We Were the Ones in the Cage, Watching Bears in the Rain | Camper Van Life in Japan
A full day in Hokkaido, Japan — from a mountain pass lost in white fog to a rainy morning with brown bears.
We woke up at a roadside station in Shimukappu and drove up to Karikachi Pass for the view — but everything was white. At Sahoro Bear Mountain we boarded the 9:20 bear bus, its windows covered in steel mesh: here, the people ride in the cage and the bears walk free. Brown bears came right up beside the bus in the rain, and behind thick glass, one stood up in the water in front of the kids. After a walk back under umbrellas and a canoe ride on a quiet forest pond, we drove to Shikaoi for a fishing pond we have now visited three times, and a lunch of river fish on tatami mats. At the onsen, the restaurant was for overnight guests only, so dinner came from a vending machine and we ate it in the camper. The day ended with a night drive to a foggy roadside station by the sea.
This time we left some of our voices in — the kids on the bear bus, and dinner in the van. The rest is the rain, the forest, and the hum of the van.
⚠️ Turn on subtitles for the full experience.
📌 Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:41 Early morning, heading up the pass
01:01 Karikachi Pass, nothing but white
01:51 Getting ready in the camper
02:17 Arriving at Bear Mountain
02:51 Boarding the 9:20 bear bus
03:54 Bears right outside the bus window
06:24 Behind the glass, a bear stands up
08:01 Walking back in the rain
09:29 My son finds a cicada
09:49 The gift shop
10:28 Canoeing on a forest pond
12:56 On the road to Shikaoi
13:24 Our third time at the fishing pond
16:16 River fish for lunch
18:13 Back on the road
18:53 Michi-no-Eki Pia21 Shihoro
21:08 Daifuku in the camper
21:38 To Shihoro Onsen
22:05 Dinner from a vending machine
22:23 Eating in the camper
22:58 Driving into the night
23:15 A foggy roadside station by the sea
📍 Places in this video
Michi-no-Eki Shizen Taikan Shimukappu, Shimukappu, Hokkaido — where we woke up
Karikachi Pass, Shintoku, Hokkaido — the view we didn’t get
Sahoro Resort Bear Mountain, Shintoku, Hokkaido — the bear bus and the glass viewing room
A pond near Sahoro Resort, Shintoku, Hokkaido — canoeing
Shikaoi Yamabe-en, Shikaoi, Hokkaido — the fishing pond and lunch
Michi-no-Eki Pia21 Shihoro, Shihoro, Hokkaido
Michi-no-Eki Shihoro Onsen, Shihoro, Hokkaido — the onsen and the vending machine dinner
Michi-no-Eki Shiranuka Koitoi, Shiranuka, Hokkaido — where we slept that night
🚐 About this series
A quiet family journey across Japan in a camper van.
No narration, no close-ups of faces — only subtitles,
natural sound, and the slow rhythm of being together.
▶ Watch Episode 9:
🌿 About nest on wheels
We are a Japanese family of four — Mom, Dad, our 7-year-old daughter
and our 4-year-old son — traveling slowly through Japan in our home on wheels.
We make silent vlogs because we believe these ordinary days
will one day be our greatest treasures.
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