Japan Elevates Glamping: Luxurious Tents with Hot Springs and Mount Fuji Views

A stroll through Aokigahara forest near Mount Fuji starts off peacefully until the guide, Makoto, points out fresh bear scratches on a tree. Despite the potential danger, the group continues. Back in the tent, it becomes clear that this glamping holiday in Japan offers much more than just an encounter with nature.

Glamping, a blend of glamour and camping, is gaining popularity in Japan. Instead of traditional capsule hotels or skyscrapers, visitors can now experience the country's 34 national parks in luxury. With the yen's value favorable to the pound, this type of vacation is becoming more affordable, offering a cost-effective alternative to conventional holidays.

Villa Hanz, a pioneering glamping site located two hours from Tokyo in the Fuji Five Lakes region, a UNESCO World Heritage site, exemplifies this trend. The nearest lake, Kawaguchiko, offers various water sports such as canoeing, kayaking, and paddleboarding for adventurous visitors.

Villa Hanz focuses on promoting wilderness skills and a love for nature. The site can accommodate up to 144 guests, attended by 50 staff members who teach guests how to light fires, chop wood, and handle knives safely. These essential skills are increasingly rare in modern Japan, where most homes lack gardens, and children seldom explore nature.

The glamping site offers three levels of accommodation. The basic "pao," an igloo-like tent, despite its simple exterior, boasts luxurious interiors with modern and antique furnishings, an adjoining bathroom with a heated toilet, and comfortable futons. Another option is a villa, a spacious wooden house with a backyard barbecue. The main guest house, a restored traditional Japanese home, can accommodate up to ten guests.

Breakfast is served in the main building, where one morning, a guest admired the snow-covered Mount Fuji while toasting bread, remarking on the privilege of seeing up close what has been depicted in art so many times.

Though the group missed the star-gazing tour due to lengthy barbecue preparations, the experience improved their cooking skills. Hampers of fresh produce are available on-site, though cooking expertise is not included. The site also boasts a wine cellar and fresh water from a Mount Fuji-fed fountain, a popular spot with the only queue encountered.

True to Japanese culture, the site features an onsen, a natural hot spring, where guests can enjoy the warm water and reflect on Japan's cleanliness, delicious food, and kind people. The guide even offered to carry a heavy knapsack during a steep climb.

While the glamping accommodations provide comfort, walking through the forest brings the most joy. The vegetation, grown on lava from Fuji's AD 864 eruption, creates a unique landscape. The lava layer disrupts Earth's magnetic field, rendering compasses useless in these woods, making it feel like another world.