Learn how to Spend 13 Days in Japan—Our Japan Street Journey Itinerary

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When you consider touring throughout Japan, you in all probability envision going to Tokyo, hopping on bullet trains, and hopscotching round Osaka and Kyoto to sort out among the hottest sights in Japan.

Nevertheless, my household and I lately took a barely totally different route strategy for our Japan go to. We rented a 16 ft tenting automobile.

Aspect be aware: I lately wrote a put up on what I want I’d identified earlier than renting an RV in Japan, equivalent to how one can discover an ideal rental firm or ebook your campsites. You’ll be able to learn that article right here.

Then we drove it round among the much less touristy components of Japan. A few of these locations you’ve perhaps heard of, however a few of them you in all probability haven’t. And sure, we in fact visited among the well-liked 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 highway journey itinerary throughout Japan, in case you ever resolve 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 possibly can study 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 top of the video the place I’ll share some numbers from our journey, equivalent 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, beneath.

Day 1: Tokyo

The place we stayed: Shiba Park Lodge

What we did: 

We flew straight into Tokyo. What journey to Japan can be full with no go to to this wonderful metropolis? Not ours. 

Earlier than arriving in Tokyo, we looked for family-friendly lodging. One advice 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 had been only a quick stroll away from the Tokyo Tower and an epic playground for the youngsters. 

We had a brief keep in Tokyo however tried to slot in as a lot as potential. Here’s what we squeezed into at some point:

• The Shinjuku Gyoen Gardens are positioned proper subsequent to the Shinjuku Practice Station, the preferred prepare station on the earth. The gardens had been an oasis in a bustling metropolis and we had been even in a position to see cherry blossoms of their full magnificence within the backyard. 
• When you’ve got youngsters (or simply if you wish to hit up an animal cafe), we spent our first afternoon in Tokyo at miPig cafe, which was successful 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 comfortable 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 your entire day however we nonetheless had a blast. For those who go to whereas in Tokyo, you’ve obtained 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: Choosing 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 just a few totally different RV rental corporations in Japan and since we had been visiting throughout peak cherry blossom season, availability was difficult. El Monte had good evaluations and two places in Tokyo. The crew 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 had been wonderful. We did a walk-through of the RV, realized concerning the programs, and loaded up on provides on the grocery retailer throughout the road.

One last-minute choice 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. Nearly all of the roads we might journey throughout Japan had been toll roads, so having this card allowed us to simply move by means of every automated toll gate with out having to cease and pay. (I share the whole 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 fallacious activate Google Maps, we ended up detouring by means of downtown Tokyo. What was initially speculated 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 probably 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 had been one of some totally 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 pals with locals from Tokyo who had pushed out for a weekend tenting journey.

From our campsite we drove out to Lake Kawaguchi, which was speculated to be probably the greatest locations to get a vantage level of Fuji. Different folks obtained this memo too. It was a cute city alongside the lake and we had been there on a weekend, so it was a bit packed.

We then drove over to the Chureito Pagoda. There have been a variety of stairs to the highest, however the views had been price it.

We ended the day at Fumotoppara Campground with probably 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 means of an historical village that has been restored and preserved over centuries. 

The city is correct 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 among the native avenue 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 might critically take a look at my driving expertise 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 can be our favourite campsite of the journey.

However first, after three days of touring, it was time to refill the gasoline tank. This price about $100. At this gasoline station, there have been attendants who stuffed the tank for us, saving us from by accident selecting the fallacious 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 ebook at KuraKura with a tenting automobile, we advocate the “Jungle” campsite!)

Our Campsite at Cafe KuraKura was a spotlight of our whole highway 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 unimaginable 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 how one can season and boil it. It was the kind of expertise that may stick with us ceaselessly.

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 dwelling to inexperienced tea plantation farmers for generations. Nevertheless, 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 had been offered.

Day 8: Kyoto

The place we stayed: Miami Seaside 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 had been set to discover the well-known bamboo gardens and take the youngsters to the monkey park.

We had been in a position to simply discover a parking spot inside a brief strolling distance of the bamboo backyard. Nevertheless, if I might return and do it once more I’d goal to reach earlier within the morning. By the point we arrived, we had been shoulder to shoulder with different friends and it made navigating the realm a bit tougher. Nonetheless, the bamboo backyard was nonetheless magical. 

For lunch, we walked throughout the river and located among the finest desserts we’d had to date in Japan. We ate mochi balls, comfortable 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 could possibly 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 seashore campground (sure, that is the actual title of this campground). This campsite was considered one of our favorites. We had an epic view of Lake Biwa and an enormous campsite for the youngsters to run round and discover.

At the present time we needed to make our option to a extremely beneficial metropolis referred to as Kanazawa. We found that it will 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 info on-line, however we discovered loads of highway 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 youngsters 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 town. Kanazawa was described to us as “older Japan”, however a lot of what we explored felt like a more recent metropolis. We had no bother discovering a spot to park our van within the downtown space!

Highlights for us in Kanazawa had been strolling the Kenroku-en gardens, seeing Kanazawa Fortress, and stumbling on a avenue 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 affected by waterfalls, mountain views, and speeding water. 

The campsite we discovered for the evening was gorgeous and proper alongside the river. Finest OF ALL, it had an onsen proper on web site. We’d seen 100 totally 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 had been the one ones at our campsite so we had all of it to ourselves.

Onsens are quite common throughout Japan because of its excessive volcanic exercise. A lot of them are absolutely nude and there’s some primary etiquette concerned when going to a lot of them, equivalent to showering beforehand, not getting in with a towel, and following no matter guidelines they’ve posted on web site. 

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, a lot of the nationwide park was closed from snow! We didn’t anticipate this in any respect! We couldn’t make it to any trailheads to hike. This was a significant bummer, however we knew the youngsters wouldn’t like mountaineering within the chilly snow and we didn’t have the suitable gear with us, so we determined to take a significant pivot and get again to hotter climate. 

Whereas the youngsters 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 youngsters 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 be aware with Disneyland. If we might do it once more, we might’ve pushed into Osaka throughout our journey to go to Common Studios Japan, however we had been frightened about driving and parking the van in cities—which ended up being simpler than we thought it will 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 worth 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 numerous tolls that we crossed by means of throughout our journey. Principally each highway is a toll highway, so this was lower than I’d’ve anticipated!

Ideas Earlier than You Go

There have been just a few issues we did throughout this journey that made our lives considerably simpler.

1. Printed out all reservation confirmations prematurely. As a result of we don’t communicate Japanese and to get rid of any confusion upon arriving at our locations, printing out our confirmations was an enormous peace of thoughts. Plus, they had 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.
2. Downloaded Google Maps for offline use in Japan. I wasn’t certain how properly our mobile sign can be throughout Japan, so earlier than our journey, I downloaded Google Maps. Because it seems, we had stable cell alerts virtually all over the place we went and this was a nonissue. El Monte (and I’m assuming different rental corporations) can have sizzling spots you possibly can hire along with your RV rental. 
3. Pre-purchased our sim card from Japan Wi-fi. There’s a handful of corporations you possibly can pre-purchase a Japan sim card from. We purchased ours by means of Japan Wi-fi, picked it up proper on the airport in Tokyo, and had no issues all through our whole journey. 
4. Including cookware and bedding onto our rental as a result of a lot of this stuff didn’t include the bottom rental. 

There are in all probability extra objects to say, however these had been among the high ones that come to thoughts.

 Driving this RV throughout Japan was really 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 will imply the world should 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 main points of our experiences on this nation. 

And if there are any extra questions you may have about driving an RV throughout Japan, please drop a remark we’d be joyful to reply any of them!