JAPAN VANLIFE: Exploring Japan in a Tiny Campervan | Baked In My Car

JAPAN VANLIFE: Exploring Japan in a Tiny Campervan | Baked In My Car

Hi, I’m Mark. I traveled halfway around the world to hire this tiny little camper van. Join me as I bake in my hire car. Welcome back to another episode of Baked in my car. Today, we’re joining you from Shabuya, Tokyo, where we’re about to pick up one of the tiniest camper vans we’ve ever seen. We start our adventure on a hot, humid Sunday morning with me walking to Family Mart. This Family Mart is one of the thousands of convenience stores all around Japan. And in this episode, we’re going to be making tracks and eating delicious kambini snacks. After breakfast, it was time to check out of the hotel and go and get our van. [Music] Going to go get the van. A few moments later, we turned the corner and it was love at first sight. There she is. She’s beautiful. [Music] I’d like you all to meet the JP Star Happy 1 Premium. If you like the van, make sure to go check out our video where we give you a tour. But now we got to hit the road. After a good few minutes trying to figure out the satnav, we were on the road and straight into one of the busiest intersections in the world. Check out the Shabuya Scramble. According to Google, over 2.4 million people cross the Shabuya Scramble every day. Roughly 2 and a half thousand pedestrians on every crossing. This was absolutely the perfect place to get to know our van and how to drive it. [Music] First impressions of the Happy Plus one. She isn’t that powerful, but she’s beautiful. I’m having a good time. Having tackled the Shabuya crossing, our next challenge was to get onto the expressway. Okay, they’re doing what we’re doing. We’re going left, right? Yep. Yep. [Music] Just ahead. [Music] Okay. Hi. Yes, we did it. This expressway on ramp gave us a chance to unleash all the power that our mid-enineed all-wheel drive Japanese sports car had to offer and we were having a good time. After a while, the city turned the countryside and we’re on our way to the Suzuki Jimny Museum. The Suzuki Jimny Museum is located southwest of Tokyo and has one of the most comprehensive collections of restored Suzuki Jimnys and Sierras I’ve ever seen. The entry cost was a thousand yen donation. And the staff were then happy to show us around all of the Jimnies and Sierras they had restored and raced over the years. After we jimnied all we could Jimny, it was time to hit the road. After only a few minutes, we found a supermarket to buy some snacks. Both kambinis and supermarkets often have a wide range of ready-made meals that just require some heating up along with a very comprehensive range of drinks. After a little bit more driving, the countryside turned into coast and we decided it was time to find somewhere to eat our lunch. We stopped at Tugasaki Beach parking area and had our first proper taste of Japanese van life. It was around 38° C outside, so we enjoyed the views from the comfort of the van and air conditioning while we microwaved our teriyaki chicken pizza. After a minute or two, it was done and then it was time to try it. This was a flavor I’d never had on a pizza before. It was good, but I’m glad that we were able to buy a half size to try it first. After lunch, we got back on the road and continued towards Sakonei and Lake Ashinino, our destination for the night. Good luck everybody. Oh, it’s only $1.90. We started heading inland and then suddenly the roads turned into something out of initial D. I can now say I’ve driven pedal to the metal in the mountains of Japan. Wood planted to the floor. Nearly breaking 50. Before long, we made it to Lake Ashoko. Would you hire a little swan? Lake Ashi is a scenic cradle lake in Aoni, Japan. Famous for its views of Mount Fuji. A great way to take it in is to hire a small boat or to take a cruise on one of the warship themed fairies. The lake is also well known for its historic shrine with lakeside Tory gate. [Music] While you’re at the Tory gate, you can take a photo like this one, but be prepared to queue up for a while. After a day of adventuring, it was time to find somewhere to stay for the night. We found a great lakeside park at the Hakone P9 parking lot. After taking some glamour shots of the van, we decided it was time for some sundowners looking over the lake. On a clearer day, you’d be able to see Mount Fuji from here. [Music] Just across the road from the P9 car park is this 24-hour 7-Eleven. We were getting hungry and it was dinner time, so we went in and bought some food. Now, join me as I bake in my hire car. Here’s what we bought. The first thing we’re going to cook is these pork ramen noodles. [Music] If you watch my channel before, you may have seen the episode where I made ramen with pork belly in the FJ. It definitely wasn’t as convenient as this. This meal was really well packaged. The noodles and the broth are separated so everything stays fresh. So, it’s just a matter of combining everything and then whacking it in the microwave. [Music] The packet said 5 minutes 30, so that’s what we did. [Music] Check out the finished product. [Music] Next on the menu was these udon noodles with spring onion, crispy puffs, and an egg. It was a pretty hot night, so we decided to keep them cold. [Music] Just like the ramen meal, everything was well packaged and separated for freshness. All we needed to do was put it all together. [Music] First step was to add the broth. [Music] After that, we mixed it all together using the chopsticks. [Music] This meal also came with a softboiled egg, which I reckon was the star of the show. And to finish it off, we added in all the toppings. With the main course done, it was time to prepare the entree. We bought these pork gyoza, and all we needed to do was open up the packet and put them in the microwave. [Music] The only thing left to do was to plate them all up and attempt to take a good photo. [Music] How’d I go? If you think it looks tasty, let me know in the comments. Here’s the view we woke up to the next morning. We were hoping to see Mount Fuji, but the clouds had other plans. It was still pretty scenic, though. [Music] Then we topped off the view with a tasty breakfast drink from 7-Eleven. And there you have it, a succulent Japanese meal all microwaved in your car. Thank you for watching Baked in my car. Make sure to like and subscribe and to follow us on Instagram @ baked in my car. [Music]

In this episode, we flew to Japan and hired a tiny camper van. Join as we adventure from Tokyo to Hakone, eating delicious food and seeing the sights along the way!

I have an oven in my FJ Cruiser and little to no experience in baking, join me as I Bake In My Car! #bakedinmycar