I like camping. It is something I have done since I was a child and young adult in the Boy Scouts and continued to do while on hiatus back in Pennsylvania and the Northeast U.S. The solitude is great, food tastes better after a day spent in the woods, and the nature is always inspiring. After allowing last summer to pass without taking part in any camping, me and my wife decided to hit the road a few times this past month and head to Tomakomai’s Arten Auto Resort, which is exactly what it sounds like.  There are approximately 250 campsites, on immaculately groomed sod, an onsen, restaurant, park golf course, and various other amenities.  I was just looking forward to sleeping in a tent.

Only about a one and half hour drive south west of Sapporo, the Arten resort has been consistently ranked as one of the top camping facilities in Hokkaido. Unfortunately, this seems to be a fact that every family on the north island seems well aware of. And, being Japan, an overcrowded destination is not cause for discomfort or avoidance, but a physical reaffirmation of just how great a place must be.  Thus even more people will try to crowd a location, solely because others are flocking there.

In the weeks prior we made all the necessary purchases for our family camping adventure. Costco and Homac came through with some decent deals on tents, screen canopies, charcoal grills and all the rest of our needs. So we were more than ready once we arrived at our site.

Strangely enough arriving Friday afternoon with a three day holiday weekend in front of us, the resort was mostly barren of other campers. As we set up our site and the night progressed, there were only a handful of other camping groups scattered amongst the 200+ sites of the resort. We had a great BBQ, a relaxing bath at the resort’s onsen (600 Yen per person for the duration of your stay) and fell asleep early to crickets. First night was a great success.

Saturday is where things got very Japanese. That is really the best I can do to describe it. After spending the morning hiking with the dog and peacefully exploring the area, 1 o’clock struck, and our rather idyllic camping experience became a crowded carnival.  From the moment check in began until about 3 PM a torrent of minivans invaded every single campsite available.  Every site.  From those minivans sprouted a minimum of two children each bouncing some kind of ball and racing down the resorts roads on scooters and bikes (and if they didn’t bring their own, no worries, Arten can and will rent it to you).  By late afternoon there were BBQs going everywhere.  Essentially it just became one huge, somewhat cramped location to have a BBQ and sleep in a tent for a night or two.

Of course we had a great BBQ as well on our newly purchased Coleman charcoal grill.  We ate the food in our extremely easy to set up Coleman screen canopy, and enjoyed the evening with our well lit Coleman LED lantern. Our Costco bought 10,000 Yen Coleman tent was perfect for me, my wife, and dog.  And I would say about 90% of the campers at Arten had the same feeling about their gear, being that they all had Coleman shit.  It could have easily passed for some kind of Coleman product marketing festival.

With the immense crowds I decided to forgo the onsen on the second night.  15 naked Japanese men and 1 white guy in the bathhouse, I can deal with those odds.  100 and 1?  Not a fan of that ratio.  I’d wait until I reached home the next day. The next morning we packed up very early and snuck back to Sapporo before most of the hundreds of other campers awoke.

Some advice for auto camping in Hokkaido:
1. Bug protection is necessary. Don’t believe online reports that Hokkaido has no mosquitos. Not only do they exist in abundance, but nasty biting black flies make the daytime hours unbearable unless you wear long pants/sleeves. A screen tent will make your experience that much better.
2. There will be crowds on any Saturday, especially in the summer.
3. If you can manage to get started camping on a Friday you will avoid crowds for at least a night. (there is no Japanese phrase for “I am gonna knock off work early.”) Weekdays are your best bet.