Have you ever been camping before?

What is camping? and How to enjoy

I’ll share what it’s like from my experience.

Camping is simple but requires some work, such as:

1. Building your tent
2. Preparing your food (and washing your dishes)
3. Packing up your gear

I must admit that these tasks can be daunting. However, once you get used to them, they become part of the routine.

1. Build Your Tent

The most important thing in camping is your tent.

Once, I camped in a place with no roof, and my tent got flooded due to rain. It wasn’t even heavy rain. I had set up my tent in the wrong spot—one that easily soaked up water because the surface was not ideal. That night, my sleeping bag absorbed the water, and I felt freezing. As you can imagine, I couldn’t sleep well that night.

It was unexpected that my tent was not waterproof. I thought all tents were supposed to be. (I later discovered that my tent was too cheap to be truly waterproof.)

When I woke up, I knocked on the door of the campsite owner and asked, “Could I use the space in front of your fireplace so my sleeping bag can dry?”

The owner agreed and even offered me an extra blanket, apparently sensing that I wasn’t in a good tent.

I was fortunate that the owner was kind. I can’t imagine how terrible it would have been to sleep in a wet sleeping bag for two days in a row.

From this experience, we can learn to:

1. Buy a good tent
2. Find a good location

A good tent should be waterproof and wind-resistant. On another camping trip, I had to ask for a blanket because my tent was too cheap and my sleeping bag was thin.

For the location, choose a flat area, preferably with a roof or tree cover. The roof or leaves of trees can block direct rainfall. Also, avoid locations with any holes.

2. Prepare Your Food

If you’re backpacking for more than two weeks, you might want a pan and a stove with gas. It’s always good to have home-cooked (or camping-cooked) meals. After walking for a few hours with a 10kg backpack, a sandwich might not be enough for your weary body.

Here are some of my favorite camping recipes:

Pasta with Tuna (or jurel)

• Pasta

• Tuna

• Parmesan cheese

I often cooked this dish because it contains protein. Canned fish is always a reliable camping companion. I strongly recommend adding a lot of cheese to the pasta. Mix the cheese into the pasta in the pan before eating.

Rice with Tuna and Tomato

Rice

Tuna

Tomato

Salt

Vegetable oil

This is a nice dish with some protein. Tuna can be replaced with fried eggs, but I usually prefer tuna because eggs are harder to carry in a backpack.In Japan, we don’t cook rice with salt and oil. Japanese rice is sticky, so we don’t need to use oil to separate the grains. Therefore, I wouldn’t add salt and oil to Japanese rice when cooking.

Boiled Eggs My final camping food recommendation is boiled eggs. They are easy to cook and a good source of protein. Usually, water is available at campsites, so this recipe is quite reliable.

In Japan, I would cook pasta with ready-made sauce. There are many types of pasta sauce available in Japan, and they are all delicious—tomato-based with meat, creamy white sauce, fish egg flavor. I would definitely use them if I were camping in Japan.

I’ve never camped in Japan, but I have tried “glamping” there. I’ll discuss that in my next article.

Summary

What makes camping unique is the freedom it offers—you can eat what you want and sleep whenever you want. If you feel tired, you can stay in your tent, listen to the sound of the trees swaying in the wind, and feel the soft warmth permeating through the tent. It’s your exclusive little house. You’ll like it.

Drawbacks

Washing dishes

While you enjoy your freedom, you might struggle with laziness.

Washing dishes is not my favorite task. After a good meal, especially after walking long hours, you might feel that the nutrition is coursing through your veins, making you happy and lazy. Why would you want to get up and wash your dishes?

Most of the time, the dish-washing station is not close to your tent. You’ll need to walk there with your dirty dishes, sponge, and detergent.

Although it’s not a fun task, I recommend washing your dishes right after your meal. If the pan stays dirty for a long time, the stuck food dries and becomes harder to remove.

At the very least, put water in the pan and wash it after your meal.

Fancy Camping?

Start your first camping trip with someone who enjoys nature, not necessarily a camping expert. You’ll have a better experience with someone who doesn’t mind sleeping in a sleeping bag.

Not interested in building a tent and washing dishes?

Try glamping!

I recommend glamping—more details in the next article.

Bye!