Been quite a while since our last post, but, as you will read later in this edition, we had a little, umm, shall we say, “setback” just after we flew out of Japan that very materially delayed getting our van back to North America – but more on that saga later in this post. As promised some time back, in this edition I’ll share the costs and processes involved in getting it home from Japan ( and elaborate on what went wrong ). This shipping update is provided ( based on our own experience in Japan ) primarily for the benefit of those following our blog or IG updates, and who are contemplating adding Japan/Korea to their overlanding travels. It is very much focused on the Japan side of the journey, which had a bit more complexity; the US side was super fast, easy and very cheap. Next week I will share a full update on the driving experience across the USA and back home to Kelowna, thus going “full circle” as it were, over the past ( almost ) two years of our time on the road.
For those who have emailed, WhatsApp’d, or Messenger’d us with questions ( or who’ve just been following with interest ), here’s the shipping summary based on our experience. It’s pretty dry, technical stuff so if you are a regular blog reader following our general travel experiences in Japan, this post is a definite pass ( you’ve been warned ) ! If that is not you, but you’re just curious about our “setback”, skip down to “So, What Went Wrong ?”.
Arrival in Japan from Korea:
Since we did not arrive in Japan on a RoRo ship ( we came by ferry, from Korea ), I can’t really speak to the process or port costs exactly. I can share that an Australian couple we met ( @rightfoottravel ) shipped a Landcruiser in to Japan ( Yokohama ) in a container and their port charges/customs fees etc ran to $950 USD. RoRo might be a tad less as a vehicle shipped via RoRo does not need to be unpacked but it’s probably a fair guide. For the record, arriving by ferry from Korea was a bit slow in terms of processing ( we spent all day at the port ) but it was very cheap; our “all in” fees for customs, Carnet review by JAF, and the security deposit came to about $150USD ( and the security “deposit” is not a deposit – you don’t get it back – it’s a fee, plain and simple). The ferry was very reasonably priced as well ( around $500USD, for the van, 2 people and private cabin with shower/toilet ), and very comfortable – I’d highly recommend it for anyone considering that route to Japan. We used Camellia Line and our very helpful contact in Japan who handled everything was Jae ( speaks English, Japanese and Korean ) : [email protected]
Background To Shipping Out of Japan:
A constant over the last few weeks of our time in Japan was regular communication with our shipping agent agent, Hollis Humphreys – it’s par for the course when one is at this stage of any overland journey. Without question, getting the shipping piece completed on time, on budget, and without damage or loss is one of the big challenges of overlanding. It stresses overlanders out more than anything else. The challenge was further complicated on this route because all shippers were advising that the vehicle had to travel with no inside cargo. See our previous blog for details on how that complicated our life and added considerable expense for us. On no other shipping route have we ever had to do that, and hopefully we won’t have to again. Having said that we are now hearing that other overlanders are being told ( or at least strongly advised) to do this on some other international routes ( in Japan, it seems to be a rule, not just advice ! ).
Meeting Hollis in Tokyo, in person, was a nice touch – so often one never meets the shipping agent in person in this business. Just the day before, Hollis confirmed that we in fact now had “space” – the “green light” we’d anxiously awaited. I don’t think we have ever been as relieved to get such a confirmation – we were, in fact, braced for the possibility that we’d be flying out of Japan with the van in storage and still on a shipping wait list so it was heaven not to have to contend with that. When the news was looking especially bleak a couple of weeks back, we‘d actually seriously explored ferrying back to Korea in the hope of getting a firm booking out from there. Fortunately we did not have to go that route- while they had space out of Korea it came at a price we were not willing to pay ( well over double the rates on offer out of Japan ). Shipping can be like that, prices being extremely sensitive to supply and demand on particular routes.
Choosing A Shipping Agent:
in some respects shipping out of Japan is much like elsewhere in the world and other respects quite different. We found Hollis’ name through another overlanding contact and reached out initially many months before coming to Japan with preliminary inquiries. It’s important to get someone familiar with RoRo shipping vs regular container shipping. They are different beasts – one agent we spoke to simply said they just “don’t do” RoRo. We did speak to others initially to get quotes and assess service levels – we chose Hollis for a few reasons:
a) Native English speaker, a huge benefit when you are discussing the intricacies of shipping minutiae
b) Had 22 years experience in Japan, fluent in Japanese, and communication was generally timely
c) Was also able to broker our vehicle insurance needs and arranged our vehicle coverage through a large and reputable Japanese insurer.
d) Knowing we had shipped 3 times before, he was able to carefully explain how and where it was different in Japan. We could have easily made some incorrect assumptions without his insights
Key Differences Between Japan And Other Places We Have Shipped From:
a) Given current demand for RoRo space everything is “last minute” here right now. We are assured that is NOT normal but it’s certainly been our normal! In this environment one must be VERY organized and prepared to move at short notice. Nowhere else in the world have we experienced this. Hopefully we won’t anywhere in future.
b) We did not technically drop our vehicle at the “port” but rather a private yard nearby, awaiting later delivery to the port. Not sure if this process is specific to this port, this shipping line, our agent, or just as a result of capacity limitations at this time. It was new to us, we’ve always driven our vehicles directly on to the actual wharf.
c) As a result of the above, there was no customs inspection while we were present, nor did the shipping line inspect it at that point. That would come later. When leaving Argentina, the USA, Australia and Korea we delivered our vehicle directly to the actual port. In both Argentina and Korea the customs inspection on departure was done while we were there; no such departure inspection was done in Australia ( but they sure got us coming in ! ), nor in the US. It was due to this uncertainly that we decided to bite the bullet, absorb the considerable mailing costs and ship it empty. We are glad we did.
d) Regarding documents, this was mostly very similar to elsewhere – proof of vehicle ownership, Carnet copies, passport copies etc were required to be emailed in to secure the booking with delivery of original Carnet as we dropped the vehicle off. This last part was very different to other ports/countries where I took the Carnet to customs myself to have it stamped and then got it back to take with me. In Japan, your Carnet is left with the shipping agent ( Hollis ) who gets it stamped ONLY after customs have confirmation the vessel has sailed and your vehicle is on it. Not a process I love and of course we will now have to have the Carnet couriered to us in Canada. I need it back so I can have it closed out and get my deposit back.
e) Marine Insurance – Hollis acknowledged that his providers were not very competitive in this critical field so encouraged us to shop elsewhere. His sources charged 1.5% of vehicle value, which is very high. We went straight back to Stewart Insurance ( Michael, or Sam ) in Melbourne who insured us from Australia to Korea and they were happy to insure our passage onwards from Japan. It worked out to about 0.65% of vehicle value and they were as fast and efficient as before. Highly recommended, this time they used Chubb International vs Zurich International last time.
Getting To Port:
Google Maps got us to Yokohama port without issue, it’s all pretty organized there. In our experience, due to lack of port space they won’t want your vehicle too early, so be prepared to drop it at a “yard”. Seems to be the way in Yokohama.
Payment/Bill of Lading Etc:
As with every other international shipment we have done, payment is made only once the ship is at sea. Hollis accepts credit card ( but with a 3.75% fee ! ) making the transfer of funds easy if you don’t want to send a wire. It was better value just to wire funds, which we did. We had a booking confirmation number and got the BOL before the ship sailed. The shipping quote had already been agreed on at ¥760,000 ( all in ), or just a hair over $5,000 USD (and we are a 42cbm vehicle).
So, What Went Wrong ?:
While we left Japan ( to fly home ) feeling pretty pumped and that everything was under control, things soon went VERY pear shaped. We’d not been home a week when Hollis called to say that our van had been “bumped” off the ship ( the “Eternal Ace”, which was a 15 day direct sail to Vancouver – the best possible sailing for us ). Seems Hollis had submitted our height as 2.59 meters, not the 2.95m I had originally supplied, and when it got to the port for measurement they said there was no space in the higher section. It gets worse – sailings to Vancouver ( and the West coast in general ) were heavily booked as major shipping clients were all booking up space to the West Coast ahead of a potential US East Coast port strike that was coming. We had no hope of getting on another sailing to the West coast which is why we ( very reluctantly ) accepted Baltimore ( near New York ). The “Marguerite Ace”, our new ship, wasn’t scheduled to leave for another 25 days and given the much longer passage to the East coast it meant that we would now not see our van till early October ( as opposed to mid August ). And now I would have an almost 5,000km drive back to Kelowna, versus 400km if we’d shipped direct to Vancouver ! All because the height was incorrectly recorded by the shipping agent. We were, quite literally “not happy campers !”. But, what do you do……?
Alas, despite typhoons in Japan that slowed it down for 5 days, and a 3 day port strike that started just before our ship was to dock in Baltimore, we did finally manage to pick it up on October 8. I will add that, just like before ( when we shipped a truck camper from Argentina to Brunswick, Georgia ), the US port process is VERY efficient. I flew into Baltimore airport, arriving at 8.00 am and was driving out of the port in the early afternoon….same day ! Our shipping agent in the US ( the same one we used when we shipped the truck camper ) was super efficient, and very reasonably priced. We had our Carnet handy but did not need to use it to clear customs. The total costs paid at the US end were:
Arrival notification – $50.00
Port fees – $98.00
Port escort – $62.50
Agents fee – $125.00
Customs fee (1) – $12.00
Total: $347.50 ( very similar to what we paid in Brunswick in 2022, and very cheap compared to other countries)
(1) Customs is at BWI airport and provide the port release – you need it to get your vehicle. Fast and efficient.
So, despite the long wait ( I picked it up at the port almost 7 weeks later than expected ) it was a huge relief just to get our van back safe and sound. There was some good news in another respect, as well. Readers will remember the frantic packing of 6 huge cardboard boxes containing all our “inner cargo” in the days preceding our flights home from Japan. Japan Post had advised that they may take 8 weeks – happily, they all arrived, over 2 different days, undamaged and delivered right to our door less than 6 weeks after they were sent. Some pretty valuable stuff in the boxes so that was also a huge relief. The cost of sea mailing all the boxes was around $500 CDN ( $370USD ) and when you consider that the deductible/excess on any marine insurance claim is usually $750-$1,000 USD ( and there most surely would have been some theft based on past experience ) we felt it was not a bad deal cost-wise ( just more of a headache to do it all ). Vehicle damage is rare, contents theft is sadly common.
I hope potential future overlanders to North East Asia find this of some value – I know that similar information supplied to me by those who came before us helped immensely with our decision to ship our vehicle to/from the region and travel extensively in Korea and Japan. We absolutely loved the experience, and we’d be happy to answer any questions readers may have ( happy to do a little “payback” in this regard ). Next week I’ll document the final drive home to Kelowna – stay tuned !
Positioning ourselves for a few days in downtown Tokyo first meant finding a secure and affordable place to store the rig while we “hoteled” it in the city itself. That, we managed to find out towards Narita ( home of Tokyo’s international airport), convenient also for when we needed to ultimately fly out. Getting there was an interesting drive taking us mostly along the coast south-west of Tokyo Bay, via Kamakura and Yokohama before making use of the new bridge/tunnel across the bay ( the “Aqualine” ) to Chiba prefecture. An incredibly impressive feat of engineering and something really weird to experience – knowing large ocean going tankers are actually sailing above you !
Tokyo is the kind of place you could spend many days ( or even longer ) but we spent 3 days and two nights on this visit. Now in our final days, it seemed a good time to splash out on a nice hotel and the Villa Fontaine Grand Tokyo in trendy Roppongi fit the bill nicely. We love our van but it was certainly a treat to spread ourselves out for a few days in 4 star luxury. Centrally located in Roppongi, and with Tokyo’s awesome 24 hour Unlimited Metro passes in hand we set off exploring.
This thriving, busy, home to 20,000,000 people has much to offer- several of Japan’s more famous shrines, phenomenal food options, amazing shopping, the Imperial Palace, and one of the world’s best known pedestrian crossings with accommodation and entertainment options now at prices that once seemed unthinkable in one of the world’s great metropolises. Is it any wonder that the place was packed to the rafters with foreign tourists ? We thought Kyoto was popular – Tokyo was insane ! You certainly can’t do it full justice in the time we spent there so we focused on some specific areas this visit – the Imperial Palace, Ginza shopping district, Shinjuku/Shibuya ( home of the famous “Shibuya Scramble” ), Meiji Shrine, Yasukuni Shrine and Sensoji Temple. There is of course much more but these alone certainly kept us busy.
Starting in the very heart of downtown Tokyo, the Imperial Palace ( residence of the Emperor ) is most people’s first stop. While one can’t visit the “inner sanctum” so to speak, the grounds are huge, beautiful, full of historical landmarks and remarkably quiet considering its location. The gardens/grounds are superbly well-maintained, as befits the home of the country’s monarch. While the emperor used to reside in Kyoto, since the time of the Meiji Restoration ( 1868 ) Tokyo has been his home.
Probably Tokyo’s most famous suburb ( and reportedly its most expensive ), Ginza is not far away. Here one finds the most historic department stores, international fashion brands, all manner of luxury stores and some of Tokyo’s trendiest streets and restaurants. For mere mortals like us, much of it was “window shopping only” but still interesting to experience this most decadent part of the town. On every street corner there’s a name brand you’d recognize, foreign and Japanese.
Yasukuni Shrine holds a special place in the hearts of Japanese, being the place where many of its war dead including its greatest military leaders have been interred. While this includes revered military leaders going back to Edo times, 14 Class A war criminals from WW2 ( like Hideki Tojo ) are interred there as well. While not an issue for Western nations, this causes friction, particularly with near Asian neighbours, when Japanese politicians habitually visit to pay their respects to the deceased ( as politicians are wont to do ). So, beyond being a beautiful shrine, with impressive grounds, the place is a bit controversial in the eyes of some. Our interest ( mine anyway ) was purely on the grounds and the military museum within – for any military history buff ( as I am ), Yasukuni offers some great content. It is the 3rd place in Japan we’ve seen a well preserved WW2 Zero fighter and it had by far the best one of them all. Showroom condition, you might say. Unsurprisingly it attracted by far the most attention among the hordes of foreign visitors. There was much more beyond that but two other items in particular caught my eye – a wartime Japanese steam engine, and a monument recognizing the Indian juror at the Tokyo War Crimes trial, Dr Radhabinod Pal ( see images below ). I’ve posted a little quiz ( under the image ) re the steam engine to see if any movie buffs recognize it – let me know in the comments if you do. For those into military history ( and may have seen this recent mini series ), the aforementioned Dr. Pal was the sole dissenting judge at the 1949 trial. Among all the judges of the tribunal, he was the only one who submitted a judgment which insisted all defendants were not guilty ( Wikipedia ). Of course, many were hung anyway, but his position gained him much sympathy and recognition in Japan at that tumultuous time and he is recognized for his position with a granite monument at Yasukuni.
Realizing a need to buy yet more luggage to carry our things home, busy Shibuya ( a great shopping area ) was the next stop. A place on every Tokyo visitor’s checklist, Shibuya is also home to the famous “Shibuya Crossing” (or, as it’s more colloquially known) “Shibuya Scramble”. It’s that busiest of intersections in the heart of Shibuya where pedestrians from all 4 sides cross at once. It creates the impression of pure chaos but, each day, tens of thousands navigate their way through this landmark without incident. So popular is it now that many visitors hold cameras aloft filming it as they cross. You’ve surely seen this one on an Instagram or Facebook post at some point. A view from above can be had as well although ours was somewhat obscured by the wire-inlaid security glass. Oh, and we did manage to find the extra carry-on’s we needed. They would save us a couple of days later.
An easy walk from Shibuya is Meiji Jingu ( shrine ), also on most people’s list. The grounds here are large as well, making for a lot of walking but the huge cedars that line the entranceway provided much needed shade on what was a blisteringly hot day. Meiji is not as old as the other shrines but is impressive nonetheless.
Our last visit was to one of Tokyo’s oldest temples, the hugely busy Senso-ji. Oldest, and also the busiest – it was absolutely shoulder to shoulder at this site, seemingly the most popular of all those we visited. Odd, because for us it certainly was not the most impressive – perhaps though, that had something to do with it being the last visit on one of our days there so we were getting tired and possibly a little “shrined-out”. Whether it’s temples in Asia, churches in Italy, or shrines in Japan, you sometimes reach that point !
Tokyo, it’s sights, and the hotel stay especially, was a welcome break but now there was a more pressing matter to deal with. While in Tokyo we had received our shipping space confirmation but had precious little time to deliver our “empty” van to the port of Yokohama – our final days were, shall we say, rather frantic. The scheduled sail date was only a week out meaning we had to deliver a clean, empty vehicle back to the port of Yokohama ( driving right across Tokyo this time ) in just two days. With some of the van’s contents already delivered to Japan Post the week before (compressed into 5 large boxes), it was now a juggling act to determine how the remaining contents would be dispersed, either:
a) carried with us on the plane ( necessitating significant extra paid baggage ), or
b) packaged into one final large box for yet another drop off at Japan Post, or
c) given away ( if so, to whom ? ), or
d) dumped ( and if so, where, especially given the travails so far in disposing of just “regular” garbage in Japan ! ).
It’s probably no surprise that we used all four, and while the first two were expensive, it was the latter two that were by far the most difficult. Here are a few images showing how it all played out, right down to the wire:
So, what’s next ? Well, a few things. We need to track our van shipment and be ready to pick it up when it arrives ( late August hopefully ), and we are certainly hoping that all 6 big parcels arrive, but that could take up to 2 months – fingers crossed. There’ll of course be lots of time with our kids and especially our new grand daughter as well as many friends to catch up with over what remains of the Canadian summer . Possibly a few shorter trips around British Colombia and Alberta once I complete the maintenance and parts replacement on the van. Beyond that, it’s our hope to take off again early in 2025. Global political winds might play a part in exactly where so I’ll paraphrase a line from the late author, Anthony Bourdain, and leave it as “Destination Unknown”.
In closing, thank you to all our readers for following along on our overlanding journey – it’s been great to have the comments, questions, messages and personal emails of support from so many of you. It means a lot to us. While this is the “final edition” for this journey ( now that we are back home ), I will follow up with a “Full Shipping Update” once the van is back in North America with final details of the process of the vehicle leaving Japan and returning to port here. I will detail all costs as well. Not a relevant, nor interesting read unless you are into vehicle shipping in this area ( it’s really just for the handful of overlanders following us who are ). But if you are just simply curious as to what that looks like keep an eye out for one more stray blog likely in August/ September.
Having completed a detour around Tokyo when coming down from Nikko, only a couple of places of personal interest remained before we essentially called “time” on our Japan travels and focused our remaining time on getting the campervan booked on a ship out. That would ultimately prove more challenging than we had initially anticipated – but I’ll leave further details on the shipping saga for the appendix at the end of this edition.
Southwest of Mt Fuji and another weekender favourite of Tokyo-ites is trendy Hakone. Sharing Nikko’s elevation ( and hence moderated climate) Hakone sits on delightful Lake Akashi and offers visitors an especially appealing view of Fuji – a different side than we had seen previously and in this town as a backdrop to a calm, warm and picturesque lake. The bonus here was that we got to camp up for a couple of nights right by the lake with Mt Fuji as a backdrop each morning we opened the sliding door of the van. Hakone has a couple of particularly interesting “drives” with many younger Japanese using the winding mountain routes and steep hill climbs to test out the capability of their vehicles – something difficult to do elsewhere ! Hakone was on the original route between Kyoto and Tokyo in the Edo period and elements of that historic road can be explored still – a section of cedar lined trees being especially noteworthy ( walks along which provided us some cool relief from what were becoming oppressively hot and humid days).
Leaving Hakone, but not quite ready to head into the heart of Tokyo just yet, our last few days here were spent around the pretty Izu peninsula. Another of those areas frequented by the Tokyo weekend getaway crowd, Izu offered up some unexpected surprises, unique roads, and cooler weather not the least of it. Famed for its rugged coastline among other attractions, the area around Shimoda was not just scenic but also offered up a couple of historic connections I’d not been aware of ( one with a “Shogun” connection ) – the inland parts offered refreshingly cooler elevations good for sleeping at night.
Shipping Update:
While Izu was definitely worth the detour further south, we were also simply playing somewhat of a “waiting game” while in the area. We had requested a late July shipping date out of Japan, but all reports were that getting “space” would be extremely difficult and if we did get space it would be confirmed only a few days prior to sailing. To state the blindingly obvious, that is highly unusual (but it is what it is) and puts huge pressure on us. The need to stay close to Tokyo ( specifically Yokohama ), to have the van “shipping ready” at a moment’s notice, and ( in a final cruel twist ), to ideally have the van “empty” when shipped all made this past week pretty crazy – trying to enjoy our time while working with everything half boxed up made for some cozy living in the rig. No idea why the RoRo shippers out of Japan are starting to ask that camping vehicles be empty ( really tough in a motorhome ) but we are hearing of it elsewhere, too. Whilst one’s van “might” escape a thorough customs inspection, or shipping line examination, the risk of having your contents confiscated (and then to be charged for their disposal !) was a risk we did not want to take. As such, much time was spent tossing what we did not really need, determining that which we could take on a flight and that which would need to be sea-mailed home. This took many days, the task being spread out over various locations where it was possible to spread things out, and on days where it was not raining- absolutely NO FUN ! We ultimately filled 6 large boxes that were sent via Japan Post, dutifully recording their exact contents for later explanation to Canada Customs. Anyone who owns any type of RV can imagine the herculean task that was – we now get to sweat it that they make it back safe and sound. Here’s a glimpse of how that exercise looked:
With the news of a firmed up shipping date looking better as the week rolled on, it now made sense to park up the van on Tokyo’s outskirts and head into the city for a good look around given we’d be leaving Japan as soon as the van was delivered to port. More on our last days in Tokyo, the final “pack”, and the final shipping resolution in the coming blog.
Following what had been an interesting previous week, albeit travelling through a less notable area of the country, this last week took us to two of Japan’s finest (and arguably most famous), sights – historic and stunningly beautiful Nikko, followed by that most iconic of all places and images associated with Japan, Mount Fuji.
Fortunately last week’s travels took care of the bulk of the long drives that we should have to do here in Japan (seems strange, I know, but despite the fact that distances aren’t great here, travel is slow away from the expressways, especially when you get up into the mountainous parts). Following the east coast most of the way south from Sendai we cut inland near Iwaki for the tortuously windy route up to Nikko. It’s a long haul up, but it’s Nikko’s higher elevation that is part of the appeal. Famed primarily for its great shrines, cedar rows and nearby Lake Chuzenji, Nikko has a revered place in Japanese history. Home of Toshogu, the famed Shinto shrine was established in 1617 as a lavish memorial for Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan throughout the Edo period. Nikko also attracts folks from the nearby Tokyo area who at this time of year are sweltering in the oppressive humidity associated with Japan’s rainy season. We know it well and had begun to feel it ourselves so it was a definite relief getting to Nikko’s cooler climes.
Ian McQueen ( author of Lonely Planet’s ‘Japan’ travel book ) aptly describes visiting Nikko as “sensory overload”. I’d been before, in 1983, but this was Lois’s first time so it was interesting to get her impressions – and she did not dispute his. Whether it’s the stunning beauty or grandeur of the various shrines, it’s spiritual relevance to the Japanese, or perhaps just the fusion of nature ( it’s very beautiful here ) and historic Shinto structures, Nikko really does take your breath away. Combine this with the fact that you get cool relief from the torpor-inducing humidity of early July in Japan and Nikko is an easy place to just “chill” ( if you’ll excuse the pun ! ).
It’s not far up the mountain to Lake Chuzenji and while famous enough to once host part of a G7 Ministerial Meeting, we actually found it a little disappointing. The day was hazy, which didn’t help, but it was just a bit run down and had clearly seen better days. Also a bit of a holiday spot for Tokyo-ites, Chuzenji’s best sight, in our opinion, was pretty Kegon Falls, a thundering cascade you will hear well before you see it.
With only Mt Fuji ( and the nearby Hakone area) left on our planned Japan itinerary, we sought a way to get there from Nikko while skirting metropolitan Tokyo ( which more or less lies in between ). We’ve comfortably driven every other major Japanese city ( some just as congested ) but Tokyo’s size is on another scale – you can be stuck bumper to bumper for hours just in suburbia here ( and we were, as it turned out, on a rainy and overcast day ). We’ll need to go to Tokyo again ( or close, at least to nearby Yokohama anyway ) when we ship out, but for now we tried to avoid as much of it as we could. A grinding drive it was, but we survived the journey there and parked up for a few days in the Lake Yamanaka area, ready to explore “Fuji”.
Everyone wants that clear, snow-capped view of Mt Fuji on a cloudless sunny day of course, but locals will tell you that is very rare. I once got most of that from a Shinkansen ( Bullet Train ) window, but even then there were still clouds. During this visit it would be days before Fuji fully emerged so we could see her completely and while we eventually got the full sun ( and very little cloud ) view, there was of course precious little snow, it now being the middle of summer here. We moved around a bit in the area, camping at different sites, exploring the “5 Lakes” area around the base of Fuji and found this a most enjoyable period of the Japan experience so far; we met some interesting folks, slowed the driving pace down ( almost to nothing ) and made good progress each day in preparing the van for shipping ( I’ll add some “shipping” context in the next blog ) – a fairly big task !
Once we finally got some nice views from the base ( the best place to view it ) we decided, on a particularly fine day, to drive up as far as we could – to the “5th Station”, or “Gogome” as it’s known in Japanese. We knew it would be cooler at least and even if we were not set up to climb to the top there were shorter hikes from the 5th Station and the views down would be spectacular……or so we assumed. A good thing our expectations were managed, as it turned out – no sooner had we begun to ascend the Fuji Skyline Road than thick clouds wafted in and blocked any visibility. From the highest (5th) station we could see absolutely nothing at all ( making any hikes rather pointless ). Well, at least it was cooler up there !
Fuji’s reputation for bashfulness is well-deserved it would seem and she was most temperamental during our visit.
Finally, here is a short video clip of the week that was- enjoy.
From the Fuji area, as we await onwards shipping confirmation, we’ll head east, then south to explore nearby Hakone and the Izu Peninsula.
Till next week….
Appendix: Another “Only In Japan” experience
So I spoke above about preparing the van for shipping – among other things that involves boxing a lot of the contents and in the process of doing so different sized boxes are needed. In one of the images above the van is parked outside a “Family Mart” convenience store since the staff there willingly gave away as many of their small packing boxes that I needed. Small boxes, though, are in plentiful supply – what I sorely needed was at least one much larger box and they had none. I was kindly directed to a larger supermarket nearby. After wandering around it I noticed a large display of regular tissue boxes. It was obvious from the packing boxes underneath the stacked tissue boxes that they had all come in a very large box – precisely the size I needed.
I approached a staff member to ask if there were any such empty packing boxes in the back. She understood and ran out back to check. Returning a few minutes later, head bowed, she apologized profusely advising there were in fact none. I thanked her for looking and went elsewhere in the store. Not two minutes later she had chased me down, and beckoned me back to the “tissue” department. There, right in front of me now, was a large empty tissue packing box. At first I was puzzled – had she not just looked and said there were none ? Indeed, she had said that. But, then I noticed that the tissue box display had grown very considerably in size – it was about 4 tissue boxes higher than when I had arrived, and, frankly, almost toppling over ! Yes, you guessed it ( and it quickly dawned on me ) – she had gone out back, gathered a couple of colleagues, pulled a full packing box off the rack, brought it out and emptied it on to the rather significant tower of tissue boxes that were already there – all, so I could have an empty packing box ! Now, I was polite, and definitely as charming as I could be, but I’d never graced that store before, nor would I likely again. I was, most definitely, just a visitor. It didn’t matter – this is just the kind of thing I/we have experienced so many times here that it just speaks to the culture of helpfulness in this amazing country. I’ve said it before, but I need to say it again – only in Japan !!!
Just the south western corner of Hokkaido remained in our travel plans here and while our expectations for this area were muted, as often happens there were some very pleasant surprises – some even quite quirky ! This was the route that took us back to Hakodate and onwards down the east coast of Honshu:
Otaru, essentially the port for Sapporo, was one of those surprises – some interesting history from the Meiji era, a beautiful canal setting, magnificent old early Meiji era “Western style” commercial buildings and a rather fascinating display of Japan’s modern monetary system in a building which used be the Hokkaido branch of the Bank of Japan – replete with a display of Japan’s soon-to-be-released new currency notes and a room where you can see what 100 billion yen looks like. You can also try to lift 100 million yen in currency notes ( actually, not too difficult ! ).
Taking the western route around the Shakotan peninsula, a miserable day notwithstanding, we got to admire this wild and somewhat remote corner of Hokkaido and took in a few of the available hikes, travelling on after that down the western side to Matsume, and on back to Hakodate.
Back in Hakodate we caught a few of the things we missed first time around and took the time to revisit the natural oceanside onsen near Mt Esan, as well as doing the hike to the Mt Esan lookout. A clear day with great views all the way across the Tsuruga Straits to Honshu where we would be sailing the next day. Here, there was some dread since the spectre of an overzealous ferry worker insisting we were millimeters over the magical “7” metres was fresh in our minds. Not to worry this time – the young lady came out, did a quick measure and called it “6.8”. Pretty happy with that, since we know it’s at least 6.95 !
Just over 3 weeks after arriving in Hokkaido our van was pointed southwards again for the return to Honshu, taking the same, short, Hakodate-Oma route that brought us here. It was smooth again, as it was before, and 90 minutes after leaving the ferry unloaded us in Oma – this time, though it was absolutely 100% full ( getting near peak season ).
With only a few exceptions the next week would take us steadily southwards, generally following the eastern coast of Honshu ( we came up the west side) aiming for Sendai ( about a third of the way to Tokyo ) by the end of the week. This we managed, and, like south western Hokkaido, this generally less popular part of Japan wowed us with scenery and sights that exceeded the expectations we had – frankly, it was an area that we’d thought we would just more or less transit with legendary Nikko being our next major site/attraction. I think some of the images below can best tell that story – if Japan has taught us one thing it’s never to underestimate what it has on offer !
Beyond just the sights and scenery ( never dull here, even when it rains ! ) there was a well-anticipated moment for us just north of the city of Hachinoe – the opportunity to cross paths with Andy and Serena ( of RightFootTravel ). A young Aussie couple travelling in a Landcruiser “Troopy”, we’d initially connected through their Facebook post on an overlanding site we both belong to. We’d arrived in Japan just ahead of them, shared some tips, then kept in touch and vowed to connect in person if it was at all possible. Turned out that Hachinoe was the place – they, heading north to Hokkaido, and we heading south after travels in Hokkaido. Just a great evening spent camping together, sharing tips with each other and other tales from the road. Andy ( an electrician by trade ), also took some time to “reset” my solar system, part of which had not been fully functional – amazing what a difference it is having 700 watts of solar pumping out the amps compared to the 100 watts we had been living with ( so simple when you know what you are doing ! ). Thank you Andy, and good luck to both as you trek west after Japan ( they ship to Korea, travel there as we did, then ship to Vladivostok for the overland trip to Europe via Mongolia and Kazakhstan ) !
From Sendai, our next week will take us back to the Tokyo area ( but not to downtown Tokyo just yet ! ) via spectatcular Nikko.
Almost forgot…..here’s a minute and half of our week condensed. As we are in the final stretch of our time in Japan we covered quite a lot of ground last week to get closer to Tokyo. It’s from there ( well, Yokohama, which is next door ) that we hope to ship out in a few weeks.
Till next week…..
A Random Act of Kindness ( Classic Japan )
While in Aomori we wanted to find a really good coffee shop and the tourist folks directed us here to Cafe Maron. Not only was the coffee and hot chocolate to die for, but it was here we had another of those “only in Japan”experiences.
Lois and I keep a picture of our new granddaughter (Hadley) on our phone screens and the waitress happened to notice her picture on Lois’s phone ( sitting on the table ). She commented on how “kawaii” ( pretty, cute ) she was and we chatted for a minute about her.
She took our order, then went away to have the drinks prepared. She then brought us the drinks, we enjoyed them immensely, and once we finished them, I asked her for the bill. A few minutes later she came with the bill, but with it was a folded napkin with a sketch on it. She had drawn our granddaughter, based only on her memory, and a brief glimpse of her, from 30 minutes earlier. We were both quite touched, and of course have kept the napkin which we will take home and give to our daughter. It’s a small thing, I suppose, but just typical of the kind of thing Japanese folks have done on a fairly regular basis to make our already incredible experiences in this country even more wonderful and personable. It kind of made our day…….
The stunning lakes and outdoor onsens on the Akan National Park were definitely hard to leave but the next area of Hokkaido to explore would offer equally beautiful attractions and reminders of some Cold War challenges between Russia and Japan that linger to this day.
Just before leaving Akan there was time to explore and hike around one of its smaller, but no less beautiful lakes, Lake Onneto. Almost missed it but certainly glad we didn’t. Also enjoyed a nice hike on the Wakoto Peninsula of Lake Kussharo.
East of the Akan National Park area lies Hokkaido’s Shiretoko Peninsula. One can drive only halfway out the peninsula – the eastern half is a National Park and home to an amazing variety of wildlife ( including brown bears and orcas ). Willing hikers have access to it all ( but it’s a long way to the end ! ), while boat tours on the north side generally see the bears and on the south side have an excellent success rate spotting orcas and other whales. Given that we almost have brown bears in our back yard, that was of little interest but the whale watching opportunity we did not want to pass up. Sadly, Mother Nature rained on our parade here ( again!) – both tours were cancelled while we were there. Crossing Shiretoko ( via the Shiretoko Pass ) was some consolation, it being one of the more spectacular drives in Hokkaido.
South of Shiretoko lies the Nemuro Peninsula, less spectacular scenery-wise but still known for its beauty and wildlife and also for the fact that it is not just the very eastern end of Hokkaido but as far east as one can go in Japan. Many Japanese are attracted to the Cape Nosappu Lighthouse, but there are also plenty of reminders in this area of Japan’s lost “Northern Territories”, a group of 4 Japanese islands stolen by the Russians at the very end of WW2. Every Japanese learns about them and while it’s unlikely the Russians will hand them back anytime soon there are plenty of plaques and memorials to be seen hoping for their eventual peaceful return to Japan. From Nemuro, Kunashiri Island ( largest of the 4 ) is easily visible and only kms away at its closest point.
Leaving Nemuro our route turned back south west in the general direction of Sapporo, ending there – some notable highlights on our last days included the wetlands near Kushiro, the unique coastal rock formations at Cape Erimo, and ( while quite a detour inland ) the incredibly picturesque Blue Pond of Biei.
We’ve been blown away by the beauty and diversity of wildlife and landscapes in Hokkaido – it truly is a completely different side of Japan than the other 3 main islands. After Sapporo, we’ll wrap up our Hokkaido adventures taking the west coast route back to Hakodate and the ferry on to Honshu.
Till next week…
Follow Up On The Issue Of “Garbage”
Last week’s blog prompted some commentary about “where” exactly we do dispose of our daily garbage ( guess I should have expected that ! ). So, we do the following:
We minimize what we create – picking up fewer brochures at tourist offices, we ask the always over-zealous store clerks NOT to wrap stuff ( which pains them !), and even unpack boxes and wrapping material before we leave the supermarket.
We dispose of it frequently in very small bags that fit in the small garbage receptacles you mostly do see ( on the very rare occasions you see them at all ! ).
We look for bins saying “combustibles” ( general burnable trash ) in every 7/11 and supermarket we visit ( every time, always ). These aren’t everywhere but we see them just enough to keep on top of it. Secret is not to accumulate too much ( at which point the simply difficult becomes altogether impossible ).
When we fuel up we ask fuel stations if they can take a bag ( once you are a customer they feel more obliged to help ). This sometimes works. They have their own garbage bins (being a business), but never on display.
When we see cleaners ( as we sometimes do ) who collect stray trash around toilets they always have a big garbage bag and they will take it – can’t count on that, though.
Lastly, when desperate, we visit tourist info centres and ask them where we can get rid of garbage. Once, one such employee actually took a bag from us feeling so embarrassed that their city no longer had garbage cans generally available.
Read about the history of why there are almost no garbage cans in public here ( at least it’s one story, we’ve heard others but this one seems to best explain it ). It’s actually a very sad terrorism-related story but the “solution” certainly seems to be somewhat of a sledgehammer approach. I’d never have guessed this is why there are almost never any garbage bins in public areas here, but there you have it. Now you know why !
The PanAm completed in April, 2022 and with the truck camper sold, we shipped our new Sprinter van to Australia in late 2022. We travelled there through all of 2023 and into 2024 before shipping it up to North East Asia where we travelled for 4 months between Korea and Japan, before shipping it back to North America. It’s our plan to continue exploring the world in 2025.