211–220 of 231 posts
> Japan has a lot of bears, monkeys Monkeys? Wtf? I had no idea. Given its geographic location I should have guessed that was the case but for some reason I am still a little bit shocked.
There’s only one species. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_macaque Pretty much all the big island nations in Asia have monkeys. Our house just a few kilometers from the center of Taipei has monkeys in the backyard.
> Japan has a lot of bears, monkeys Monkeys? Wtf? I had no idea. Given its geographic location I should have guessed that was the case but for some reason I am still a little bit shocked.
Feel like I've seen about a million photos on instagram of snow monkeys chilling in hot springs. I've never been, but I think it's a pretty world-famous tourist attraction (can't comment on whether it's actually worth a visit, though): https://en.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/ I've also run into wild monkeys hiking around Kamikochi in Nagano, and cycling around Lake Tagokura Fukushima. They're small, but not particularly…
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"It is a stinky bacteria infection in the armpits. " If it is a infection, then something is very wrong. Otherwise you can and should clean them with care, especially when you cannot shower.
Not at all, hundreds of millions have it. Normal but stinky. Most folks don't realize, but sweat itself has substantial odor.
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Not at all, hundreds of millions have it. Normal but stinky. Most folks don't realize, but sweat itself has substantial odor.
Hah, has no substantial odor.
"To learn the reason behind why this gene affects body odor, the origin of body odor itself will also have to be examined. To learn why, it must be noted that sweat itself is odorless. Body odor comes from the apocrine glands in areas such as the armpits and genital regions, and is caused by bacteria feeding on proteins produced by the apocrine sweat glands. However, with the gene mutation in ABCC11 gene, these proteins are not made, causing sweat to remain odorless."
As someone who's been doing van life for the past year, things like finding water, and places to camp are usually top of mind. Especially if you try to stay on the East Coast of the United States for a while. Might have to try Japan!
You could also try New Zealand. You’re probably never more than 30 minutes drive away from a campsite. And if you get a self-contained vehicle it’s even better as you can park up virtually anywhere.
But also tourists make an absolute mess of the place a lot of the time. Other countries don't have the "tidy kiwi" mentality that we get growing up. I live in the UK now and the percentage of people that will just throw rubbish on the ground is extraordinarily high; I'll hold onto my rubbish until I find a bin, I have never once in my life thrown something on the ground.
I love this or at least the idea of it. The only thing that really would bother me is, not sure how to put this, but the lack of privacy with regard to sleeping arrangements. I guess some people are more comfortable being intimate with their partner in close proximity to their children but that's not for me. Anyway everything else looks like an amazing adventure so I wish them good luck.
Humans have always slept in family groups. It seems like the more natural thing to do. Likewise with nudity. Westerner's are hung up on covering themselves up in front of family members at a certain age. Many Asian cultures don't have that baggage. Bathing with family or going to a bathhouse is normal, and why wouldn't it be?
And other Asian cultures are even more prudish about covering up around family than westerners.
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These vans do seem reasonably priced compared to American living vans. I don't think you'd get much living for around $60k. Plus you could rent vs. buy.
The author links to a van rental service. Looks like a van comparable to the author's van rents for ¥24,800/night. Ouch! You could get a very nice hotel room in rural Japan for that.
I love this or at least the idea of it. The only thing that really would bother me is, not sure how to put this, but the lack of privacy with regard to sleeping arrangements. I guess some people are more comfortable being intimate with their partner in close proximity to their children but that's not for me. Anyway everything else looks like an amazing adventure so I wish them good luck.
When I was little, I briefly lived in a house with 3 generations and 10+ people in a single room. From what I remember, parents would just pick a time to be alone, and grandma would sit on the porch and shoo any curious children away from the house.
While I'm happy for OP I'm afraid finding a "paradise" and telling the internet about it has the risk of ruining it. If 10k people read the article and 1% go to the same place and blog about it and bring even more people, then sooner or later it will be ruined and chances are localities will ban such adventures. I've done something similar.. some years ago there was a casino I would go to where you would pay 10$ entr…
For one, barrier to entry to Japan is high enough that people stampeding to this opportunity is unlikely. If it really takes off, I’d expect places to adapt and turn the free parkings to paying places, and monetize the whole thing as they do for any new trend.
Then more working age people coming to Japan would be a great outcome. The demographic situation is pretty dire and tourism also fell a cliff.
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It's not that hard really, I recommend it. RV rentals are a thing in Japan. I am from USA, so I went to a local shop here that offers International Driver's Permits. All they do is look at your driver's license to ensure it's valid, and then stamp a little paper brochure that has a bunch of translations of what your country permits with a driver's license. You can get as many of these as you want, it's not an actual…
You can get by without speaking Japanese as a normal tourist, but if you try to live in a van and get hassled by the police, lacking Japanese language skills will not go well for you.
Just spending hours trying to convince local cops that you’re not a drug dealer, having them look at papers they don’t understand, and getting more lecturing on how you wasted their time. And that every few days as you move to new places.
Of course shit can happen, but it will be the exception more than the rule.