So after Tokyo we took the Shinkansen to Nagano, the place of the world Olympics of 1998. The Shinkansen is the high speed bullet train network in Japan. And they are pretty amazing! Especially the front and back with their long nose. They operate at a speed of 300 km/h so you cross the country in no time. From the inside, everything looks line a ordinary luxurious train. And most of the time the train is in a tunnel, so you won’t see anything. We bought a JR rail pass, so we could travel for 14 days with all the JR lines.
In Nagano we took the bus into the mountains to Naganoshi Togakushi Camping Ground. A very nice and lovely place in the middle of the alps. There were only a handful of other tourists. We put op our tent and made a tour around the campsite. We saw some houses and a sign of the AWAGGGS. We ended up in the only campground of the Girl Scout in Japan! So a tour through the complex was needed! I will post the pictures later on, but it was really beautiful!!!
Camping in Japan is easy, if you got a car… If you’re with the Shinkansen, you have to be creative, or walk a lot. We didn’t walk a lot. Every campsite has showers, toilets, a shop and most of the times a small restaurant. And you are allowed to put up a fire!!! And because we didn’t bring a stove, we cooked everything by campfire, like a good scout!
We made some beautiful hikes, saw some shrine and realized that the surrounding was mainly for the winter season. Most of the houses were empty. But it is in essence a beautiful place to stay and walk!
