Our destination was RV Park Auto Resort (1534-3 Yokogawa, Takahagi City, Ibaraki Prefecture), located in Takahagi City, Ibaraki Prefecture, which has the sea and mountains as its tourism resources.
Takahagi City is about a three-hour drive from Tokyo or Kanagawa. Considering the time spent playing in the area, it is better to stay overnight than to take a day trip, but if you are planning to stay overnight, you may wish to go farther away from the city.
However, compared to ordinary trips, outdoor recreation is a “tiring leisure activity” that requires more physical exertion after arriving at the destination. Therefore, if the distance traveled by car is too long, the return trip will be tougher, and fatigue tends to linger the next day and beyond. Therefore, “about 3 hours one way” is a good distance to travel, and unless you are accustomed to long-distance travel, it is best to keep it within this range.
So, Takahagi City, which can be reached within a distance of about 3 hours, is not so well known as a spot, since it is actually only in the last few years that the city began to promote its outdoor recreation area.
But it is an area with abundant tourism resources that are not yet touristy (and not yet well-known), and moreover, the local government is putting a lot of effort into making it an area for outdoor recreation, and yet it is not “yet” crowded. There are many outdoor recreation spots throughout Japan, but not many places like Takahagi City.
As I mentioned in the introduction, this is an auto resort located in such a place. It is so convenient that you can reach it by driving about 20 minutes from the Takahagi IC of Joban Expressway, but the facility is right next to the Oyama Dam Lake, so the surrounding area is mountainous and there are few cars passing on the road in front of it, so there is really no noise even during the daytime.
Since we were staying here overnight, we spent morning, noon, and night here, but the only mechanical sound was the occasional vaguely audible sound of a passenger plane flying overhead. The rest was just the sound of the wind, grass and trees moving.
Also, the auto resort is in an area where cell phone service is not available (docomo is not available, and Rakuten Mobile and Softbank are said to be just barely connected. ), so in a way it is an unexplored area.
The Auto Resort is a new facility, having just opened on July 15. It is operated by Wonder Gate, a local company. Mr. Nagaoka, who also runs a car sales business in Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture, believes that cars are not only for sale, but also that cars are fun and that he wants to create a place where many people can enjoy themselves through cars.
Therefore, about 10 years ago, the company began planning to build a place that could be called an “auto resort,” a paradise for car fun. As a form of this plan, the “Auto Resort” was opened on a plot of land of about 4,000 tsubo (about 1,000 square meters) next to the Oyama Dam.
Although Auto Resort is registered as an RV park exclusively for overnight stays, the facility is designed as an auto campground. Moreover, Mr. Nagaoka’s idea of the resort was to create an environment where users can stretch out comfortably, so each space was set up very spacious.
The “Lake View Area” is 8m wide and 12m deep, which is enough room for four of my N-VANs to stay overnight in the same space. I even wondered where to park my car in the space.
At first I thought, “It doesn’t have to be this big,” but after setting up the tables and chairs and relaxing, I began to feel comfortable with the spaciousness of the space, and my thoughts changed to “It’s nice to be spacious. However, I felt comfortable with the spaciousness of the space, and then I thought, “It’s nice to have a big space.
These are the spaces where you can stay overnight in your car (or in a tent). Next, let’s take a look at the facilities at the auto resort.
When you enter the entrance, the administration building is on the left. The administration building is open from 10:00 to 19:00, but check-in starts at 14:00. Early check-in is available for an additional fee. In this case, check-in is available from 12:00 pm.
Minagawa is the only caretaker on weekdays, and there are two to three caretakers on weekends and holidays, so it should be expected that there will be some waiting time around the opening time when customers are concentrated, no matter how briskly they are processed.
The space to be used can be specified at the time of reservation. If you do not specify a space, or if you just show up on the day of the event, they will try to keep the space as far away from other users as possible. This is a nice touch.
Toilets are located next to the administration building and are all western style. All toilets are Western-style and are clean and equipped with a hot-water washing function. There is one for men, one for both men and women, and two for women. However, since this is the only restroom on the large site, it is far from some of the spaces in the forest area, for example.
The cooking area and shower room are located next to the toilets. There is no roof over the cooking area, but the sink is large and there is a faucet with hot water, which is a nice feature.
There are two coin-operated shower rooms, one for men and one for women. They can be used whenever available, but when there are many guests, reservations must be made at the time of reception.
The auto resort also provides rental tents and food for barbecue, so if you wish to use them, you can request them at the time of reservation.
The auto resort we used was a very comfortable place, with a large site and space, adequate facilities, and a clean feeling. It was quiet even during the daytime, and the scenery around the resort was very comfortable and open.
Mr. Nagaoka, the representative of Auto Resort, said that he would like more and more beginners to use this facility for overnight stays in their cars and auto camping.
© Source travel watch
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