As the fresh green season rolls in, the urge to get outside and camp has been hitting hard lately. Hope you’ve all been doing well.
After enjoying the cherry blossoms in Tokyo, a simple thought popped into our heads:
“If we just follow the cherry blossom front north, couldn’t we keep hanami season going a little longer?”
And just like that, a cherry blossom camping trip was born.
So today, here’s a little report from our recent camp adventure.
A friend picked me up before sunrise and we headed straight out for supplies.
First stop:
Hanamasa — every camper’s reliable best friend.
Right from the start — through to late-night snacks and everything in between — we usually end up shopping for at least four or five meals each trip, so supermarket stops somehow turn into a full-on event every single time.
One thing catches your eye, then another…
Before you know it, the basket’s overflowing with random ideas and “maybe this would be good too” purchases.
Back when camp meals meant simple staples like curry, yakisoba, and tonjiru, I never really noticed how long we spent wandering the aisles.
Lately though, camp cooking has slowly become its own kind of ritual.
Still… part of me wants to go back to the basics.
Honestly, a simple camp curry sounds pretty perfect right now.
Completely lost in conversation, we somehow ended up heading the wrong direction.
Had to get off the highway and hop back on the correct route.
A classic early-trip mistake right out of the gate —
but after a rough start, we finally pointed ourselves toward the destination.
Snow-capped Mt. Fuji finally came into view on the horizon.
One of those moments that instantly makes the road trip feel real.
We were driving with a rough area in mind, but truthfully — like most of our trips — we never actually set a fixed destination.
Just a target region, a vague direction, and the instinct-driven “we’ll know it when we see it” kind of approach.
That slight uncertainty… the feeling of relying purely on your own senses as you move forward —
it’s strangely addictive.
Moments like that make me think,
“Yeah… this is what actually being alive feels like.”
And somehow, these trips always end with unexpected little miracles.
Maybe that’s why we keep doing it.
Though to be fair, this style definitely doesn’t happen on group camping trips.
Hardly a single car passed by the entire time.
Just long quiet roads, the sound of tires rolling, and that feeling of slowly disappearing deeper into the countryside.
Every now and then, pockets of cherry blossoms would appear along the roadside.
It kind of reminded me of that oddly satisfying feeling when you’re traveling abroad and suddenly become hyper-aware of time zones — like wanting to brag that you’re already living in tomorrow.
The peak bloom had clearly passed, but honestly, the mix of fading sakura and fresh spring greens felt just as beautiful in its own way.
A different kind of spring scenery — softer, quieter, and somehow more memorable.
And with that, we kept pushing deeper into the mountains.
Had one of those tracks playing in the background that somehow makes the scenery feel even more cinematic.
Country Roads
Then suddenly — the view opened up completely.
One of those landscapes that makes you instinctively stop talking for a second.
The sense of openness out here was unreal…
Not sure if it was a cottage or someone’s private getaway home, but it looked like something straight out of Scandinavia.
Simple, quiet, and perfectly blended into the landscape.
Maybe some kind of tree-planting project?
Rows of young trees lined the hillside, quietly waiting for the landscape to grow into itself over the years.
Truth is, during all this we checked out a few different campgrounds that looked promising along the way.
One spot actually had a pretty amazing location — great views, nice atmosphere, the whole deal.
But then we saw the price:
sites started at around ¥16,000 per night.
For a big group, maybe it makes sense…
but for just a couple people, it’s getting dangerously close to “might as well book a ryokan” territory.
One look at each other, a quick laugh, and we moved on.
As the hours slipped by, we were just about ready to compromise and settle somewhere…
…then something caught our eye.
Then somehow — the miracle hit.
Just following instinct and exploring as we drove, we stumbled across a hidden campground so low-key it barely even seemed to exist online.
Tucked away deep in the landscape, quiet beyond words…
the kind of place you almost don’t want to tell anyone about once you find it.
After checking in, we picked out a spot that felt right and started unloading the gear.
So no, the full-on cherry blossom camping dream didn’t exactly happen in the end
(though there were still sakura scattered around the surrounding area).
But honestly?
No problem at all. Totally worth it anyway.
Let’s Party!!
Cracked open the first cold one and cheers.
That mix of relief and excitement hits all at once once you finally find your place for the night.
The long drive, the uncertainty, the searching —
suddenly it all feels worth it.
Already had a feeling this trip was going to be a good one.
The temperature was pretty much perfect this time, and the sunlight filtering through the trees felt just right, so we skipped the tarp altogether.
One of the best parts of camping this season —
that open-air feeling you only really get during late spring.
A lazy afternoon with soft early-summer sunlight overhead and a cool dry breeze cutting through the trees.
Yeah…
it felt like the perfect time to bring out that one.
Rough-cut chunks of tuna sashimi — simple, unfussy, and perfect as a quick starter with a cold beer outside.
One bite of the cold tuna.
First the cool, clean texture hits,
then that deep savory richness slowly spreads across your palate.
Then we washed it down with a lemon sour packed full of ice.
The sharp carbonation crackled through instantly.
Maybe not for winter camping,
but this season?
It just hits different.
Not exactly a camping hack, but one of those ideas that makes you wonder why you never thought of it sooner.
Whenever we tried skewering eel, the soft delicate meat would fall apart halfway through.
But turning it into unadon creates a different problem —
hard to share, and honestly… sometimes you just want to eat eel the way you would yakitori, straight off the skewer.
Then it suddenly clicked.
Why not just slice it directly while it’s still on the skewer?
The meat stays intact, the skewer still works as-is, and best of all, it becomes way easier to portion out and share.
Such a small thing —
but weirdly satisfying once you realize it.
Anyone who’s into grilled eel skewers will probably get exactly what I mean. lol
Time for a refill.
Had something like this playing in the background.
Grilled eggplant with nothing but olive oil and salt.
The stream right in front of us was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom.
Beyond it, nothing but quiet forest stretching across the mountainside.
No people. No movement.
At least… there shouldn’t have been.
But somehow, I kept feeling something.
Like a presence quietly drifting through the air.
Suuuuu…
I looked up — and there it was.
A wild monkey.
Completely out of nowhere.
Turns out it was a whole troop of monkeys — probably a family moving together through the forest.
One of the younger monkeys stopped for a while, watching us cautiously from across the river.
Then, almost as if guided by its mother, it quietly followed the others back into the woods and disappeared between the trees.
At first we panicked a little and started hiding the food,
but they seemed completely unfazed by us and just carried on past.
Maybe because the river separated us, but the whole thing felt strangely backwards —
like we were the ones outside the enclosure.
Honestly, it felt more like watching a nature documentary than camping. lol
There wasn’t a single man-made object in sight.
No buildings. No people.
Just the sound of flowing water and birds echoing through the valley.
The scenery felt almost cinematic —
the kind of atmosphere that suddenly makes you think of films like The Revenant or Into the Wild.
Now I kinda want to rewatch both of them.
Before the sun dipped behind the mountains, we slowly got the fire going.
The temperature stayed comfortable even after sunset, so we kept things fully open-air into the night.
Salmon belly sizzling away on the stove.
Marinated firefly squid.
An aggressively old-man-tier snack selection — in the best way possible.
Looked up, and the sky was completely packed with stars.
Before we knew it, wine bottles had started piling up all around our little table setup.
At some point, the drowsiness quietly started creeping in too.
I just laid back on the cot for a quick break, staring up at the sky…
At least, that was the plan at first.
Yeah… next thing I knew, it was morning.
Fully passed out right there under the stars.
(For the record, the fire was completely out and everything had already been cleaned up.)
Chirp chirp.
…Wait.
Where the hell am I again?
Ahh… right.
I crashed out right after the little feast and never even made it into the tent.
Checked my phone — barely past 7AM.
Stayed bundled up in the warmth for a while longer, completely frozen in place.
One thing I noticed — with a mummy-style sleeping bag wrapped all the way up around your face, the morning sun surprisingly doesn’t feel that harsh.
Honestly, for this season?
This setup might actually be perfect.
Scooped up some water from the river right in front of camp and splashed it over my face.
Instantly woke me up with a cold shiver.
From somewhere in the distance came the sound of ziiiip —
Looks like my friend had finally emerged from the tent too.
Alright then…
Time for that essential first drink of the morning.
Morning coffee at camp.
Fuuuuuh…
Pure bliss.
After taking it slow with a cup of coffee…
I’m usually not a breakfast person at all, but for some reason, camping mornings always make me hungry.
One of those classic camp mysteries.
If you’ve got a good eye for camp food, you can probably already guess the recipe from the ingredients alone.
One of those camp meals I’d been wanting to try for a while.
When it comes to camp meals where you don’t have to worry about oil splatter everywhere… this one is hard to beat.
The answer: samgyeopsal.
Wrapped in fresh lettuce, it stays surprisingly light and refreshing —
honestly, easy to crush even in the morning.
This time of year, the river works like a natural ice bath for beer — absolutely freezing cold.
By the time the sun climbed overhead, it was officially sandal weather.
Instant airflow around the feet.
Had something like this playing in the background again.
And of course, we ended up overstaying again.
Took things slow and stayed all the way into the evening.
For the late afternoon camp meal, we went with…
Steak Pasta
It’s already good on its own…
…but this version might be the ultimate upgrade.
Then we turned it into a completely sinful little dish using a jar of uni.
A completely unhinged steak-and-uni pasta with zero restraint whatsoever. lol
One bite in and we were basically losing our minds.
This thing was straight-up unfair —
like the poster child of completely over-the-top camp meals.
Honestly, jarred uni might actually exist for this exact purpose.
After lunch, we slowed things down for a while and just relaxed.
Before we knew it, it was almost time to pack everything up.
Funny how the best moments always seem to disappear the fastest.
Alright then…
Guess it’s about time to hit the road again.
And the campground that ended up hosting this little adventure was…
The place we ended up staying at was Ojirogawa Keikoku Campground.
Nestled at the foot of the Southern Alps in Hokuto, the campground even had a trailhead running alongside it leading deeper into the mountains.
We honestly just stumbled across it by chance while driving around, but the secluded atmosphere out there was unreal.
One of those rare spots that feels so good you almost want to keep it completely to yourself.
Just before the campground, there was a large parking area, mostly used by hikers heading up the trails.
The campsite itself was further down a narrow road, tucked away deeper inside.
Check-in was handled here first before continuing on to the actual camping area.
On the way back, cherry blossoms were there to see us off.
We weren’t exactly camping under the cherry blossoms themselves, but we still managed to catch plenty of sakura along the way — and that was more than enough.
Completely satisfied.
And just like that…
The cherry blossom front camping trip comes to an end.
Fin.
Hakushu Tourism: Ojirokawa Gorge Campground
8886 Shirasu, Hakushu-machi, Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture
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