Winter was coming. We wanted to get one last Ibaraki Camping Trip in before it got too cold. To our surprise many of the nicer campgrounds with borderline “glamping” amenities were already booked up. We searched around and found Ryujin Furusato Village just north of the Ryujin Suspension Bridge. We called in and made our reservations. With the reservations confirmed, we set our Ibaraki Camping Trip plans into motion. We would take a weekend, two day and one night Ibaraki Camping Trip with some friends in the mountains of Hitachiota. One of our friends who had his drivers license in Japan was kind enough to rent a car for the trip.

Roadside Station Hitachiomiya

The car rental shop opened at 8:00 am and we were able to hit the road by 9:30 am. We took the 45 minute drive north from Mito Station to Hitachiomiya Roadside Station. Roadside stations as the translated name would imply are usually right off of major roads. They offer travelers a chance to take a break in-between long drives. Roadside stations in Japan are like rest stops in the US. The biggest difference was that you’d actually want to stop at roadside stations in Japan. In the US rest stops usually have public restrooms with questionable cleanliness, a few vending machines, and a couple of picnic tables.

Roadside stations in Japan however are completely different. Most of them have very clean public restrooms, a tourist information booth, and a small shop selling locally produced goods. Some larger roadside stations may have a small food court, a playground, and an open courtyard for special events. On weekends there were food trucks and pop up tents with local vendors.

We stopped for a quick break to stretch our legs and picked up a late breakfast. As it was still pretty early we decided to pass on getting lunch at the roadside station. Instead, our plan was to get lunch after going to Fukuroda Falls. After exploring around for a little bit, we hopped back in our cars and took the 30 minute drive north to Fukuroda Falls.

Fukuroda Falls Parking

As we approached the falls, we hit some pretty bad traffic. The area was super packed with tourists. Since it was a special holiday, the normal entrance fee of ¥300/person was waived. As we drove up the main road to the falls we noticed that a lot of the parking lots were already filled.

We approached a parking lot across the street from some public restrooms that still had space available. When we were the next car ready to turn in, the attendant switched there sign from vacancy to fully occupied. As we were getting ready to turn around we noticed another lot that was previously full, had changed there sign to vacancy. As we pulled up another car was leaving and the attendant ushered us to the recently vacated spot. Feeling lucky, we happily paid the ¥500 parking fee. We saw some nice trees changing colors across the street and decided to take some photos. After our quick photo shoot we headed up the main road to the falls.

The streets were filled with tourists. Along the way there were a good number of restaurants and shops selling souvenirs. One place that caught our attention was an apple pie stand that had a very long line. Unfortunately, due to time constraints we did not have time to wait. Next time we come, we definitely want to try them out.

Fukuroda Falls

We continued along the road until we reached the entrance of Fukuroda Falls, which was up a short switch back. As mentioned before, we were able to enter free of charge and made our way to the entrance tunnel. The tunnel went through the mountain and led to the falls on the other side. The tunnel leading through the mountain had a Disneyland vibe, with its dim lighting and faint music. From November to January there was a special illumination within the tunnel that highlighted the four seasons. Since the tunnel was so dark, the bright lights of the illumination were quite vibrant. There were a few patterned lights that casted beautiful shadows on the walls of the tunnel.

As we headed up the tunnel, we were met with a long line for the elevator to the upper observation deck. Like many lines in Japan, it moved fast and we were at the front within 15 minutes.

Upper Observation Deck

The upper observation deck gave a nice view of all three levels of the falls. It was quite picturesque with the fall leaves in the background. After snapping a couple of pictures we took the elevator back down to the main floor.

After exiting the elevator we stopped by this small shrine that was carved into the wall. The main observation deck gave us an up close view of the second and third levels. Some parts of the observation deck were so close that we felt a heavy mist from the falls.

We finished up and headed back down the tunnel. We took one of two side tunnels that led down to the base of the falls. Afterwards, we crossed a fairly rickety bridge and got a nice side view of the falls and the town below. There was a stair case that led up the side of the mountain. However due to time constraints, we were unable to explore any further. We continued along the path back towards the parking lot. Along the way, we passed by a number of restaurants and souvenir stands. We picked up some postcards on our way out.

Mukashi-ya

For lunch we backtracked a bit and went to Mukashi-ya a soba place along the main road. We shared a soba plate with various vegetable side dishes. The presentation was quite nice.

After lunch we headed back to the cars. We stopped by the public restroom and saw this amusing sign. We wondered if it was always there or if it was a recent addition in the Covid era. On our way out of town we got caught up in a little traffic, but were on our way in no time. Our next stop was at Tairaya which was the only large grocery store in the area. It was a short 15 minute drive to the town of Daigo. We stocked up on healthy portions of food for our yakiniku and nabe dinner.

We then took the 30 minute drive to the campground at Ryujin Furusato Village. It was getting dark by then, so we treaded carefully. Fortunately our friend was able to check in on our behalf. We quickly set up our tents and got to cooking our dinner. The nabe was the perfect choice as the weather was quite chilly. The yakiniku was excellent as well with its hot and juicy flavor. Despite the fatigue we made the right decision to pack everything up before going to sleep. The morning dew would have made cleaning up a lot tougher. With that, we brought Day #1 of our Ibaraki Camping Trip to a close.

More to Come…

*Click Here for Day #2 of our Ibaraki Camping Trip