit packed.
We then drove over to the Chureito Pagoda. There have been a whole lot of stairs to the highest, however the views have been value it.
We ended the day at Fumotoppara Campground with essentially the most epic sundown of Mount Fuji.
Day 5: Magome-Juku
The place we stayed: Hokonoko Tenting Floor
What we did:
After a morning at Fumotoppara campground, we got down to discover a small postal city referred to as Magome-juku.
It was idyllic Japan, with cute waterwheels and pathways that wind by way of an historic village that has been restored and preserved over centuries.
The city is true on the Nakasendo path, which stretches from Tokyo to Kyoto and is a well-known strolling path. We walked 1 / 4 mile of the trail as much as an epic viewpoint, however not earlier than making an attempt out a few of the native road vendor meals—that we ended up going again to for seconds.
We camped at Hokonoko Tenting Floor, which felt like tenting in a nationwide park. It might even be the place that will critically take a look at my driving abilities as I attempted to drive out of it the following day…
Day 6: Cafe KuraKura
The place we stayed: Cafe KuraKura
What we did:
On day 6, We drove towards Yoshino NP and what could be our favourite campsite of the journey.
However first, after three days of touring, it was time to replenish the fuel tank. This price about $100. At this fuel station, there have been attendants who crammed the tank for us, saving us from by accident selecting the incorrect gas.
Utilizing Google Maps, we discovered a restaurant with three campsites behind it and booked one. BTW, virtually each campground in Japan requires superior reservations. We made all our reservations on-line earlier than leaving the States. (For those who e book at KuraKura with a tenting automotive, we suggest the “Jungle” campsite!)
Our Campsite at Cafe KuraKura was a spotlight of our whole street journey in Japan, principally because of the wonderful household who hosted us. Upon arriving, they let me drill holes into freshly reduce lumber that was set as much as develop their natural shitake mushrooms.
We ate an unbelievable lunch, performed on the playground subsequent door, and for dinner, Heath went out and reduce down one-month-old bamboo with the proprietor who taught us methods to season and boil it. It was the kind of expertise that can stick with us eternally.
Day 7: Inexperienced Tea Plantation
The place we stayed: Mizuno Camper Base
What we did:
On day 7 we visited the small city of Wazuka to tour a inexperienced tea plantation. This city has been residence to inexperienced tea plantation farmers for generations. Nonetheless, there’s one farmer on the town who stands out as a first-generation household to make inexperienced tea merchandise. Their enterprise is named D: Matcha and it’s not too far exterior of Kyoto.
We spent a day getting a tour of their farm and studying how they bring about their matcha merchandise to life. It was a combination of a historical past lesson, matcha tasting, and a scrumptious meal all wrapped into one expertise. It rained on us most of our tour however no person appeared to thoughts and umbrellas have been offered.
Day 8: Kyoto
The place we stayed: Miami Seashore Auto Campground
What we did:
On day 8 we awakened at Mizuno Base campground. Whereas it felt remoted in nature alongside a river, it was only a quick drive into Kyoto the place we have been set to discover the well-known bamboo gardens and take the children to the monkey park.
We have been in a position to simply discover a parking spot inside a brief strolling distance of the bamboo backyard. Nonetheless, if I might return and do it once more I’d purpose to reach earlier within the morning. By the point we arrived, we have been shoulder to shoulder with different friends and it made navigating the world a bit more difficult. Nonetheless, the bamboo backyard was nonetheless magical.
For lunch, we walked throughout the river and located a few of the finest desserts we’d had to date in Japan. We ate mochi balls, smooth serve matcha ice cream with fried candy potato, and a dessert referred to as a Mont Blanc, which seemed kinda like spaghetti noodles on high of ice cream.
Within the afternoon, Alyssa and Ellie walked over to the monkey park. To go to, it price about $5 and requires you to stroll up 20 minutes of stairs and switchbacks. As soon as on the high, you’re surrounded by monkeys climbing and swinging round you. Our 3-year-old had a magical time attending to see the monkeys and play on the park. We barely scratched the floor of what you may do in Kyoto, however in such a brief go to, it was time to maneuver on to the following factor.
Day 9: The Sea of Japan
The place we stayed: Hakusan Yoshino Auto Campsite
What we did:
On our ninth day in Japan we awakened at Miami seaside campground (sure, that is the actual title of this campground). This campsite was one among our favorites. We had an epic view of Lake Biwa and a large campsite for the children to run round and discover.
This present day we needed to make our approach to a extremely really helpful metropolis referred to as Kanazawa. We found that it might solely take us an additional hour or two to drive a route that went proper alongside the ocean of Japan, so naturally we opted to take that route.
The coastal route didn’t have a lot data on-line, however we discovered loads of street facet gems that made for an epic day of driving— castles, waterfalls, jagged cliffs we might hike, and even a jellyfish aquarium that gave the children an opportunity to stretch their legs and run round for an hour.
Day 10: Kanazawa
The place we stayed: Kanazawa
What we did:
On our tenth day in Japan we explored the city of Kanazawa after tenting 20 minutes exterior the town. Kanazawa was described to us as “older Japan”, however a lot of what we explored felt like a more moderen metropolis. We had no hassle discovering a spot to park our van within the downtown space!
Highlights for us in Kanazawa have been strolling the Kenroku-en gardens, seeing Kanazawa Fortress, and stumbling on a road market with some wonderful native distributors.
On this evening because of the heavy rain, we grabbed a lodge so we might keep within the metropolis of Kanazawa as an alternative of heading 45 minutes away to our subsequent campsite.
Day 11: Our First Onsen!
The place we stayed: Okuhida Spa Auto Campsite
What we did:
On our eleventh day we drove into Chubu Nationwide Park. The drive into the nationwide park was suffering from waterfalls, mountain views, and dashing water.
The campsite we discovered for the evening was beautiful and proper alongside the river. Greatest OF ALL, it had an onsen proper on website. We’d seen 100 completely different onsens as we drove throughout Japan, however few of them enable younger kids. We lastly discovered one which we might go to from the consolation of our personal campsite with the household. To high it off, we have been the one ones at our campsite so we had all of it to ourselves.
Onsens are quite common throughout Japan on account of its excessive volcanic exercise. Lots of them are totally nude and there’s some primary etiquette concerned when going to a lot of them, comparable to showering beforehand, not stepping into with a towel, and following no matter guidelines they’ve posted on website.
Day 12: The Day We Blew Up Our Plans! ❄️
The place we stayed: ?!
What we did:
Our plan for our twelfth day was to do a waterfall hike within the Nationwide Park. However even in late April, many of the nationwide park was closed from snow! We didn’t count on this in any respect! We couldn’t make it to any trailheads to hike. This was a significant bummer, however we knew the children wouldn’t like mountain climbing within the chilly snow and we didn’t have the correct gear with us, so we determined to take a significant pivot and get again to hotter climate.
Whereas the children napped, we hightailed it again towards Tokyo for redemption.
The children did nice with so many grownup actions throughout our time in Japan, so we parked the RV again at Disney Sea for spherical two of Disney. This time round, the climate was sunny and excellent and there have been no crowds in any respect. We walked onto each experience and the children had a good time.
Day 13: Disneyland!
The place we stayed: Resort parking simply exterior Disneyland. You’ll be able to stroll (there’s a walkway over the freeway) from the lot to the parks or stroll to the Ambassador Lodge and seize their shuttle to the parks. It’s not too far of a stroll.
What we did:
For our final day in Japan, we ended on a excessive word with Disneyland. If we might do it yet again, we’d’ve pushed into Osaka throughout our journey to go to Common Studios Japan, however we have been apprehensive about driving and parking the van in cities—which ended up being simpler than we thought it might be!
Fast Stats and Prices: Japan by Van
All of us had an incredible time touring Japan by campervan!
All in all, our journey coated 1,647 kilometers throughout Japan (1023.4 miles).
Our common nightly campsite value was $36 or 5,000 yen.
The price of our RV rental for 11 nights was $1,779.24 USD (roughly $161.72 per evening).
And we paid $204 for the various tolls that we crossed by way of throughout our journey. Mainly each street is a toll street, so this was lower than I’d’ve anticipated!
Ideas Earlier than You Go
There have been a number of issues we did throughout this journey that made our lives considerably simpler.
- Printed out all reservation confirmations upfront. As a result of we don’t communicate Japanese and to remove any confusion upon arriving at our locations, printing out our confirmations was an enormous peace of thoughts. Plus, they have been in Japanese which made it even simpler for our host. After we rolled into our nightly campsites I might merely hand them our affirmation print out and it made the method very clean.
- Downloaded Google Maps for offline use in Japan. I wasn’t positive how properly our mobile sign could be throughout Japan, so earlier than our journey, I downloaded Google Maps. Because it seems, we had stable cell indicators virtually in all places we went and this was a nonissue. El Monte (and I’m assuming different rental corporations) could have sizzling spots you’ll be able to hire along with your RV rental.
- Pre-purchased our sim card from Japan Wi-fi. There’s a handful of corporations you’ll be able to pre-purchase a Japan sim card from. We purchased ours by way of Japan Wi-fi, picked it up proper on the airport in Tokyo, and had no issues all through our whole journey.
- Including cookware and bedding onto our rental as a result of a lot of these things didn’t include the bottom rental.
There are most likely extra objects to say, however these have been a few of the high ones that come to thoughts.
Driving this RV throughout Japan was actually a dream come true for us. We’ll be planning extra worldwide campervan adventures, so if you wish to see extra movies like this — it might imply the world in the event you might subscribe to our channel and keep in contact. You’ll be able to watch our whole Japan sequence right here for all the small print of our experiences on this nation.
And if there are any extra questions you might have about driving an RV throughout Japan, please drop a remark we’d be comfortable to reply any of them!
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