Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Step 12Bumcamping in Japan
Tim:
This step got long, so I expanded it more into a Bum Camping Instructable of its own.
My cousin Donna and I went bumcamping by train in Japan with two folding bikes in 2006.
At Nikko, we found a nice spot in the woods. In the next town we camped on an out-of the-way terrace in a park. That went so well, the next night we camped in a prime waterfront spot in Ueno park, Tokyo.
After we were fast asleep a crew of patrolmen woke us up with flashlights. Their gutteral exclamations indicated we were in a place not aproved for sleeping bums.
We spoke to them in English and they went away. We slept well for the rest of the night. Park Attacker Man seen in that poster also left us alone.
Donna's folding bike cost $60 at a "Cainz Home" hardware superstore in Japan. It's nice. Buy your bike there unless you're very tall or picky. Her sleeping bag cost $10 in a Japanese discount sporting goods store (sports authority I think). It's plenty warm.
I had a JR rail pass which must be bought outside of the country. It's still expensive, but a lot cheaper than individual train tickets. When bringing your bike onto a train, you have to put a cover over your bike. I used this bag. Later I bought a much lighter bike cover in a dollar store. In the station I partly folded the bike as seen here for ease in wheeling it around.
It's fall so bugs aren't a problem, but it can rain and get pretty chilly, especially at altitude.
I sewed the 8X10 tarp from silicone-impregnated nylon. I sewed loops at the corners instead of using grommets. The whole thing weighs 1.5lbs including tarred nylon codline guy strings.
The ground cover is a 5x7 poncho I sewed from the same material. It weighs 1 lb.
That silnylon is great stuff. Water beads up on it in a really satisfying way.
We shoved our umbrellas out the sides to close the sides. There are lots of ways to pitch a tarp.
That little green bag contains all the stuff I needed to climb a mountain and camp comfortably near the summit in freezing rain. A pair of windpants, a pair of wool socks and some plastic bags to put over them in my shoes. A sleeping bag stuffed small and an equally stuffable quilted polyester jacket, and a stocking cap. 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.
This step got long, so I expanded it more into a Bum Camping Instructable of its own.
My cousin Donna and I went bumcamping by train in Japan with two folding bikes in 2006.
At Nikko, we found a nice spot in the woods. In the next town we camped on an out-of the-way terrace in a park. That went so well, the next night we camped in a prime waterfront spot in Ueno park, Tokyo.
After we were fast asleep a crew of patrolmen woke us up with flashlights. Their gutteral exclamations indicated we were in a place not aproved for sleeping bums.
We spoke to them in English and they went away. We slept well for the rest of the night. Park Attacker Man seen in that poster also left us alone.
Donna's folding bike cost $60 at a "Cainz Home" hardware superstore in Japan. It's nice. Buy your bike there unless you're very tall or picky. Her sleeping bag cost $10 in a Japanese discount sporting goods store (sports authority I think). It's plenty warm.
I had a JR rail pass which must be bought outside of the country. It's still expensive, but a lot cheaper than individual train tickets. When bringing your bike onto a train, you have to put a cover over your bike. I used this bag. Later I bought a much lighter bike cover in a dollar store. In the station I partly folded the bike as seen here for ease in wheeling it around.
It's fall so bugs aren't a problem, but it can rain and get pretty chilly, especially at altitude.
I sewed the 8X10 tarp from silicone-impregnated nylon. I sewed loops at the corners instead of using grommets. The whole thing weighs 1.5lbs including tarred nylon codline guy strings.
The ground cover is a 5x7 poncho I sewed from the same material. It weighs 1 lb.
That silnylon is great stuff. Water beads up on it in a really satisfying way.
We shoved our umbrellas out the sides to close the sides. There are lots of ways to pitch a tarp.
That little green bag contains all the stuff I needed to climb a mountain and camp comfortably near the summit in freezing rain. A pair of windpants, a pair of wool socks and some plastic bags to put over them in my shoes. A sleeping bag stuffed small and an equally stuffable quilted polyester jacket, and a stocking cap. 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.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
1
comment
|
Add Comment
|
Aug 12, 2009. 11:03 AMBoeroBoy
says:
The key here is the fly sewed shut on the boxers. Good idea. I think I need to do that to all my boxers. Whose bright idea was it to put a hole there anyway? Excellent ible. Makes me want to take a vacation and hop a random plane.
Reply
 |
Add Comment
|
