Click here for Fuji Rock 2019 information.
Going to Fuji Rock for the First Time – What I wish I knew
Fuji Rock Festival is awesome. I’ve been to the festival four times during my seven years living in Japan. Fuji Rock is in Niigata Prefecture, a loooooooong way from where I live in Ehime Prefecture. Every time I go, I learn more things that would’ve made the previous trips a lot easier. Some of this is my Japanese improving, some of it is getting more Japanese friends to help me out, but mostly, the last few years I have been travelling with my wife. She is much better at organising a trip than I am.
Getting to the Festival Site
Fuji Rock offers a range of tour packages through “Collaboration Tours” their official tour partner. The one that I highly recommend is the Official Bus Tour. The bus drops you right at the festival site (100 metres from the campsite) from 16 locations around Japan.
These were the departure locations in 2018:
Eight from the Kanto area:
Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Haneda, Yokohama, Funabashi, Saitama, Hachioji.
The most northern departure point is Sendai.
Nagoya, Shizuoka, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe.
And from within Niigata prefecture there is Niigata and Nagaoka.
Fuji Rock Festival Official Bus Tours
For the past few years I have taken the FRF Official Tour Bus right to the entrance of the campsite. I am always surprised that I’m the only foreigner on the bus. The first two years that I attended the festival I caught the Official Tour Bus from Okayama. I tell you that a 12 hour bus ride on either side of three days of Fuji Rocking and two nights of sleeping in a tent is a killer. On the past two occasions my wife and I decided that it would be better to spend a little more money and travel as far as we could comfortably. So we took the Shinkansen as far as Osaka, and joined the Official Tour from there. There is a big difference between a 9-hour bus ride and and 12-hour bus ride.
Benefits of Fuji Rock Official Bus Tours
It gets you right to the festival site
The fastest way for me to get from Ehime to Niigata would be by plane from Matsuyama. However, that would leave me with the problem of relying on public transport to and from the festival site.
The bus delivers me right to the entrance of the campsite. You arrive around 7 or 8 am giving you about four hours to find a suitable campsite, pitch your tent, and perhaps have a little nap.
Exclusive use of the Pyramid Garden Campsite
The Pyramid Garden is really really nice. It’s a 500m further walk from the Festival Site but the campsite is mostly flat, it used to be a golf course. It has its own food and drink stalls and it’s a lot more relaxed than the main campsite. The Pyramid Garden campsite is limited to Fuji Rock Festival Official Tour Bus campsite ticket holders. So, it is a lot less crowded.
The photos below show the stalls and the main entertainment area in the Pyramid Garden. You can see a fire pit that is used as a campfire every night. In the right photo you can see a stage that has guest performers playing until around 2am on the Friday and Saturday nights.
About 15,000 people stay at the main campsite. The tents are pitched on the ski-slope going up the mountain. The ground is not flat and every minute later that you arrive on the Friday morning, you have to walk further and further up the slope.
The photos below show a comparison of the two campsites.
Tent Ballot
Another really good reason to get on an official bus tour and secure your spot in the Pyramid Garden is the tent ballot. It really makes a big difference not having to lug a tent across the country. I’m not sure of the the numbers entering the ballot, but my wife and I have entered for the past two years and were successful both times.
The photo below are the two person teepees. I’ve already forgotten which one was ours.
The rental for three days is quite expensive.
Solo Tent – ¥10,000
2 Person Teepee (shown above) – ¥15,000
3 – 4 Person Teepee – ¥20,000
But, in my opinion it’s worth it. Not only do you not have to carry your tent with you, you also don’t have to pitch it or take it down.
Fuji Rock Courier Service
This is one thing I wish I’d known earlier. It has made the travel to the festival so much easier. You can send your tent, sleeping bags, wet-weather gear, and any other bulky items ahead, and pick them up just outside the campsite. You can then get it sent back to your house at the end of the festival.
Other Accommodation Options
There are other forms of accommodation available. But because I’ve only stayed at the two campsites, I’ll give what information I can about the others.
Naeba Ski Resort is popular during winter so there are a number of hotel and guesthouse options within walking distance, and a few further away. Because of the high demand on accommodation, they are all available through ballot.
The hotels closest to the festival site and the most popular are booked by lottery. This includes the very large Prince Naeba Hotel just beyond the main campsite. To give you some idea of how early you’ve got to get onto the accommodation, here is a screen shot from the Official Fuji Rock 2018 website.
The first application period opens on the same day as the first line-up announcement.
Be aware that Tashiro and Mitsumata areas are not within walking distance. Google Maps says Mitsumata is a 20-minute drive and Tashiro is a 90-minute drive. But I would imagine with all the traffic around during the festival, you might want to double those estimates.
My Best Fuji Rock Advice
The best piece of advice I have to give is to get onto the Official Fuji Rock Bus Tours. The three main benefits of this are:
1 – Being dropped directly to the festival site. About 100 m from the campsite.
2 – Gaining access to the Pyramid Garden Campsite. A much more pleasant campsite experience.
3 – Access to the Pyramid Garden tent ballot.
Other helpful ideas are utilising the courier service to and from the site. If you’re looking for other accommodation options make sure to get onto them early. Make sure you know how far away from the site they are.
Thank you so much for reading. Let me know if there’s any more information that would be helpful. Or share your own Fuji Rock experiences in the comments.
What is a Shinkansen.
Cool Blog.
Hi Tony,
Thanks for your comment. Shinkansen is a Japanese word for what is known in English as bullet train. A high-speed train system that connects most of Japan’s major cities.
The Shinkansen doesn’t go to Shikoku, the island where I live. We must catch a Limited Express Train to Okayama. Then transfer to the Shinkansen to Osaka. The travel to Fuji Rock takes us about 14 hours.
Cheers,
Nathan
Hi Nath,
How much is the price for official bus tour? Do you have any advice to get tickets for the bus tour because I read somewhere that there are limited to 500.
Hey Anis,
I’ve just been through the official website and I haven’t been able to see a price for the bus tours yet. It can’t be far away because I see that they go on sale on the 3rd of March.
There does seem to be more information every time I look so hopefully it’s not far away.
As for advice for getting a ticket, I’ve been 5 times, and used the Official Bus Tour for all those times, and I’ve never had a problem getting a ticket.
It could depend on where you’re travelling from, though. I’m all the way down in Ehime, so I’ve taken the bus from Hiroshima and Okayama. For the past few years I’ve spent a little more money and trained up to Osaka to catch the Bus Tour from there.
Where are you?
Hi Nath, thank you for this post, it’s very well written & helpful
I try to buy bus tickets + pyramid garden access through the official tour website, and it’s only display all information Japanese. Then I try to follow the procedure (using google translate, ofc) only to find out that the only payment method is only through local bank transfer and we have to write down info such as address (japan only?) and our name in katakana and kanji. So I started to think that maybe the Pyramid Garden and the official bus was meant for local residents only? Or maybe there is another way that I can get the bundle?
This is actually will be my first Fuji Rock all the way from Indonesia, so I really appreciate if you can help me by giving more information. Thank you so muchhh 😉
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Yes. The situation is that you must pay directly into a bank account and give an address in Japan. It makes it difficult doesn’t it?
My only advice is find a friend in Japan. Have you got someone in Japan that you plan to meet?
Hi Nathan, Very useful blog. Same as @Kristi – i tried getting the Bus+Pyramid Garden but in vain. Instead i have now booked the official direct bus from Gan Ban directly: https://ganban-frf.ocnk.net/product-list/6
At least get dropped close to the festival site. Question: Do you reckon, this tour can give access to Pyramid Garden if i bring my own camping gear?
Hey Alice,
Are you attending from overseas as well? Where are you coming from?
It’s an interesting question. The information in English on the Fuji Rock page about Pyramid Garden just says “use of this site is limited to official bus tours”.
Hopefully it doesn’t matter whether you’re on a “Gan-Ban” bus tour rather than a “collaboration tours” bus tour. But it is Japan, so it might matter.
You’d have to take comping gear regardless of whether you stay at the Pyramid Garden site or the main camp site. I’d check it with the organisers when you’re catching the bus. And if they say “no”, I’d try again at the festival site. You can only ask. It certainly is worth going to the trouble of asking. It’s an extra 10 – 15 minute walk from the festival site but it’s much more pleasant.
Have a great time. I’d love to hear about your trip.
Nathan