Showa No Mori Forest Lodge

A great place to camp, with a clean lodge and plenty of trails to explore.

One-day cafe.

Nice place.

Visited: April 2018 We stayed at the free campsite, among tall broadleaf trees. The setting was pleasant, though the dirt ground felt damp, and I think a grass pitch would have been better. It was farther from Kanagawa than expected, but very close to the nearest interchange. There were signs along the way, so we didn’t get lost. The reception explanation was fine, but the boundaries between areas were confusing. It would have helped to have that explained too. I liked that staff came around at night to let campers know when the lights were going off. The facilities were clean but generally old. The kitchen only had water, though detergent and sponges were provided. The toilet building was old, but all the toilets themselves were new. The bath was small, but it was free to use, which I appreciated. There was a hearth, but it seemed to be left entirely to users and wasn’t well maintained. One frustrating issue was the kitchen water stopping after some people poured ingredients and charcoal straight into it. That’s down to user etiquette, but it was still unfortunate. Showa no Mori Park is within the campsite, so there’s plenty to do, though getting there means crossing the valley, which is a bit of a hassle. A supermarket is very close, about a 10-minute walk. The nearest hot spring is around a 20-minute drive, which seemed too far, so we didn’t go. The free site shares space with the barbecue area, but the separation between them didn’t feel clear. When we checked in at 1 p.m., so many people were barbecuing that there was barely room to pitch a tent. I later learned that free-site guests can use the barbecue area for free, so I wondered if people who booked barbecues could check in at 10 a.m. Otherwise, setting up when it’s busy would be difficult. People also come for daytime barbecues in the evening, so it wasn’t possible to relax until after 9 p.m. I’m not sure the two areas work well together.