Camp Touring to Yamano Furusato Mura in Okutama, Tokyo

In today's episode, I would like to introduce “Yamano Furusato Mura” camp site.

Yamano Furusato Mura is located in Tokyo.  This is actually an outdoor facility run by the city of Tokyo and located along the Okutama Shuyu-doro Rd. (奥多摩周遊道路), about 4 km from Okutamako Lake.


Tokyo Metropolitan Okutama Koen Park, Yamano Furusato Mura
東京都立奥多摩湖畔公園 山のふるさと村
1740 Kawano, Okutama-cho, Nishi Tama-gun, Tokyo, 198-0225
〒198-0225　東京都西多摩郡奥多摩町川野1740
Phone: 0428-86-2551

I liked this camp site because…

1) Fare: it is only 200 yen!

2) Near: it is only 90-120 min from Tokyo city center area (by Chuo Express Way)

3) Nature:  lots of nature; river, lake, forest, wild animals.  You can believe you are still in Tokyo.

4) Activities: hiking, fishing, crafting, BBQ…etc , also lots of events for kids are available during the season

5) Facility: each camp site has duckboards to keep your tent dry in a bad weather.  Also, I assume the board will allow some ventilation underneath and make it cooler during the summer season.  

Also, each site has own pick nick table, easily accommodate 6 adults.  Those items are very convenient!

Yamano Furusato Mura is located near the Okutamako Lake.  From Tokyo, there are several ways to get there, but since it is located a holy riding place for Kanto riders, you have got to ride Okutama Shuyu Doro RD. Actually, the facility is located along this road so you will be on it.

You will need to make a reservtion by telephone first. Then, you will need to fill out the reservation form available on their website (http://www.yamafuru.com/ennai_camp_yoyaku.html)

You can submit it by a postcard, send an email or fax to them with the details requested.

Email: yamafurucamp@town.okutama.tokyo.jp

FAX： 0428-86-2554

1)Date: From MM(月)/DD(日) to MM(月)/DD(日)

2)Days: XX days(泊) XX nights(日) (e.g.　1泊2日 or 1 day 2 nights)

3)Pax: Adult (大人)　XX (人)

Child (middle school or younger) (小中学生) XX (人)

4)Tent:  I will bring my own (持ち込み) / I would like to rent (貸し出し希望)

5)Number of Tents: (how many tents will you set-up / need to rent?)

6)Address:

7)Name:

8)Phone:

With my case, I made my reservation a day before I used the site.  It was on weekday so I could make reservation with no problem.  Also, they ask all information above by telephone so I did not have to submit the form.  

I am not sure for the weekend though.  I heard that the reception is not friendly to those who make sudden reservation or show up with no reservation... after all they are government workers and don't like things not going as instructed...  Luckily, most of workers I met were very nice and helpful.

There is a gate at the entrance from Okutama Shuyu Doro Rd and it is open only between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.  You will not able to leave Yamano Furusato Mura by car/motorcycle when the gate is closed.  This means that you will need to check in BEFORE 4:30 PM.

 

When you get there, ride to the main office (キャンプ場受付).  There is a main building and check-in there and they will give you some instructions about the site. There is a shop in the building open til 10 p.m., which is very helpful.  

Some baisc camping stuff, outdoor tools and snacks are available, but no meal/food and no alchohol (there is a bending machine for softdrinks) so you might want to get your food before you go to Okutama.  There is no big super market in Okutama so you want to go a store in Tokyo or Uenohara.  There is one supermarket on Route 33 in Uenohara (Kohseiya / 公正屋).

Also, there are showers inside of the main building (for free).  I think you need to use before 9 p.m. and there is no soap or towel so you will need to bring them with you.

After checking, they will escote you to your camp site (all sites are designated and assigned by them).  You can part naer your site and unload your staff, but you will need to park at a designated parking lot, which is a bit far.

To get to Yamano Furusato Mura

1) Chuo Express Way to Uenohara.

2) From Uenohara Exit, take Route 35 & Route 20 and get on Route 33.  Keep going on Route 33 and take left at Route 206, which is called Hinohara Kaido Rd.  This will lead you to Okutama Shuyu Doro Rd. 

3)Okutama Shuyu Doro RD.

Return to Tokyo:

1) Okutama Shuyu Doro RD to Okutama Lake

*You can ride around that area too

2) You can take Route 139 (toward to Otsuki).  You can either keep going on that road to Otsuki  (Chuo Exp. Way) or take Route 18 which will be going toward to Uenohara.


This camp site is economical and offers lots of nature. Also, it has easy access from/to Tokyo city area and lots of good roads to ride on, however, please note that the site is located right next to one of the popular touring spot, Okutama Shuyu Doro Rd., and you will hear cars and motorcycles exhaust sounds (and as you can imagine, they are souped up and loud) during day time (the road is closed for night time so you don't hear them when you sleep).  It wasn't that loud, at least for me, but if you are looking for a very quite place, this may not be the best location.

I will include this site into my consideration when I look for a camp site near Tokyo.

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にほんブログ村

Please also visit my other blogs:

500bm (my original blog about motorcycle and camping in Japanese)

50bm (about movies and books in Japanese)

Camp Touring Item Review: "B-6 kun" Portable BBQ Grill

In today's episode, I would like to introduce a Compact Portable Grill "B-6 kun".

This "made-in-Japan" fire pit/BBQ grill can be folded to B-6 paper size.

What is "B-6" paper size? Standardized by ISO 216, "A" and "B" paper sizes are used in many countries.  B-6 is 125x176mm and this is slightly larger than a post card (100×148mm).  

I have bought this as well as a grill plate from an online shop (via Rakuten).  The grill was 4,935 yen, the grill plate was 735 yen, plus 840 yen shipping.

The size is significant but I was more surprised with its design and quality.

Everything can be packed in a small bag.

 The grill top is designed especially for this grill and it can be packed together.

  

When you open the side-walls, the rest of items are stored inside.

A tong on the photo is not included.  I found this at a local 100-yen shop.

All over the grill side walls, ventilation holes are punched for acceleration of airflow (chimney effect).

This is so easy to assemble.  I don’t even need to explain.

If you built it several times, you should be able to complete it in 2~3 min.

You can place metal beams, which come with the grill, and they act as a spider when you wish to use a kettle or pan.

I mainly use this for BBQ and occasionally as a fire pit to stay warm.  So I mainly use the grill plate.  This grill plate is a very thick and tough one.  After you used, you can just use a metal brash and detergent to clean.

This grill made my camping dinner so much nicer.  On the way to get to the camp site, because I have this grill, I always look for a local market or store to find the local food I can cook.

When I am done eating, I can just watch fire and have some drinks and/or talking with friends.
This is a very small camping item but it can make your trip so much fun!

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にほんブログ村

Please also visit my other blogs:

500bm (my original blog about motorcycle and camping in Japanese)

50bm (about movies and books in Japanese)

Hokkaido Camp/Touring Planning: #2 How to Plan

Today’s topic is to introduce how I plan my Hokkaido Touring. 

 I discussed in my last blog episode about how to get to there from Tokyo/Kanto area and my choice was the Niigata-Otaru ferry.

Now, my starting point is set.  From the Port of Otaru, I will go north.  Before I go to the details, this is how I plan my trip.

1.  Pick up places/sightseeing spots/nice roads/good food.  I go through the Hokkaido guidebook, web, or map and pick up places I like and you want to go.  Then, I sort them by general area (e.g. Otaru area, Northern, Easter, Shirtoko, Middle…etc).  It does not have to be too specific at this stage.

2.  Choose about 10 places I definitely want to visit while I am in Hokkaido.  For example, those are the places I picked up last year:

Ororon Line Rd. in Northern Area near Wakkanai

Soya Misaki (Soya Cape) in Wakkanai (northern tip of Japan)

Rest-house Tokoro, a sea food restaurant in Tokoro near Abashiri (famous for big scallops)

Shiretoko Peninsula, UNESCO World Natural Heritage, and taking a cruise

Shiretoko Odan Rd.

Kaiyo-dai, Kaminoko Ike Pond and Lake Mashu-ko in Nakashibetsu area

Naitai Kogen Farm

Asahikawa Zoo

"Jet-coaster" Rd. in Furano

3. Based on those must-visit places, I lay out a general trip schedule/plans and check roads/directions.  Since I camp when I can, I do not have to make any reservations for my accommodation and this gives a lot of flexibility with my trip planning, allows me to change destinations when necessary.

4. If you have a Navigation, you can pre-set/bookmark their locations.  I had my iPhone and could use it as a navigation, but you must be careful that there is no mobile signal once you are out of city area or major roads.   I registered them along with other sightseeing spots and restaurants…etc.  Also, I registered several business hotels, youth hostels, motels/rider's houses*…etc in each area I visited in case of bad weather.  While I was there last year, I camped 3 nights, stayed in a riders house, youth hotel, and business hotel for 1 night each.

*rider's house is a dormitory style accommodation like a youth hostel.  You shared a bedroom with others, but the fee is very cheap (about 500~2000 yen).  Most of users are motorcyclists or bicyclist.  They are very friendly and you can exchange lots of information while you are there.

If you are planning to go on a camp-touring, I would suggest you to stay in a hotel or other accommodation facility every other night or every 2 nights.  With my case, a bad weather was one of the reasons to stay but I also needed to stay in a hotel so I could do my laundry.  Also, sleeping in bed was very helpful to recovering my strength from the long ride.

My original plan was to stay there for 4 nights in Hokkaido (incl. Ferry, total 6 nights) and gave myself 2 optional extra days (I had 10 days vacation).  I ended up using those extra days though.

Since I was there after the Obon Season in August, there were less tourists (still lots of bikers) and it made easy for me to reserve a return ticket online.  I booked a ferry ticket for Tomakomai/Hachinohe in Aomori a few days before my returning day by using a computer at a business-hotel I stayed in Asahikawa.

Well, that is pretty much it.  If you plan too much, you will feel bad if things don't go as you planned.  I prefer keep it general and flexible.  When you are traveling in Hokkaido, you will definitely meet lots of riders from all over the places and we exchange information about where to go, visit, and ride as well as what is good to eat around the area.  It is a long journey.  Sometime you maybe slow down, want to spend more time in one place, bad weather forced you to change your destination or to make you stuck in one place, a machine trouble...etc., many things can happen (hopefully only good things happen and no troubles) and those thing would affect your plan. 

This planning worked very well for me.  I hope this will help your trip unforgettable, not regrettable and hope this would help your trip too!

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にほんブログ村

Please also visit my other blogs:

500bm (my original blog about motorcycle and camping in Japanese)

50bm (about movies and books in Japanese)

Hokkaido Camp/Touring Planning: #1 How to Get There

In Japan, we say there are 2 types of motorcycle riders: those who have been in Hokkaido and those who haven’t.

That’s how much we, the Japanese riders, admire Hokkaido and we see it as a very holy place for us.

In this episode, I would like to talk about Hokkaido Camp-Touring.

Everyone thinks about it riding there someday and those who have done it always dreaming about going back again.

From where I live in Tokyo, Hokkaido is not an easy place to go.  I would need to get some time-off and it will not be a cheap trip... 

If you don’t mind renting a motorcycle while you are there, you can take a few hours flight and it won’t be hard to find a motorcycle you want to ride around.  But I am sure everyone would want to take your own.  There is no doubt it would be more memorable!

Currently, there is no road that connects Honshu and Hokkaido.  If you want to ride your motorcycle in Hokkaido but you don't live there, you will need to get on a ferry.  

There are several ferries available departing from ports in Honshu.  If you are in Tokyo/Kanto region, a ferry from Niigata to Otaru in Hokkaido and from Oarai in Ibaraki to Tomakomai in Hokkadio are the most popular routes.  You can also ride up to the north and take a ferry from Sendai in Miyagi to Tomakomai in Hokkaido, from Hachinohe in Aomori to Tomakomai, or from Aomori City to Hakodate.

Last year, I finally managed to get the holiest place for Japanese riders.  My choice was to take a ferry from Niigata to Otaru on the way and coming back from Tomakomai to Hachinohe.

Like other riders who have been in Hokkaido, I really enjoyed and want to go back again, hopefully this year too...

And like the last year, my budget and time off I can take will be limited again (well, mostly budget problem with my case), I am trying to find the most economical, yet, easiest and shortest way to get to Hokkaido so that I can spend more time and make my trip-money worth while I am there.

At this stage, I am planning (or hoping…) to take days off after Obon Week (Japanese summer vacation time) from August 17, 2013 (Sat) to August 25, 2013 (Sunday).  This helps lowering the ferry cost by avoiding the summer peak season when the fare normally is set higher than regular season.

Here are the comparison for several ferries from Tokyo to Hokkaido:

	Route	Niigata ~ Otaru	Oarai ~ Tomakomai	Hachinohe ~ Tomakomai
	Distance to the Port from Tokyo	318 km	126 km	664 km
	Riding Hours to the Port	4h02m	1h44m	7h43m
	Gas Consumption	15.9 L	6.3 L	33.2 L
	Gas Money (160yen/litter)	¥2544	¥1008	¥5312
	Expressway Toll	¥2650	¥1950	¥5750
	Cost to get to the port	¥5194	¥2958	¥11062
	Ferry Company	Shin Nihonkai Ferry	MOL Ferry (Sunflower)	Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen
	Fare	¥16100	¥31500	¥14750
	Departure	10:30 AM (Aug 17)	01:45 AM (Aug 17)	08:45 AM (Aug 17)
	Arrival	04:30 AM (Aug 18)	07:45 PM (Aug 17)	04:00 PM (Aug 17)
	TOTAL COST TO HOKKAIDO	¥21294	¥34458	¥25812

* riding distance and hours are from Ikebukuro area in Tokyo (where I live) to each departing port

* gas consumption is based on my motorcycle (2006 XL883) overall average gas millage: 20 km / litter

* expressway tall fees are the discounted fare by using ETC (late evening/early morning discount)

* ferry fare is based on the single-size bed fare (not individual/single room but normally shared with 2 or 3 passengers per room)

After comparing my time and budget, Niigata-Otaru is, again, my first choice.  Other two routes, by looking at their arrival time, may seem to allow me to start my trip in Hokkaido from August 17, however, I will be arriving there late afternoon or night time to Tomakomai;  I will need to go to the place I stay for that night shortly after my landing.  So even you are getting there, your trip for that day is very much over and you will be paying for the accommodation in addition to the ferry fare.  Also, from my experience, you do not want to ride during the night time (so many bugs...).

Another reason I like the Niigata-Otaru ferry, although I will be arriving on August 18, I get there by 4:30 a.m. and will be on my motorcycle by 5:30 or so.  I can use a full day-time for riding.   

I have a plenty of time to rest on the ferry so I will be physically and, of course, mentally (with a great excitement!) ready for a long journey.  You will be spending night in the ferry so basically the ferry fare is including your first night accommodation too.  Good deal!

Compare to Tomakomai which is the southern part of Hokkaido, if your first destination is in norther area, such as Wakkanai, the northern tip of Japan, you will save a lot of time by starting from the port of Otaru.

If you are planning to ride southern and/or central Hokkaido during the first part of your trip, Tomakomai will definitely a good starting point.

Well, you know some options to get to Hokkaido now. In the next several episodes, I would like to talk about good places to visit (ride) from my last year's experience and also places I would like to go this year.  Also, I will be introducing what you need and prepare.

Hope you will enjoy riding Hokkaido this year too!

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にほんブログ村

Please also visit my other blogs:

500bm (my original blog about motorcycle and camping in Japanese)

50bm (about movies and books in Japanese)

Camp Touring to Doshi in Yamanashi: Nature Land Om Camp Site

During the GW holiday week, I visited many places and I would like to talk about a camp site I visited.

Nature Land Om 

5964 Doshi-mura, Minami Tsuru-gun, Yamanashi 402-0208

〒402-0208 山梨県南都留郡道志村5964

Phone: 0554-52-2275

Nature Land Om is located near the boarder of Yamanashi and Kanagawa.  It is about 80 km from Shinjuku in Tokyo.

From Tokyo, you can take Chuo Express Way to Sagamiko IC.

From Sagamiko IC, go on Route 20 toward to Otsuki for about 2 km.

Turn LEFT on Route 76.  You will cross a bridge over the Lake Sagamiko.  Soon after you cross the bridge, there is a super market on you left if you want to buy food and drinks (they also have  some camping/BBQ items too).

Keep going on Route 76 for 12 km.  Turn LEFT on Route 413 (a.k.a. Doshi Michi).  

Ride for 13 km Nature Land Om's entrance is on your left.  There is Doshi Elementary School right before you see the entrance of camp site.

There is a reception/office of the camp site.  It looks like a Ryokan (I guess it is a Ryokan).  You pay the fee (I think it is about 1,500 yen for 1 person, 1 motorcycle, 1 tent,,, really good deal!) and they will give you a camp site's map and a tag (hang it on your tent so that they know you have paid the fee).

When I got there, there were only a few families since it was on a weekday.  I could keep the entire section by myself.

There is also a pond. They release trouts in this pond and you can fish.

There are couple of creeks run through the site and this place is covered by trees; very quite and relaxing.

It was a bit cold at night (it was about 6℃) but a portable grill kept me warm.  It is very relaxing having drinks and watching fire from the grill.

All facilities are well-maintained and clean.  This site's fee is reasonable and very accessible from Tokyo area.  I will definitely come back soon. 

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にほんブログ村

Please also visit my other blogs:

500bm (original blog about motorcycle and camping in Japanese)

50bm (about movies and books in Japanese)