We had the best night’s sleep to date, last night. The parking spot was incredibly quiet, and the gentle patter of rain on the roof of the van lulled us into a deep sleep. When we woke this morning, the Raccoon Dogs were howling in the hills around us, and the rain was still falling … More Day 11 – Apparently the views are magnificent
We had the best night’s sleep to date, last night. The parking spot was incredibly quiet, and the gentle patter of rain on the roof of the van lulled us into a deep sleep. When we woke this morning, the Raccoon Dogs were howling in the hills around us, and the rain was still falling … More Day 11 – Apparently the views are magnificent
After time ran away with us yesterday, we arrived at our parking spot in the dark, after the 2 we had planned to use were chained off. It was a small spot, and it sloped in every possible direction, so we had an uncomfortable night, feeling as if we were slipping down the bed, every … More Day 10 – Rainy day exploring
After stopping at Magome-Juku last night, we wandered in this morning for a coffee from the excellent coffee shop there, before heading on again. Last night, over supper, we had decided to head North-West, making our way to see the spectacular castle of Gujo Hachiman, in its stunning position high above the town that has … More Day 9 – Waterfalls and an incredible castle.
After yesterday’s heavy evening rain, we woke this morning to sunshine and cloud, with a promised nice day ahead. We’d obviously timed it well, as today we had decided to walk a stretch of the Nakasendo Trail, from Tsumago-Juku to Magome-Juku and back. There is a real benefit from campervan life and that is enjoying … More Day 8 – Walking the Nakasendo Trail
We had the perfect night’s sleep at the head of the Ojiragawa Canyon, lulled to sleep by the chatter of the night insects and only woken once by the sound of banging on metal. Apparently monkeys sometimes come into the parking area, so we both put it down to night-time monkey antics and slept until … More Day 7 – Bear bells and Beautiful villages
After arriving at the parking spot last night, with Mount Fuji clearly visible in the early evening light, we had great hopes of seeing it at sunrise. But, when we woke, the clouds had rolled in and it had disappeared, which was a shame. But we knew to expect it, so weren’t too disappointed. Sadly, … More Day 6 – Heading into the mountains
Where on earth do I start with today? After yesterday’s stress, we had a quiet evening watching the sea, followed by a peaceful night’s sleep, only being disturbed by the wind rattling the windows of the van, as it picked up in the early hours. The morning dawned cloudy, but warm and over breakfast, we … More Day 5 – Rice terraces & spectacular coastline
After arriving at the little beach-side parking spot last night, we settled down to fall asleep to the sound of the sea lapping gently on the sand, doing our best to ignore the blood-curdling howls from the racoon dogs! But we’re still getting over the jet-lag, so drifted happily into a deep sleep, before being … More Day 4 … A morning hike and an afternoon drama
We had such a wonderful day yesterday, walking around the lake and visiting the volcanic site, and of course, we slept well. It was so tempting to spend another night there, walking along the other side of the lake and taking a different cable-car to the Hakone Mototsumiya Shrine, high above the lake. But, we … More Day 3 – A day of Lakes, waterfalls, an Onsen and the sea
Vaucluse Dreamer 