Heavy Rain to Niigata, Japan in Our Camper Van trip | highway rest area with stealth camping

Heavy Rain to Niigata, Japan in Our Camper Van trip | highway rest area with stealth camping

If you turn on the subtitles, the text will be displayed here. Niigata Trip #1Today is Thursday before the three-day weekend in July. I was able to take a day off tomorrow, so I’m heading there now to make it a four-day weekend. It’s forecast to rain every day during this three-day weekend, so I’m looking for a place where it doesn’t rain much. It was raining and cloudy in Niigata, so I decided to include that area in Niigata Prefecture. The distance is about 210km, so I’m going to go as far as I can today. When I started my nationwide journey , I realized that if I just decided on the prefecture I wanted to go to, and then I set off and drove, I would see the places I wanted to go to… I thought that it would be better to proceed without making too many plans, and that it would be more fun. Today it’s raining and windy , but there’s still a lot to do… I’ve got 150km left , so I’ll drive a certain amount, and if I can’t, I’ll stop there for now. I gave up at the parking area today . U-chan, let’s eat sushi! Yeah, I’m full, but I’ll eat. For now, I’m giving up at the parking area. I haven’t even gotten to Gunma yet. I’m going to eat now . It’s a weekday, so I left the house late today . I had to work, so I couldn’t help it. I got a stable Hama Sushi this size today ! It fits up to two people! It’s a little big for three people. 0% alcohol today! I thought I’d take a nap in the parking lot, so I didn’t buy any alcohol. Hama Sushi’s carefully selected two-person set and all the tuna! I’ll have to keep the washing up to a minimum ! Cheers! It’s nice that it’s still cool today… but if I go to sleep like this at night, it’ll be humid and I won’t be able to sleep. The weather and temperature are a bit strange . U-chan, this is delicious, isn’t it? You guys don’t eat carrots, do you? U-chan is in charge of cucumbers, papa is in charge of radishes, and mama is in charge of carrots . It was decided by myself . Now I’m just turning on the electric fan! This electric fan is very good. It has a built-in battery and USB charging, and has a swing function. We have one of these in our house, and we have a second one. Also, this circulator is a 100V household type. (I’m sleepy now) Papa, I’m stompPapa is in charge of stompBehind me , it’s time to brush U-chan’s teeth, and papa is time to lay out the bed. The air conditioner is running before going to bedFinally , we put on this ladder and it’s done! The air conditioner is on like this now. Since it’s just starting to turn on, we’re blowing air to the bank with a fan. How’s it cool? Is it okay? It’s fine! Should I put a circulator here? But why don’t you come to papa’s side… I’ve been putting a circulator here recently. I’m trying to figure out where is the best placeToday , I’m running the air conditioner with the sub-battery, so I’ve put in the inverter. The sub-battery is at 96%, and is consuming 8.2A. I think it’s not working that hard because the outside temperature is not high. How much is consumed overnight ? Incidentally, the room temperature is 28.3℃ and the humidity is 50%. It’s not hot, but it’s humid. I’m ready to go to bed, so I’m going to go to bed soon. See you tomorrow, good night . It’s 7:10 am on the second day , and the room temperature is 23.1℃ and the humidity is 68%. I’ll use the air conditioner overnight to see how much battery has been consumed. The battery is at 72%, so I guess it was 94% last night (I checked again after that). I think I’ve used a little over 20%. I was able to get by today with just the sub-battery, which is the amount that can be compensated for by driving and charging . Good morning! Have you seen outside? I saw it! There was someone walking without an umbrella. Maybe it’s not raining that much! Wow, it’s cold! It’s cold! The air conditioner is working at its best . Shopping in the parking lot . I got bread and coffee from a bakery, which is nice ! U-chan said she wanted to drink, so I bought a Frappuccino . I’ll put this in the fridge for now. I’ll eat breakfast quickly and move on. I get burned every time. Mama has a sensitive tongue! I’m getting burned again today. There’s a nice smell coming from next door! Is the whole of Kyushu right now? I wonder if there was a warning in Kagoshima. Niigata Prefecture is just raining!! The only place I saw the weekly weather forecast was Niigata, where it was only localized rain and not that strong. It feels like the rainy season has returned . My battery is at 67% now . I’m going to drive from now on, so I’ll charge it little by little. I’m leaving the parking lot now, and I’m heading to a place called “Uonuma no Sato”. I want to enjoy the rain as it rains . I’ve just left the last Kanetsu tunnel, so I guess the next one is Yuzawa Interchange. I ‘ll get off after passing Yuzawa. It’s already sunny outside! The road surface isn’t wet here to begin with, right? I thought it would rain more after I got out of the tunnel, but it was actually sunny. I just left the IC and it’s about 9km from here to “Uonuma no Sato”. I’ve arrived at Uonuma no Sato safely! I’m going to get ready and go. My battery is at 84%! It’s recovered quite a bit!! It’s recovered about 20%. U-chan, have you been here before? My memory of two years ago is hazy , there are a lot of rice shochus, sake is aged in a snow room, I bought this before. Tasting sake I’m interested in (the one I just drank is Hakkaisan, summer limited edition) (Tasting Hakkaisan, snow room storage 3) I have my preferences, but I think I prefer the ease of drinking from the snow room. I bought Hakkaisan♪ I’ll walk around Uonuma Village a little more! I almost collided with a bird and got scared It was right in front of me It was too early to avoid it I remember it was quite crowded the last time I came here. Oh, didn’t they sell Baumkuchen? I bought Hakkaisan Baum I’ll have lunch and go. The last time I went to Soba Restaurant Nagamori, it was really crowded and I couldn’t get in. The entrance is low, really low I’m very interested in old houses There’s something nice about verandas This white one is Edomae thick soba soup The black one is country light soba soup Let’s eat It’s true that the country one is a little lighter! Let’s try the thick one. Yes, it’s strong! Mama likes the strong one! Maybe it’s the Edo taste, but U-chan seems to like tempura because her tastes are divided . Mama only eats tempura and won’t eat soba. The sun has come out! I left it for a while and the battery has recovered to 86%. 8A is a lot of solar power! The fridge is still charging even when it’s running at full power. Sarukurayama Beer Brewery is empty on weekdays, which is great! (Great!) There are a lot of beers I’m interested in, and I can get down there faster than Mama! I went to Uonuma Village, which I’m competing with for some reason . It was a weekday, so it was less crowded than last time, and I enjoyed it even more. From here, I would like to head to a place called “Nishikigoi Village”. There were many places I wanted to go, but as I mentioned at the beginning, the weather was unpredictable, and even though I looked for places, I couldn’t say for sure whether I would be able to go , so I just made a list, and one of them was “Nishikigoi Village”, and I thought I would give up if it rained, but the weather seemed like it would hold, so I decided to go. It seems that there are severe storms all over Japan It’s about 40km from here, so I’ll drive a little. I leave the highway and there are 3km left until “Nishikigoi Village”. I don’t have any other plans for today, so I’ll travel while thinking. Arrived at Nishikigoi Village You can go in a camper, absolutely. When I arrived at Nishikigoi Village, the sub-battery was already at 100%! And since it was charging, it seems to have solar power as well. It was fully charged from about 14% in about 30 minutes!! After this, the weather looked like it was raining. It seems to be the birthplace of Nishikigoi!! Why is this white? Is it the platinum one? Maybe it’s a platinum variety? U-chan, that one is big!! There are lots of beautiful Nishikigoi that are eating well , and they’re so big!! For some reason, everyone is following me. This one is big! The white one is 1m long. Ducks came here to get some leftovers Here are some smaller Nishikigoi (Give me some food!!) (They’re easy!!) The ducks are after them (Give me more food!) How was it? ? Yes! It was fun♪ I found a Magikarp that was smoother than I expected I went to Nishikigoi Village, the birthplace of Nishikigoi. Nishikigoi at Nishikigoi Village are owned by owners, and each one has its own owner. It ‘s an interesting system They were really big! The biggest one was 1m. But there were a few that were just as big I’m going to go to Kunikami Roadside Station, which has a roadside station and hot springs. I just left Nagaoka Kita IC, and as far as the eye can see there is greenery! From here I’ll drive about 20km on the back road to arrive. I ‘m scheduled to arrive before 4pm, so I wonder if I’ll make it to the roadside station in time? This area is Nagaoka City, so Nagaoka is famous for the Nagaoka Fireworks Festival. It snows quite a bit around here. The houses and traffic lights are designed for snow. I arrived at the roadside station Kunikami. It has been renovated . I think I’ll go shopping there. I just went shopping at the roadside station, but I noticed that there is an RV park just ahead. There is a hot spring called “Sakura no Yu”, and I called the RV park attached to it and made a reservation, so I thought I might as well go to the RV park and enjoy the power. There is also a hot spring, so it ‘s nice to be able to relax there. Is that “Yahiko RV Park”? The facilities are clean. If you have a campervan over 6m, the price seems to change. Like this, the RV park is over there. Hot spring reception completed . Parking completed . Everything is locked. This is a space for over 6m. The one I’m parked in is a normal campervan size. There is a water supply, but it can’t be used unless the faucet head is attached. The toilet has a lock and is safe. The toilet is clean and has a lock . The women’s toilet also has a lock. It was clean, very clean. There is a trash can over here! It’s nicely organized. I’ll take a short break before the hot spring. I’ll have some Hakkaisan baum. It seems to contain Hakkaisan sake lees. I think U- chan can eat it? ? Yes! It’s delicious!! You can really smell the faint aroma of sake lees! U-chan, I want to eat as many as you want . It’s 5pm now, and the room temperature is 28.4℃ and the humidity is 39%, so I think the air conditioner is working pretty well. I just turned the air conditioner on, but maybe it was the heat of the engine when I turned it off for a moment, but the room temperature has risen to 28.4℃. The air conditioner is the strongest. It’s been a while since I used it. I bought some unwashed rice at the roadside station earlier. I’m going to eat this today! I think I should probably add about one cup of water with this. It absorbs water during the bath . I’m going to the hot spring now! It’s a bit far. I have a feeling it’s going to rain. Isn’t it hard to tell just by looking at this? I mistook yogurt for milk. The rain has stopped! Amazing! The sky is bright red! A rainbow! ! Look at the fantastic sky in front of me ! It looks like a sunny day!! This one is also bright red . U-chan! It ‘s a bit hazy!! Amazing, that fog! It’s already after 7pm, isn’t it? It’s bright, isn’t it. Amazing, the right side is red and the left is blue. It was a strange sky . These are the ingredients that are currently being defrosted. The rice cooker that probably can’t be defrosted (won’t make it in time) has arrived. Water has been refilled. Today is a three-day weekend, so there will probably be people coming to the RV park after this. Start cooking! I believe it will cook deliciously. “KOIZUMI” (manufacturer) Also, I bought this!! Isn’t the “Hakkaisan” bottle opener good? Let’s use it later! I’m at the age where I like bubble wrap. I just put out the main table. This is really good!! I haven’t finished posting tomorrow’s YouTube yet, so I’ll work on it. This is what it looks like when you put a 14-inch computer on it. Easy to use! Just right!! I just bought this at the roadside station, “Salted squid to enjoy with sake” I thought it was just for today, so I bought it. Then, at the same place, I bought a dressing for blackthroat seaperch, “Dashi dressing”. I will use this dressing for today’s salad. U-chan is helping out today. What do you think? It might be good! U-chan is in charge of picking it. What is that mama’s? Cucumber! I bought it for 100 yen! U-chan is arranging it. She’s at the age where she wants to help out. Mama, are you good at this? It’s well done! This is a salad made by U-chan! Oh! U-chan will cast a spell!! A magic that makes it 10 times more delicious than oursIt has started to rain. It’s raining quite a bit. You can hear the rain dripping. If you think U-chan’s salad looks delicious, please subscribe to the channel and press the like button♪ All that’s left to do is pour the dressing on top and it’s finished!! Has the sound of the rain stopped? It’s raining and stopping! It’s drawing time. This is “Zaru Tofu”. It’s in a colander. See? Isn’t the tofu big? It says that it’s good for a Western style with olive oil and salt! Ah! It has a firm taste! It would go well with the chilli oil and green onion set!! Maybe I’ll eat it again tomorrow. I still have plenty. It was a real “zaru” (colander). It’s a proper “zaru” (colander)! U-chan has written the channel logo “U-Channel Penguin”. I would have preferred the usual small green onion instead of this green onion, but I think this is delicious as it is. U-chan, show me? Ah! You’re drawing well!! You have more artistic sense than papa . The rice was cooked without any problems. How’s the firmness of the rice? Mama is just right! I like it a little hard. Toughmaru Jr. appears This is salmon purchased at Uonuma no Sato. U-chan said that salmon is good! This zucchini is half yellow and half green, so I bought it because it was interesting! Surprisingly, there is a wide variety of food? Shall I drink beer and gourd-shaped sake today? The salmon for U-chan is ready! Next, I’ll grill pork for papa and mama. This is the usual salted meat. U-chan said he’ll put dressing on his salad!! Yes, it was simple!! This is definitely delicious! I’m sure the slightly burnt taste will be delicious. Today’s dinner is the Uonuma no Sato course. Today is a one-plate system . This is the IPA and craft beer I bought today. I’m hungry… Let’s eat quickly!! Today’s meal is all here!! Zaru tofu with edible chili oil and green onions. Papa’s is soy sauce pickled, mama’s is salted koji. U-chan requested salmon with salted koji . All the side dishes were purchased at Uonuma no Sato, and all the rice (white rice) is from Niigata. This salted fish is the “salted squid that goes well with sake” that I introduced earlier. All the contents of U-chan’s salad were purchased at roadside stations. Everything except the 7-Eleven was purchased at roadside stations or on trips. Cheers! Cheers again♪ Fruity and delicious! This is the summer-only version! Mama prefers this one, and the salad had a more mature taste. Papa likes this dressing quite a bit, but it’s cold!! It’s amazing that you can say it’s cold in the car in summer, but if you’re at a high altitude, it’s hot, mama? It’s cold! U-chan also eats meat? ? I’m sure it’s one of your favorites! Apparently it was delicious . This salted fish isn’t very spicy! Usually it’s spicy or has a strong flavor, but this isn’t. But it’s cold. Is it really that cold? ? The one that mama cut is still stuck together, but I’m at an age where I want to complain. It’s been two years since I last came to Niigata. The last time I came was on July 25, 2020, exactly two years ago! It’s been two years already, a whole two years. U-chan’s voice was still so small, and the one who said mama definitely didn’t have that voice. I’ve eaten a fair amount of food now, so I think I’ll have some sake. I also bought a Yukimuro, but I’m a bit curious about this! Gourd-shaped Hakkaisan Let’s eat Gourd-shaped Hakkaisan This is delicious, I should have bought a bigger one It was gone in a second U-chan fell asleep It’s nice, papa wants to be U-chan too The cost performance per trip after buying a camper is really high! It ‘s good value for money!! Even if you take a long trip to Kyushu during Golden Week, it will cost a lot of money. Ours, including the ferry and gas, is less than 200,000 yen in total. If we used a ferry for 11 nights and 12 days… it will cost a lot It was a trip where we didn’t compromise on delicious food, so we spent money on the trip I was treated to one day I was immersed in nostalgic memories It seems like just the other day It ‘s already pitch black outside! Of course it is! If it was bright, it would be scary! After dinner, we cleaned up in a tatami-style room, with each person doing their part We’ve prepared a tatami-style room and a bunk bed, so it’s ready! All that’s left is to brush U-chan’s teeth and carry him here! U-chan, transportation is complete. Good night. It’s only 11:15pm! The room temperature is 24.7℃ and the humidity is 56%. Good night!

In this trip, we set off toward Niigata Prefecture, boarding our camper van on a night of heavy rain.
Along the way, we spent the night in the van at a highway rest area, making our way slowly but surely toward our destination.

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Welcome to “Vanlife in Japan U-channel”, where a full-time working family shares their real-life camper van lifestyle and car camping journey across Japan!
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A full-time office worker in his 30s. Loves photography and videography. Fun fact: he’s over 180 cm tall!

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A road trip girl who’s been traveling the country in a camper since she was one year old!

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