Around two weeks after my last camp, where I couldn’t sleep well and absolutely failed my cooking skill check, I wanted to also go from my 1 second pop-up tent to something that more resembles what I picture as a tent. In addition, I really wanted to have a campfire and cook on it. So here is the new gear!

  • 2 person smol green tent (realistically one person of my size lol)
  • A foldable fire pit with case
  • More cooking ware
  • (not visible) foldable foam matt (I put it under the self-inflating mattress that made a comeback

This campsite (Oarai Sun Beach Camping Ground https://maps.app.goo.gl/dXnaTRk2WWu9gqxN7) gave me a pretty small plot, but is well maintained and has excellent access to the beach.


A camp first happened this time to me! Shortly after setup it started raining! Oh my, ok. quickly put the chair fabric inside and wait it out in the tent. Kinda nice to hear the rain, but I’d rather be outside tbh. It rained for around an hour, which was a problem because the shop that sells firewood closes at 5pm! When it stopped raining, I immediately went to it, but it was just closing. I was devastated. What about that fancy pit I brought? I was really looking forward to it… Oh well, time to chill a bit on my chair and get the buzz going. Around 7pm I noticed something curious… My camp neighbor came from the direction of the shop, a bundle of firewood in hand. Thanks to my buzz I felt confident enough to ask him how he bought it when the shop was closed and he said the shop has an honor system where you deposit cash and take what you need!

Of course! It’s Japan!!! Everywhere else in the world such thing would be emptied, but of course it works here. Well off I go and collect my own bundle. Remember, I know nothing about anything - total. The concept of hard vs soft wood doesn’t even exist. So all I got was soft wood. I don’t know how I am “supposed” to start a fire. But I got those solid fuel packets I had gotten last time and just plopped on in the middle and stacked some wood directly above it. And waddaya know! Heat+Fuel+Oxygen = Fire. Caveman brain activated, neurons on full blast. I made this. this is fire. this is FIRE. I got completely lost in it all, mesmerized by the flames and the smell of the wood I kept feeding it for a bit until the whole bundle was burned and I had some coals. At that point I put on the grill part and plopped some sausages rawdog on it. Burned the shit outta them lmao but who cares! Me make food. it was yummy. Then I immediately went back to the shop and bought two more bundles lmao. I wanted flames, big flames and I got them.


By this point it was dark and my drinking reaches it peak, so after burning through both bundles and staying out until there were only coals, it was time to head to bed.

Now this mattress I know and was familiar with and the sleep was good. The only other event was an earthquake in Ibaraki at 3 am. Earthquakes are fun to me by now in Japan, but thats my first time one was happening while I was sleeping on the ground. Oh and it was big enough to trigger the earthquake alert on ALL phones on the campsite, which definitely brings at least a moment of exciting “OH SHIT…anyways” to my heart.

One thing bothered me by next morning tho. I had to use the toilet a few times and I got annoyed putting my pants on and off without being able to properly stand up in my tent…

That singular annoyance is what drives me until my next camp, so next time you’ll see just how dumb my brain can be when it latches on something.

Bonus Pics: Not many this time, sorry.