Outdoor Activities at Meiwacho

After a full day of cultural experiences in Meiwacho, I finally got to wind down at Oyodo Fureai, a campsite near the coast. Here, there’s a wide open grass area for tents, surrounded by trees, and another area with small log houses. Right in front of the campsite is an elevated path, from where there’s a beautiful ocean view.

This place seemed like such an incredible place to camp and sadly, today I won’t be camping here. Instead, we came here to have a small barbecue dinner and try out a tent sauna.

At a shop where you can buy local ingredients,we brought meat,vegetables,
”MIITOMAI”riceballs,and green tea,and the amount was just right for 2people.

Oyodo Fureai is one of the most properly set up campsites I’ve visited in Japan. The camp area has everything you need for a pleasant camping experience: gazebos, tables, restrooms, and running water are some of the amenities I’ve noticed here.

We borrowed a small charcoal grill and the necessary tools from the campsite and started with the barbecue preparations. The meat and vegetables are from the local shop but there’s something about cooking it outdoors on a charcoal grill that makes the taste more flavorful.

Not to mention the nice sea breeze coming from the ocean right next to us. Although the weather wasn’t as perfect as we had hoped, this experience would definitely be even better on a nice sunny day.

After a delicious dinner barbecue, it was time to try the tent sauna. This is my first time hearing about a tent sauna and I had no idea what to expect but it’s exactly what the name says: a sauna inside a tent.

As someone who always uses the sauna room in Japanese onsens, I was quite curious to try this one. When we were preparing the tent earlier, I noticed that this wasn’t just any tent. This was a tent made specifically for a tent sauna.

It had openings for the heater, a door that can shut tight to trap the heat, and a clear plastic side to act as a window. It had an extra layer on the roof and a thick door that actually opens up like a real door instead of a flap like a normal tent.

The tent has 2 holes: one on the roof for the stove’s vent pipe and one on the side to allow one to add firewood to the stove from the outside. The stove for the sauna has the furnace on the bottom compartment, a long chimney, and some space on top for the sauna stones.

The stones are what transfers the heat from the stove into the sauna. To increase the temperature and add more steam to the room, you use a special pail with tiny holes to equally distribute water onto the rocks.

When water touches the rocks, it evaporates instantly from the heat, creating more steam in the room, making it more like a sauna.

Although it was cloudy, it was still relatively hot and humid outside since it was summer, so I wasn’t sure how the tent sauna would feel, let alone in a tent. Regardless, once the tent sauna was ready, I stepped inside.

It was a lot hotter than I expected.

We let the stove warm up longer than planned and I didn’t expect the tent to trap so much heat inside. I was quite surprised and it was so hot that I had to come back out for a breather in a matter of seconds.

Coming out from the tent sauna, the once hot and humid summer weather felt really cool and refreshing. The same wind that felt hot earlier now feels really cold and it feels like its autumn.

I went back in for another round and this time the tent sauna had cooled off to a reasonable temperature. Despite it being inside a tent, it felt quite like the real thing and I was really impressed.

This was quite a fun experience and honestly, I could’ve stayed in there all day.

To end my long fulfilling day in Meiwacho, I came over to Hanare Rokutsuki, a farm stay accommodation, where I’ll be spending the night.

Hanare Rokutsuki is definitely one of the most unique places I’ve ever stayed at. To start off, there’s only one room available for accommodation, meaning only one group of up to 4-5 people can stay here at a time.

The interior is definitely what makes this place unique. Once you walk in, there’s the living room with a wide open antique table and all sorts of wooden furniture and decorations.

From the living room there’s cement walls separating the bedroom space, a glass wall separating the kitchen, and a sliding glass door with a wide open view of the rice fields. The living room definitely has a trendy cafe vibe and the kitchen has pretty much anything you need to cook up anything.

You keep your shoes on in the living and kitchen but you take your shoes off for the bedroom. The bedroom is very minimal with a wide open floor for futon mattresses and some other amenities on the sides.

There’s a ladder on the right side leading to the loft space which has a similar spacious floor area and also some windows from which you can peek down into the living and kitchen.

They offer a firewood chopping experience where you can experience chopping wood with a full fledged ax and letting it dry to be used as firewood. While being an activity, this is also a way to promote an eco-friendly way to make campfires instead of using lighter fluids.

Another is the agricultural experience, where you can visit the Hanare Rokutsuki’s farm and participate and learn about farming and harvesting vegetables. The farms here are 100% organic and pesticide free which is rare, even for Japan. You can even harvest your own vegetables!

You can also choose a plan that includes a French dinner at therestaurant and a specialbreakfast.

(For details, see https://www.hanare6tsuki.com/)

 

This was the perfect place to end my long dayin Meiwacho.

After a long day of exploring traditions and cultures in Meiwacho, trying out outdoor activities, and experiencing a stay in one of the most popular accommodations in Meiwacho, my first day in Mie prefecture has come to an end.

I’ve experienced so much just in Meiwacho already and I’m more than excited for the next 2 weeks I’ll be traveling around Mie Prefecture!

●OOYODO FUREAI CAMP SITE

 http://meiwa.sub.jp/camp/camp.html

 

●HANARE　ROKUTSUKI

 https://www.hanare6tsuki.com/