Each time I am asked about where to visit while traveling in Japan my first response is, "well, where are you going?". And for the most part the response will be some variant of "Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka". It's a great route, it's called the golden route for a reason, and anyone taking that path will have a wonderful trip of discovery. However, the best advice will always be to get away from the hotspot, to get a little bit deeper in to the country, and asking someone you meet what their favorite restaurant nearby might be.
However, that can be an incredibly hard task. It requires delving more into the unknown, where information may be harder to come by, and taking up more of your time with uncertainty about what you'll find. It can require taking alternate modes of transportation - like a rental car. And in a country like Japan that can be a big ask if you've never done it before.
It makes these pieces harder to write as well, because so often we're discussing places that most travelers won't see. Are we sharing information about how to make the most of it? Or providing a window into other parts of the country they're planning to visit but won't actually get to see?
Snow Peak's Minoh Campfield thankfully bridges that gap well, and is a space that just about anyone visiting Japan for the first time can easily get to, or camp at. Easily reachable from either the Kyoto or Osaka urban core, it only requires a train out of the city, a single transfer, and about a 10 minute walk before you're at the front gatehouse.
How to Get to Snow Peak's Minoh Campfield
As mentioned, the Minoh Campfield is one of the most accessible for travelers hitting one of the three main tourist cities in the country. From Osaka Station, the Midosuji line is a 10 stop, 24 minute journey. From the Minoh Kayano station where you'll hope off, it's a short one minute walk to the Mino Shimmachi Line 1 bus stop. While the bus may be a little more intimidating than a train or subway, this short four stop trip is easy to see where to hop off thanks to a large entry gate and sign.
Kyoto is a similar journey, with the addition of a short train ride on the Super Hakuto line to get to Shin-Osaka station, where you'll simply take the rest of the journey as if coming from Osaka. Either way, expect about an hour to an hour and a half trip.
Driving is quite a bit faster, at 30 minutes from Osaka and 45 from Kyoto. It will also help with the half-mile journey from the entrance to the gate house and campgrounds itself. But it's not required, especially if you're just heading up for the day.
Divided In Two
Unlike any other location, Snow Peak's Minoh Campfield is actually two separate grounds. The first, located within the city of Minoh, is Snow Peak's Nature Hall. Previously an elementary school for the town, it is now the store, outlet, and urban camping ground for the region. And this threw me for a loop. Google wasn't the most discerning when selecting which of the two locations I was actually attempting to get to, and driving in to Minoh with its traditional roads that are carved from the hillside adds a layer of pressure.
As I pulled up unknowingly to the Nature Hall, I immediately recognized it as a school - and unfortunately nothing more. Not wanting to find myself disrupting class at 10am on this sunny Thursday, I turned around and found a small pull off where I could pause and get my bearings. Thankfully, the two locations are just a few minutes away from each other, but it's something that is incredibly important to be aware of, especially if hopping off a train or bus stop to know you'll be in the right spot.
The Snow Peak Minoh Campground
After my few turn arounds were resolved and I had driven to the real campfield entrance, I made my way down the hill towards the gatehouse. At the time of this writing, we'd visited every Snow Peak campground location north of Osaka, and had expected Minoh to offer the same beats. Yet as I drove in I almost missed the check-in and camp store, and had to turn around once more to get to the little gravel parking lot.
The gatehouse and camp store, unlike most locations, is not a fully fledged Snow Peak retail door that also offers camping. In so many ways I am reminded of the campground stores that I visited as a kid. Where you could buy firewood, bait and tackle, and if you were lucky they might just have some candy. While not quite so bare, Snow Peak's Minoh Campfield very much only offers the essentials. Fuel, ice, firewood, and a small selection of food. This also means the exclusive items to the location are limited, with Stainless Steel Eco Cups, T-Shirts, and stickers being the standard selections.
Here you'll also find bathrooms and sinks to wash your dishes. And in true Snow Peak fashion everything is clean and tidy. But if you're expecting a Rikuzentakata, HQ1, or Hakuba style experience you will not find it here.
What you will find, it an incredibly large and spread out series of fields and sites to enjoy. Some are as close as throwing distance from that main entrance and store, while others are decently far enough away that if I was camping and needed to get more firewood, there's a strong chance I would just drive. While this feels a little out of the norm from what I am used to with smaller sites and grounds I've stayed at in Japan, it's not a wholly unique experience. Rikuzentakata is very much the same scale, where a walk to and from the camp store will take the better part of a half hour.
Unsurprisingly, each field was clean and had its own set of bathrooms and washing stations. There are showers, but they're located at the check-in and store. Meaning if you're at one of the far off sites you'll be in for a walk. Sites are available as both open field style, or marked sites. Like many campgrounds, the difference is at a field level - so regions of the camp will be one or the other. Generally, while camping we've always opted for a distinct site. While you are likely to get a little more space, it's also easier to avoid an international faux pas and know you have your own little space to call home for the night.
Deep in Nature
With all that said, there's one thing that needs mentioning - the location itself. Yes, it's close to both Osaka and Kyoto, but the drive to the area runs you through the Expo '90 National Forest, ultimately dropping you into a valley that the Campfield itself is located in. And despite being relatively close to the city still, you would never know it through line of site.
This all culminates in the feeling that this is the most isolated Campfield we've seen until this point. The forest is a bit more overgrown, and a man-made lake that sits near the camp store is fed through a river running down the middle of the grounds.
Snow Peak's Minoh Nature Center
As mentioned, this is a site that is really two sites separated by a 5-10 minute drive. In the city center of Minoh resides the old elementary school which Snow Peak has since taken over to create an urban space with a focus on the outdoors.
Since it's an old school, you'll feel it in everything you see. After parking you'll immediately notice the playground and old baseball field. While it was empty on our weekday visit, this is open to events, demos, and even a little bit of camping if you're so inclined. Opposite this is a conference center built in the old main building. Available for rent as an offsite and gathering space, when we walked by it appeared that it was simply being used to dry out a few tents.
The main attraction is nested in the gymnasium, and has been transformed into the true Snow Peak store for this location. Tents and tarps are hung to the walls and ceiling, others are set up on the floor, and there's a full range of both gear and apparel to browse.
Like the other Osaka location in Rinku Town, there was a healthy outlet section with discontinued products at 30-40% off. While we weren't in the market at this time, it was good to know that a day trip out here could prove very fruitful. I imagined coming out, grabbing a few pieces to take home, then heading up to day camp and have a nice meal in the woods to step away from Osaka proper.
Is The Snow Peak Minoh Campfield Worth a Visit?
Simply put, yes and no. For those wanting to experience a Snow Peak location in Japan it is hard to say no to the proximity and seclusion it offers while also providing unique additions with the Nature Center and Outlet. This makes it a fantastic way to step away and experience a bit of the outdoors in Japan without disrupting your trip.
However, for a die hard who is after specific gear or an experience more akin to the Snow Peak Campfield in Long Beach, Washington, you're unlikely to find what you're looking for. It is more rustic, more remote, and if that is what you're after you will be over the moon - but if not you may find yourself wanting a bit more.
Final Thoughts
Snow Peak's Minoh Campfield was an unexpected surprise for us. As we were spending the morning driving from Osaka to Kyoto already it made for a very easy stop that allows us to get off the express way, save in tolls, and see some fantastic scenery. It's a legacy Campfield, and feels from an era when the brand was still figuring out exactly what type of experience to offer. The large Snow Peak logo on the front gate could have easily been swapped out something more generic or locally owned and I would have not thought twice about it.
