For a bit of practice video editing I cut together some of the video we shot on our practice camping trips in and around Japan.
Locations include Tokyo, Saitama, Okayama, Sagaminohara, Boso Peninsular.
Filmed on a hodgepodge of DSLR, GoPro and VHS.
Category: japan (Page 2 of 2)
So having bought a 4WD car we thought it might be a good idea to make sure that the 4WD actually works. We had obviously tested that the switch worked but hadn’t taken Totty over anything higher than the odd kerb or two. After a bit of internet research we found a 4WD centre just an hour or so from Tokyo. We decided to book a place and also to take advantage of the camping that they offered too. The place is called Bronco (ブロンコ) (http://www.bronco4x4.net).
So, as usual, that early morning set-off didn’t happen until 1.30pm! A combination of coffee and croissants and finding out the roof rack had arrived delayed ‘kick off.’ Nevertheless, good to get the roof rack on – though we both think it slightly distracts from her drop-dead good looks. We also replaced the two dampers that hold the tailgate up as the old ones had lost their oomph.
Amazingly, about four and half months have passed now since Clare and I decided that we’d take the long way home. In that time, we’ve spent 3 months waiting for our car to be ready, 2 weeks on holiday in the UK and most recently a month finally getting down to the job of getting Totty ready for action. Whilst Totty’s still far from being finished, she’s reached a stage now where we can sleep inside her, and on that basis we set off from Tokyo last weekend and hit the road for the weekend….
To be fair, “hitting the road” kind of overstates things. Actually we had a bit of lie-in, pottered around for an hour, got some food ready and sorted out a couple of jobs to make the camping more comfortable. And at that point… we hit the road.
Having talked about a few destinations, we’d settled on the Boso Peninsular the night before setting off. Whilst neither of us really knew quite what to expect there were a few points that drove our decision – we’d get to stop at Umihotaru service station; we’d see the sea; and it would likely be not busy, making our first attempt at “urban camping” a little less stressful.
I’m not quite sure what I was expecting from the ‘Tokyo Aqua Line,’ but it turns out that what I got was a 7km-long tunnel that emerges in the middle of Tokyo Bay and continues to the other side of the bay as a bridge. What was slightly surreal was that a rest stop has been constructed at the point where the road turns from a tunnel into a bridge in the middle of nowhere. The developers have managed to build something that looks something like a cross between a ship and an airport. Good to finally get to see the sea though!
Whilst we were at the Utilitas (http://www.utilitas.co.jp) purchasing our Land Cruiser FJ62 the boss, Ikegaya-san, invited us to join him in attending this year’s annual meetup of 60-series Land Cruiser owners. We, of course, took him up on his offer and agreed to go. We did feel a bit weird that whilst we do technically own a 60-series, we’d be turning up empty handed as our car was going to be at Utilitas for the next month having various bits and pieces attended to.
The weekend got off to an early start because we had to be in west Tokyo by 7am to meet Ikegaya-san. At 07:00 on the dot Ikegaya-san rolled up in his pristine red Land Cruiser FJ60 and we hit the road. And I say pristine, but seriously, this is one special pin-up of a Land Cruiser that’s made several magazine appearances here in Japan.
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