Van life might not be the most “normal” way of life but it has started to gain huge popularity in recent years thanks to the van life movement on social media. We love living in a van in Japan but it does tend to be a little difficult at first since there are many things you need to adjust to after living in a house or apartment.
You need to live with less belongings, learn how to cook, do dishes outside, learn to navigate and basically let go of the comforts from your normal life.
In this blog post, I will explain the top 10 reasons why we love living in a van in Japan.
1. The Freedom
The number one reason why most people choose to live in a van is due to the incredible amount of freedom it brings. A recent study reported by a newspaper in the UK stated that humans have been nomadic for 99% of our known history.
Imagine being able to wake up wherever you want every single day. You can park up near a beach, in the middle of the mountains, at a rock festival or even beside a beautiful river. Human instinct is to travel and explore our surroundings and living in a van definitely provides that!
2. Living in a van is economical
Nowadays, prices for renting or buying a property in major cities around the world are skyrocketing. A lot of people can also not afford mortgages or are faced with university debt after paying expensive tuition fees.
Living a low cost lifestyle suddenly starts to become very attractive for people in these situations and this is another reason why the popularity of van life has increased in recent years.
When living in a van, the only costs you have are for gasoline (which can be reduced if you don’t move around much), insurance, road tax, and van repairs. When you compare these costs to the price of owning a $250,000 house or apartment, the cost savings are obvious!
If you are interested in how much it costs to live in a van in Japan, check out the blog post about our monthly budget below.
3. It’s a good way to meet people
Meeting other van lifers or campers is usually very easy since you already have a common interest to discuss. Especially if you are travelling alone, it’s sometimes nice to have a conversation with someone else after a few days of spending time by yourself.
People who tend to travel usually have very interesting stories to tell, whether it is an elderly gentleman travelling alone, an older couple who never had a chance to travel when they were younger or young couples who are living in the moment!
A good way to start conversations is to ask about their van! People who have made their own van usually love to show the results of their DIY skills and give a tour. It’s also a good opportunity to share ideas and ask any questions about difficulties you might be facing during van life.
Another good conversation starter is to check where their number plate is from and make conversation about that city or prefecture or ask where they are heading to next.
4. Minimalism is good for mental health
Studies have proven that clutter and mess can have a direct impact on stress and anxiety levels. When living in a small space like a van, it is not possible to bring everything you own with you. Therefore you need to prioritise which items matter most to you and will make your life easier.
We have also found that the desire to have more clothes, a bigger bedroom or the next best thing has disappeared and we have become happy with what we do have and appreciate those things much more. Living simply is good for our mental health and living in a van forces you to do that!
5. Less chores
Although you might think that living without a dishwasher or washing machine will make life harder, living in a van actually results in having less chores to do. Since the van is such a small space, you don’t need to spend hours every week cleaning the bathroom, mopping floors, vacuuming or gardening.
You might need to spend a little extra time each day washing your dishes by hand or throwing away your garbage but overall, you have much less housework to do if you are living in a van!
6. You learn a lot of new things
When you live in your own little portable home, there are many things you will learn which you might not have if you had not started vanlife.
One of the obvious things we have learnt is about van parts such as the engine and what to do if we break down. We have also learnt a lot about how solar energy works since we rely on it for providing us with electricity.
By spending a few weeks in each place, we have also had the opportunity to learn so much about the local area we are in and its speciality cuisine! It has made us appreciate organic and locally sourced food so much more.
And finally, we have learnt a lot about each other since we spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week together! It’s sometimes hard to spend so much time together as a couple, but it has been a great experience since we have got to know each other so well and we have made many fantastic memories together.
7. You stop taking things for granted
As you start living in a van, you will realise how much you appreciate the simple things in life. For example, taking a shower for the first time in a while or wearing clean clothes after visiting the coin laundry.
When living in a house, it’s easy to take amenities like running water for granted, but when you live without these conveniences, it makes you value them so much more when you do experience them!
8. Closer to nature
It has been proven that spending time in nature can reduce stress and forest bathing in Japan is a great example of this.
When you live in a van, you spend a lot of your time outdoors cooking, washing dishes or visiting the toilet, all while surrounded by nature. There is no way to avoid it but why would you want to since it brings so many health benefits?
9. Inspire you
Travelling to new places all the time, experiencing different cuisines and meeting new people is bound to inspire anyone. Spending time alone or with your own thoughts can help you realise your dreams and what you really want from your life whether it be a new career, a new business idea or taking up a new hobby such as playing the guitar.
10. Experience things you never would have
While travelling and living in a van, you have opportunities to get off the beaten track and visit places you might never have found since you are in complete control of where you go. When comparing our experiences backpacking, we usually move from hostel to hostel and only visit the main attractions in a place.
While travelling by van, you can take a random road and explore unheard of places recommended by locals which are sometimes even more beautiful than the places listed in a guidebook or recommended by your hotel! Thanks to van life we have come across many amazing places that we would never have stumbled across if it weren’t for living in a van.
We hope you end up loving vanlife as much as we do! Van life = happiness, it’s as simple as that!
