Ever since it’s anime premiered last year, slice of life series Yuru Camp has been behind a new camping boom. Yamanashi prefecture’s Mt. Fuji sites have in particular seen a massive uptick in popularity as they were featured in the show extensively. But nothing that you can organize by yourself, or even with a group of like-minded friends, can compare to the new ‘camp tour’ announced yesterday by the series.
On May 11, those who sign up will get the opportunity to camp at the real-life location of the Outdoor Club’s school, Matotsu High School in Yamanashi prefecture. They will be joined there by two voice actors from the series, Sayuri Hara (who plays the club’s president Oogaki Chiaki) and Itou Shizuka (who plays the drunkard substitute teacher Toba Minami), who will lead a talk show. Participants will then get free time to set up camp in the school’s grounds, meet with other fans, and then attend a late night viewing of the show itself in the school gymnasium.
All of that can be yours as part of four different ‘plans,’ the most expensive of which will cost you around 50,000 yen. That’s because that plan also includes all of the camping equipment and food that you’ll need for the night (that you then get to keep), courtesy of outdoor apparel company Coleman, as well as a bus ticket to get to and from Yamanashi prefecture. The cheapest plan, however, will only cost you 18,000, but that comes with the added hassle of having to source your own camping equipment and provisions, as well as your own transport to and from Yamanashi.
Still, though, this is a pretty spectacular opportunity for Yuru Camp fans. Not only will you get to do a bit of anime tourism, but you’ll also get to meet like-minded fans and the voice actors themselves – not a bad deal if I do say so myself. And I know for a fact that there are some die-hard fans who wouldn’t miss this opportunity for the world, including one such member of the OTAQUEST team.
If you’re interested in getting in on this, then definitely refer to JapanWalker’s website for more information. Booking is open from now until March 25. But even if you end up missing out this time around, I’d wager that this won’t be your last chance – it seems like too much of a perfect fit for a series such as Yuru Camp.