Camping in Fujinomiya: The best spot for Fuji camping

Posted on July 19, 2025  •  4 minutes  • 796 words

Camping in Fujinomiya:

I discovered camping during my time in Switzerland, thanks to some Spanish YouTubers and anime like Yuru Camp. After trying it back then, I fell in love with it—I loved the relaxing feeling of doing nothing and just thinking about what to eat and how to cook it. So, after arriving in Japan last year, I’d been wanting to give it a try here too.

However, I wasn’t able to make it happen—first because all my camping gear was still back in Spain, then because of winter, and later because my girlfriend’s and my schedules were hard to align. But…finally, we managed to go!!!

For our first trip, we decided on a camping ground in Fujinomiyai ( 桂の森CAMPERSFIELD , pretty far from Tokyo. We chose this place because, since it’s so difficult to match our schedules, going somewhere far away made it feel more like a holiday. Plus, being far from home made it more of an adventure!!!

Arriving in Fujinomiya

As I said, this place was pretty far from Tokyo—exactly four hours by train. In order to get to Fujinomiya, we had to take three transfers:

1. Ueno → Atami
2. Atami → Fuji
3. Fuji → Fujinomiya

So, we arrived sleepy and sweaty (summers in Japan are brutal) and as soon as we got there, we ran into a problem: the ticket machine wasn’t reading our transportation cards correctly, and the train station attendant wasn’t in the office! A note on the desk said, “I’ll be back in 40 minutes,” so instead of waiting, we went to the nearest 7-Eleven to buy some food and came back later to pay. It was my first time skipping the ticket, but it was only temporary.

Arriving at the Camping Ground

The camping ground was either a 7-minute taxi ride or a 30-minute walk away. To avoid carrying our huge backpacks (70L with all our gear) under the scorching sun, we opted for a taxi. Once there, we were greeted by a sweet elderly couple who showed us around and told us we were the only ones staying that night (probably because the daytime heat was unbearable), so we could pitch our tent anywhere we liked.

This camping ground was well-equipped—it:

• It allows open fires (they sold firewood)
• It has paid showers and toilets
• There is a makeup room
• Several sinks with running water for drinking and washing dishes.

I found this camping experience very different from the one I got in Switzerland and France, where you can often camp for free in the wild (bivouac) without any of these amenities.

The Night

After setting up the tent, we had lunch, relaxed, chatted, and watched a show on my tablet. While my girlfriend took a nap, I explored the area looking for another 7-Eleven to grab some ice. The place was peaceful—almost no cars, just lots of greenery.

By the time I headed back, it was dark, making the walk back a little spooky! But once I returned, we had dinner (instant pasta, sweets, and alcohol), watched a movie, and then my girlfriend went to sleep…

And then it happened. Pitch black. No light, no sound. Suddenly, I spotted a white shape about five meters away. “Must be a pole or something,” I thought—until it started moving! I turned on my flashlight… A cat!!! There was a cat checking us out. It had been a while since I’d gotten a jump scare like that. After that, I took a shower to cool down and went to sleep.

A New Day

We started the day with a quick breakfast, a shower, and packing up. The night before, our hosts had offered to drive us back to the station, but instead, we asked if they could drop us at the Fuji Heritage Museum. We visited the museum (which covers Fuji’s flora, fauna, traditions, and geological history), then explored a big temple nearby and some impressive waterfalls. It was a great day of sightseeing—if you, dear reader, ever want to visit the Japanese countryside, Fujinomiya is a great non-touristy option. We didn’t see any other foreigners besides ourselves!

Heading Back

All good things must come to an end, and our little holiday was no exception. On the way back, we stopped in Atami for lunch, where we had some sashimi—honestly, some of the best I’ve had in Japan so far—and then…we finally returned home.

Afterword

Damn, this post got long. Not much else to say—I really liked Fujinomiya, the trip was fun, and we’ll definitely go camping again, maybe somewhere new to explore more places. I 100% recommend this camping ground and Fujinomiya in general. It’s not super famous, but it’s absolutely worth visiting.

See you in my next post!!!

Also, here are the remaining photos of the trip XD!!