Camping in Hokkaido

In my Hokkaido roadtrip last July, we did over a week’s worth of camping at a couple of different campsites around Hokkaido. All were in the range of 500 yen to 1000 yen per person a night, and did not require any prior reservations. And this was during the peak of Hokkaido’s summer holiday season. It was definitely a more laidback experience compared to camping in the prefectures surrounding Tokyo, which can get very crowded and/or book out depending on the popularity of the campsite.

Shiretoko Campground

We spent a couple nights camping at the Shiretoko Campground (国設知床野営場), which is only a 25 minute drive from Mt Rausu’s Iwaobetsu trailhead. It’s very reasonably priced at 500 yen per day per person, and there’s an onsen (Yuhidai Hot Spring, 夕陽台の湯) within walking distance too.

The only downside is that the campsite is popular with hikers and non-hikers alike, so it can get a bit noisy in the evenings. Also (maybe it can’t be helped but) the toilets were on the smellier side compared to all the other campsites we stayed at.

Soyokaze Campground

Next, we spent two nights at Soyokaze Campground (そよかぜキャンプ場) which was about 35 minutes drive from the trailhead for Mt Shari.

The campground are grass fields intersected by a small road. The road has street lamps which stay on at night, and you can pull up on the road, drop off your camping goods, and then park at the parking lot 100m or so away.

There’s a supermarket within a 5 minutes drive (closed on Sundays), and a dubiously named (but really nice) Papas Land Hot Spring about a 25 minute drive away. The nearby conbinis were also open 24 hours. The campground here was well-maintained, and cost us 500 yen per person a night.

One of the downsides is that it’s surrounded by farmland, and the breeze occasionally brings in the smell of manure. Although that’s less of a campsite problem and more of a general Shari town problem I think. Also they don’t let you dispose of your rubbish.

The street lamps also mean it doesn’t get fully dark at night. But if you drive a couple of minutes down the road you’ll be surrounded by farmland and you can get an amazing view of the stars. We actually got to see the Perseid meteor shower, just by coincidence, when we were driving back from our trip to the onsen.

The Kiyosato Auto Camping Ground (清里オートキャンプ場) is a closer option only a 15 minute drive from the trailhead, but requires reservations in advance and was fully booked when we tried our luck last minute.

Tsurunosato Campground

The third campground we stayed at was Tsuru-no-sato (鶴の里キャンプフィールド). This was a large open field and we ended up stopping by last minute after doing some sightseeing nearby. You can pay extra to drive your car into the field and next to your tent, but otherwise you are allowed to drive in, drop off all your stuff, and then drive the car out to the carpark on the edge of the field. I vaguely remember this one being the most expensive, I think it was a bit over 1000 yen per person.

There was a nearby onsen at a place called Hotel Taito. The campground provided us coupons which made it a little bit cheaper.

“Tsuru-no-sato” means “village of the crane” and true to its name, on our drive out the next morning we actually spotted two cranes and their baby!

Onneto Campground

Our fourth campsite was the Onneto Campground (オンネトー野営場), next to Mt Meakan’s Lake Onneto trailhead. This was my favourite campsite of the trip! Unlike the other campsites we stayed at where they cut down trees to create a large clearing for campers, this place was still largely untouched, and we felt a lot more surrounded by nature. The price was pretty standard at 1000 yen per person. The reception building also served as a cafe and had some fancy hiking goods for sale as well. Apparently the building even has a shower, although I didn’t check it out.

It was a very peaceful place to set up camp, and very quiet too. Since the nearest grocery store is up to an hour away, maybe it’s this inconvenience that deters campers? I would definitely recommend it if you are in the area.

The one thing to note is that the camping area does not have phone reception, but this is a great way to switch off from the outside world. If you need it, the reception building does have free Wi-Fi.

Asahidake Youth Camp Field

Finally, before climbing Mt Asahi, we spent the night at the nearby Asahidake Youth Camp Field (東川旭岳青少年野営場) - which is sort of weirdly named, but is available for anyone to stay at. For only 500 yen per person a night, this camp had great amenities, including Wi-Fi near the (really clean) toilets.

The grounds had a bit of a unique setup, with it being split into 5 different sites, with pathways between each. If you wanted to start an open fire, you can only use the large open field right in the middle of the campsite, which is designated as a common space. The layout probably makes it quieter compared to other campsites. However since it’s mainly hikers who use this campsite, who all have early bedtimes, it was a pretty quiet campground either way.

If you’re looking for an onsen, there are three hotels that allow the general public to use their baths:

We got the chance to visit two of the three. K’s House is technically a hostel, so I wasn’t sure how good the quality would be, but it was actually really nice, and is also the cheapest.

After our hike, we also visited Yukoman-so, and the onsen’s interior was probably the fanciest I’ve ever been to. I think if I would recommend one over the other, it would be this one!

Hotel Bearmont apparently doesn’t have an outdoor bath, which I always like using, so that’s the reason we didn’t try out this one.