Gran Blue

The toilets, showers, and water facilities were surprisingly clean and well-equipped, and there’s also a garbage disposal area. After a shower, you’ll want to leave the door open for ventilation, but close it properly so insects don’t get in. The site was hard to find by car: turn off the main road and follow a side road through weeds. My family and I stayed in a tent. There’s lots of gear supplied, so you mainly need to bring food. The BBQ setup includes a pizza oven, grill, chairs and table, large cooler, plates, cups, chopsticks, tongs, charcoal, fire starter, torch, insecticide, and an AC power outlet. The tent has a lantern, fan, pillow, bed, comforter, hair dryer, toothbrush, and more. If you want clean, comfortable glamping, spend a bit more and choose another place. Ants crawled around inside the tent, so we had to kill them with insecticide. Bring repellent and Febreze. My wife and kids couldn’t sleep inside and slept in the car. I couldn’t sleep well because I was worried about them, and found ants on my bed when I woke at dawn. At night, stray cats come around when you BBQ. They’re feral, very wary, and will punch you, so be careful. Any food left outside or overnight will be destroyed, so clean up before bed and don’t feed them. Although the ocean is said to be close, getting there is really difficult and takes at least 10 minutes through lots of grass. It isn’t a swimming beach, and there are no rock pools, just sand. The nearest convenience store is about a 20-minute walk away. It’s unmanned, with staff available by phone, and they’re kind and helpful if you have questions. Creatures we encountered included cats, ants, beetles, bees, moths, cockroaches, and more.

I’m glad I got to try glamping once, since any experience is worthwhile. But as there were just two of us, the room-based price made it quite expensive, and I felt I would have preferred a ryokan with good food and a hot spring. It might work out to only a few thousand yen per person with four people. The place felt like a run-down field with camping gear and a few photogenic touches. The tent had only a bed inside and was blackened in places by rain and wind, so it didn’t impress me. If you want a BBQ, a BBQ area would do, and if you want to sleep in a tent, there are other options. There are other ways to spend time in nature too.

The site was much better than I expected from the reviews. Our family of four went during Golden Week in May 2012. After record-breaking rain was forecast for our planned day, the management company contacted us the day before and offered to move the date. They arranged it at short notice, even during Golden Week. We bought BBQ supplies at Odoya Super Center, about a 15-20 minute drive from Grand Bleu, stopped for a soak at Satomi no Yu in Tateyama City, and arrived around 4:30 PM. The tent was spacious, clean, and comfortable. It was early May and a bit chilly at night, but the weather felt just right and there were very few bugs. Despite the heavy rain the day before, the ground was completely dry, likely thanks to good drainage. I’d recommend May or September or October, when temperatures are similar. Nights were probably around 10-15°C, comfortable with a long-sleeved T-shirt and hoodie. There was a fan and kerosene heater inside the tent, which warmed it easily, though it might get hot at night in summer. The toilets, showers, and water area were all very clean and well maintained. The ocean was a 3-4 minute walk away, though it isn’t a swimming beach. I enjoyed a morning walk and went shell hunting with my kids. A couple of small things could be better: the entrance was difficult to find, and a website link showing what it looks like from the road would have helped. If you’re bringing young children, there aren’t many activities beyond being in nature, so bring things for them to do in the tent or the field in front. We brought picture books and other items. It’s quite inexpensive compared with other glamping sites in Chiba Prefecture and good value. The facilities might not match luxury glamping, but this feels more like camping and lets you enjoy nature more than a hotel-style glamping stay. For families who find camping with kids hard, it’s a good option since you don’t have to set up the tent or prepare everything.

Once you’ve called after arriving, the manager won’t be there, so this is very hands-off glamping. They have the charcoal and grills set up already, plus fire starters. Charcoal is limited, so bring extra to be safe. The grill is new and disposable. Small plates, chopsticks, and tongs are also provided, so you just need your own ingredients and condiments. There’s a supermarket nearby, but it’s small; groups should get larger quantities at a different supermarket. You can also buy alcohol there, and a 7-Eleven is about a 10-minute walk from Grand Bleu. With only the ocean around, it’s a good place to enjoy food and drinks. Wild animals get into garbage bags at night, so don’t leave food out. There are lots of insects in summer, as you’d expect in the wild. The number of ants inside the tents especially needs improvement.