In recent years, glamping has become a popular way to enjoy the outdoors with the creature comforts of modern life, and in Nagano, a new type of glamping facility has begun popping up around its picturesque lakes and breezy highlands.

Combining refined and comfortable sleeping quarters, do-it-yourself personal sauna rooms and scenic outdoor locations, Earthboat blurs the lines between glamping and luxury cabin accommodation while offering an experience you won’t find anywhere else.

With wood-burning stoves for cooking and sauna-heating, there’s just enough inconvenience to take your mind off the everyday. And the flavor of a meal or warmth of a sauna heated by a wood-burning stove you stoked yourself is especially satisfying.

Enjoy an evening (or several) of delicious meals and steamy saunas in the outdoors of Nagano at Earthboat.

Earthboat Locations around Nagano

Earthboat is a brand of modern camp trails with equipped sauna facilities, and there are several areas around Nagano Prefecture where you can spend the night in one and enjoy a new era of glamping. There are currently Earthboat locations in Hakuba Village, Lake Nojiri, Kurohime and Togakushi.

Earthboat Village Hakuba

At the base of the Japanese Alps, Hakuba features incredible mountain views. Tucked away in a forest just 10 minutes away from the village center is Earthboat Village Hakuba. A great location for visiting Happo Pond, mountain climbing or mountain biking.

Earthboat Nojiriko

Next to Guesthouse Lamp at the shores of Lake Nojiri, this Earthboat location is perfect for enjoying water sports or cycling. Guesthouse Lamp also offers a variety of seasonal tours such as wild vegetable picking and mushroom picking.

Earthboat Village Kurohime

A clearing in the forest reveals a small pond and 10 Earthboat cabins. Choose a room with views of the forest, mountains or pond to suit your taste.

Earthboat Togakushi

Adjacent to the Togakushi Kogen Hotel by Togakushi Ski Resort, Earthboat Togakushi has excellent views of the Togakushi mountain range. And at the base of the mountain is the Togakushi Okusha Shrine, known for its breathtaking lane of towering cedar trees.

Each trailer can hold up to three adult guests and includes its own shower facilities, kitchen, sauna and an outdoor cold bath. Other comforts include an air-conditioning unit, a refrigerator and an ice maker, so you can keep yourself and your drinks cool even in the hottest days of summer.

Optional meal sets are available, or you can bring anything you’d to cook and eat with you.

The Facilities

An Earthboat trailer cabin at night

The bed and living space with great views of the surroundings

The kitchen area to the right of the entrance

The bathroom features a modern toilet and spacious, stainless steel shower

The Earthboat trailers are furnished with wooden walls of clean pine and accented with stainless steel fixtures and counters. From the entrance, you are greeted by a two-tiered platform with a queen-sized bed sitting at the top and a large window with views of the forests just behind it. The middle platform between the ground level and bed is a sitting area, which can also fit another bed as needed.

The Kitchen

 

Kitchen tools such as a knife, scissors, peeler and tongs are provided

The refrigerator and ice maker below the counter

The kitchen includes everything you need for cooking dinner and breakfast: a small dutch oven, frying pan, a knife, cutting board as well as plates and utensils. There is also a pour over coffee set with a hand grinder and fresh coffee beans.

The Sauna and Cold Bath

The sauna is accessible from the wooden deck outside

Reclining chairs and the cold bath

Next to the large wooden tub on the trailer’s wooden deck is its sauna. The room has two sitting platforms directly opposite the door, and to the right a wood-burning stove. A few pairs of heat-resistant gloves, fire starters, matches and some firewood can be found by the stove, as well as other tools used to stoke the fire. There is also a large bucket and ladle which can be to pour water on the hot stones above the stove.

The Outdoor Amenities

The wide eave offers shelter from the sun and rain

Patio chairs, picnic table, barbecue stove and log splitter sit on either side of the entrance

A close-up of the barbecue stove

At Earthboat, the outdoors is your living room and dining room. A wide eave shelters the area in front of the trailer so you can enjoy sitting outside rain or shine, day or night. There’s a barbecue stove, camping chairs and picnic table preparing and eating meals. You’ll also find a stock of firewood to fuel your barbecue stove and sauna. A log splitter and hammer make cutting the wood into manageable pieces a breeze.

How to Enjoy a Stay at Earthboat

Check into your Trailer Cabin

 

 

When you arrive at your trailer, complete the online check-in to receive the passcode to enter. Once inside, you’ll find all the amenities at your disposal. Unpack and put away any perishables in the refrigerator, then make yourself a drink to start. Grab some ice for a cool drink in summer or grind some beans for an early afternoon coffee.

Split some Firewood

The hammer and log splitter make chopping wood a breeze

Plenty of firewood to keep the sauna and stove fueled

Getting ready to build a fire in the sauna

Like salt sprinkled on watermelon, a pinch of inconvenience brings out the sweetness of a stay at Earthboat. Stoking your own fires for the barbecue grill and sauna gives you purpose and a greater sense of enjoyment of the fruits of your labor than if everything was handed to you on an gas or electric-powered platter.

You’ll want plenty of firewood in a variety of sizes to keep the stoves going. Chopping firewood is as easy as placing the logs on the splitter and hammering them down. You’ll probably need more than you expect, and the firewood won’t go bad, so chop a little extra just in case.

Prepare the Sauna

Lighting the stove

The first fire of the day

Filling up the cold bath outside

It takes an hour or two for the sauna to heat up to one’s desired temperature, so starting the stove just after check-in is recommended. Grab plenty of firewood from the stock outside and bring it into the sauna. After building up a decent pile of firewood in the stove, use the fire starter to light it. (Don’t forget to wear those heat-resistant gloves!)

If you’re not an expert fire starter, you’ll want to check in on it every 15 minutes or so—you wouldn’t want your hard work to be undone by an extinguished flame.

This is also a good time to fill up the cold bath just outside.

Relax

Taking in the views around the Earthboat site. (Taken at Earthboat Togakushi)

Sweating it out in the sauna

Enjoy the scenery and fresh air while you wait for the sauna to heat up. Depending on which Earthboat location you choose, you can relax by the shore of a pond or lake or at the foot of the mountains surrounded by forest. You may want to check on the stove every now and then to make sure it doesn’t go out.

Once the sauna is at your desired temperature, change into one of the provided swimsuits (swimsuit sizes run a bit small so you may want to bring your own) and put on the towel hoodie and head on in. At around 40°C, you could spend hours leisurely reading or watching Netflix inside. Or, if you built a roaring fire and got the sauna much hotter, you could cook yourself to perfection in just 10 minutes. You can also pour water over the hot stones above the stove for an authentic löyly steam sauna experience.

After taking a dip in the cold bath, laze on one of the reclining chairs and enjoy the refreshing breezes and the sounds of chirping birds around you. Keep the stove fueled and repeat the process as desired.

Cook Dinner

Starting the fire in the barbecue stove

Preparing ingredients in the kitchen

Cooking over the stove

It’s almost time for dinner, which means it’s time for to start another fire. Set up the barbecue grill beyond the cover of the eave for safety, then light your starter and stoke the stove with firewood.

You can prep your ingredients at the kitchen counter or on the picnic table outside. The provided knife and cutting board should meet your needs, and the provided corkscrew and bottle opener will take care of your drink of choice.

You can cook on the stove plates or put the frying pan or Dutch oven on top of the stove. The IH hob on the kitchen counter can also be used to prepare another dish simultaneously.

Turn on the fairy lights as the sun goes down and sit outside to enjoy a hot meal cooked over the wood-burning stove.

Turn in for the Evening

After a delicious meal and a relaxing sauna experience, retreat into the comfort of your trailer for the evening. You can wash the dishes in the kitchen sink and leave them on the drying rack for the next morning.

Turn on the air-conditioning to get the room to a comfortable temperature, take a warm shower and settle into bed for a good night’s sleep.

Enjoy a Hearty Breakfast

Brewing a pot of coffee to start the day

An easy and delicious breakfast

As the sun rises on a new day, natural light filters through the linen curtain beside the bed, gently waking you up. It’s time to stoke the fires again, so head outside to grab some firewood and ready the barbecue. If you wake up early enough, you might also heat up the sauna too?

Coffee lovers will appreciate the provided pour over set with fresh coffee beans included. The aroma of coffee as you hand grind the beans and pour yourself a cup will energize you for the new day ahead.

Prepare your favorite camp breakfast or go all out and make a morning smorgasbord.

Check Out and Explore

Checking out is almost as easy as checking in. Make sure the fires in the stoves are quashed, clean any dirty kitchen utensils and leave them to dry on the rack, and place any used towels and swimwear in the linen basket outside.

If you don’t have to head home right away, take advantage of the area. Go cycling around Lake Nojiri, hike up to Happo Pond or visit ancient Togakushi Shrine. Each Earthboat location has plenty of activities and nearby sightseeing spots to explore!

Package Tours and Additional Services via Earthboat Way

In addition to a stay at Earthboat, you can also reserve plans that include transportation from major cities such as Tokyo, Nagoya and Kanazawa or international airports such as Haneda, Narita and Centrair.

Some plans include additional excursions, such as temple visits or fermented food tours. If you don’t find a plan that suits your needs, you can also contact Earthboat Way to make your own custom plan.

On the Earthboat Way website, you can check the currently available plans or contact the operators directly for a custom-made plan. Make the most of your visit to the outdoors in Nagano with Earthboat Way.

Concierge Service

A concierge service is also available to guests staying at Earthboat. If you have any questions about sightseeing, shopping or other information related to your stay, don’t hesitate to contact your concierge for assistance.