Bumcamping in Japan

Step 6: Light Bag, Light Heart

That little green bag contains all the stuff I needed to climb a mountain and camp comfortably near the summit in freezing rain and snow.

In The Bag:
The tarp,
poncho,
umbrella,
windpants,
pair of wool socks,
some plastic bags to put over them in my shoes,
sleeping bag stuffed smal,
an equally stuffable quilted polyester jacket,
stocking cap.
food for a couple of days and a bottle of water.

I'm wearing:
zipleg polyester pants,
a fleece vest,
a plaid puttondown 60/40 lightweight longsleeve shirt,
cotton boxers with the fly sewed shut,
a sun hat and
a pair of crocs.

After the mountain I gave the other shoes away. "you're sure these aren't the good ones?" my friend asked.

When bicycling, hang your bag on your bike, not your back. You'll get much less tired and enjoy the trip a lot more.

Comments

[loosestool]

showers? bathroom?

[phoenixx100]

Definitely an enjoyable read...

[Whatsername]

Thanks for sharing your tips and adventures! Really enjoyed. My daughter says we need to do that and is wondering if we can camp near Studio Ghibli.

[TimAnderson]

Absolutely! I don't know where that is, but since it's in Japan, there's guaranteed to be a park, bridge, or mountain nearby!

[gpks02]

Absolutely fantastic Instructable!! You thought just about everything. You gave great Japanese Cultural insight and I think you might have just started a new sort of fad! A must do when you visit Japan "Bumcamping in Japan". Several funny comments/explanations. You can find some more possible helpful ideas from a German Film 'Erleuchtung Garantiert' otherwise known as 'Enlightenment Guaranteed' which is difficult to find but I have rented it at Blockbuster before. AND the Germans speak some English since they are in Japan. I know that if/when I go back to Japan, bumcamping will be on my to do list!! I will keep an eye out on any other instructables you might have. Arigato Gosaimas / Thanks!

[jmktoo]

I'd like to second this comment. Very informative, very funny and I appreciate the insight into Japanese culture.

[SheShe]

This sounds so fun! I'm wondering how long you were there and what the total cost of the trip was?

[TimAnderson]

It was pretty expensive. I think it was a 3 week trip. As I recall, the roundtrip flight was $900 or so, the train pass was maybe $450, and miscellaneous added up to quite a bit even though I didn't stay in any hotels.