Hello everyone, this is Tsukui from WAITER-U. Today is Monday, March 10th. It was a beautiful, warm day again, just like yesterday, and we had many customers today. Thank you very much.
Today, I want to talk about places to camp. What I mean is, when I first started watching camping videos on YouTube, I saw YouTubers doing cool camping, mainly solo camping, bushcraft, tarp work, and various other things, and I thought it was cool. I also noticed that professional campers often use the term "noei" (wild camping).
Many YouTubers start with lines like, "I went to a noei spot. Today, this will be my noei spot," and I wondered what a noei spot was back then, so I looked it up. To put it simply, a noei spot is a place where you can camp, but there's no caretaker or manager.
So, basically, you have to take all your trash home with you, and it's essential to follow the basic rule of leaving the place cleaner than when you arrived. Also, there are no toilets, which is a given. But the advantage is that it's free. A noei spot is a place you can use without paying money.
On the other hand, a campground is managed by a company or organization that operates it as a business. If anything happens, you can contact the campground's administration, and they will assist you. Generally, you can dispose of your trash in designated areas at the campground's trash disposal site, and many campgrounds also have shops. Even if you run out of firewood and fail to cook everything, some places have vending machines for cup noodles, for example.
So, if you're thinking of starting camping and watching various videos on YouTube, and you think "noei" sounds good, I recommend against it. It's better to use a proper campground. It's not expensive; most campgrounds probably cost around 2,000 or 3,000 yen per night. So, first, reserve a campground. As for how to choose a campground, I've already done a broadcast on choosing campgrounds in the previous or the one before that, so I think it would be good to refer to that.
Regarding whether noei spots are that easy to find, I know of two in the Kanto region. Along the Nakatsu River in Kanagawa Prefecture, there are two spots, if I remember correctly, called "Aiko-gun," or something like that, in the area further back in Sagamihara. There are places in Kanto called noei spots, and I think there's a Japan Noei Association, or something similar, an organization that promotes noei. They have blogs and Facebook groups, so if you're interested, you might want to check out their website or Facebook.
Today, I explained the difference between a noei spot and a campground. Basically, almost all places in Japan are either state-owned or privately owned. So, I think it's better to assume that there are almost no places where you can just freely enter and stay as you please. That's all for today. See you next time.
