Saying goodbye to summer in Chichibu

Fall is just around the corner in Japan and I was flipping through these photos of my camping trip in Saitama at the tail end of our hot summer.

For the sake of those who don’t know, Saitama is a prefecture north of Tokyo but it’s considered part of Greater Tokyo. Some people tend to be unimpressed when you say you live in Saitama as it’s way out in the boonies where there is cheap housing. But you know, Saitama’s kinda pretty. And quiet. And lovely.

Or at least where I went was a charming lil’ corner of Saitama.

The air was crisp as we were in higher altitudes and soon after we arrived, it poured like crazy. I only brought my light Puma jacket and my hands were constantly stuffed in my pockets.

Sitting in front of the fire helped, too.

Then I was enlightened more on the Japanese idea of camping. I didn’t think what we did was really camping because we weren’t in a tent.

But staying in a lodge with limited toilet and shower facilities is considered a form of camping by Japanese standards. Well, I have to agree because the closet for a shower was really tiny, even for me. But, there was hot water. For you girly girls out there who wouldn’t mind dipping a toe into the country, try camping in Japan. You get nature and you can also shower. The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

There was of course a bbq and loads of food. I made a salad but I also had some grilled mushrooms and veggies. Oh and another feature of a Japanese bbq is that the meal always ends with a bang — a ginormous tray of yakisoba would be cooked up.

We wandered down the river, after midnight, to watch some friends swim in the dark. The water was way too chilly for me so I just sat on the river bank with the kangaroo. When the guys emerged from the water, we went back up to the lodge. The rest of the night was spent chatting about insane and inane stuff around the fireplace.

The next morning, the river was just sparkling. We swam in it after brekkie and it was awesome. It was a bit fresh at first but it felt gorgeous after a short while. The kangaroo, being Aussie, gave instructions to everyone on how to swim with the current: feet up and float on your back; if not, your arms and legs might get caught in the rocks and it’d be a horrible situation since there was a medium current at the time. Whoosh….! I guess it’s Nature’s version of a big water slide, except there were rocks — lots of them.

The lodge in full daylight… Such a cute little place. It could hold all 13-14 of us. Plus they provided futons, duvets, and pillows. Luxury camping!

When we are travelling outside Tokyo, the kangaroo almost always has his nose buried in his iPhone. No, he isn’t checking his email (sometimes he does when he gets withdrawal symptoms), but he’s actually checking kanji words in his trusty Kotoba!, a Japanese dictionary software. Geeky, but very useful, when you are out in the boonies and there’s not much English to be seen or heard.

When you’re traipsing through rural Japan, there’s always soba and udon on offer. I don’t think any other type of food is so readily available. Maybe ramen, too, but I think soba shops win hands down. No fear, though, they seem to offer more tasty bowls of noodles out in the boonies. Before our train back to Tokyo and reality, I had some with a delicious cold sesame dip and veggie tempura.

Hello, red leaves. We’ll see you soon, eh?

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