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This week’s B ME Bites Trivia Question:

Welcome to edition #63 of B ME Bites! The Japan adventure continues — and this week, we hit the road in true van life style. 🚐 From narrow streets and friendly hosts to baby birds and bears (yes, bears!), Japan’s version of road-tripping came with its own set of rules — and surprises.

PS: B ME Bites will now be landing in inboxes fortnightly while its new sister newsletter, Effortlessly Organic Living, takes the opposite week. These Japan editions take a little extra time to craft — but every story, snapshot, and lesson is worth the wait. 🌸

Japan Adventures Part 3 – Van Life, Motorhome Madness and Bear Country

From road-trip chaos to bear warnings — van life, Japan-style, was anything but ordinary

From narrow streets and kind hosts to Michi-no-Eki pit stops, this chapter of the journey shifted gears — literally. The next leg of Japan Adventures took us from trains to van life, with lessons in flexibility, friendship, and a little bit of fear (bears included).

Van Life, Japanese Style

June 15th marked the start of our van life in Japan — and let’s just say, it was a crash course in travel lessons and laughter.

After picking up the motorhome from RV Village, we returned to our Osaka Airbnb to collect our luggage. The narrow laneways made driving there feel impossible, so we parked nearby and braced ourselves for a workout. Thankfully, our incredible host came to the rescue again — loading our luggage into her car, driving us to the motorhome, and even gifting us snacks for the journey. Another Airbnb host turned friend.

At RV Village, we quickly discovered there were a few things we hadn’t realised didn’t come with the motorhome — like cooking utensils, plates, and cutlery — and a few essentials we’d forgotten to pack ourselves (hello, towels!). Luckily, we were able to hire the kitchen kit directly from RV Village, and the lovely gentleman assisting us, Tamura, even found some clean towels left behind by previous guests. He insisted we take them and gave us his WhatsApp number in case we needed help along the way. True to his word, Tamura became our road-trip guardian angel, answering questions, helping us navigate campsite websites, and offering support whenever we needed it. His kindness made those first days on the road so much easier — thank you, Tamura!

With the motorhome finally packed, we set off for Himeji and Okayama. Along the way, we discovered the magic of Michi No Eki — Japan’s roadside rest areas. These range from simple toilet stops to full-service hubs with restaurants, shops, laundromats, and even Starbucks. My favourite stop? One where a nest of baby birds tucked under the eaves stole the show. Locals had even placed protective cardboard around it and signs asking visitors to be careful. So heartwarming!

That day, we learned that van life in Japan doesn’t run on spontaneity. You can’t just book campsites last-minute like in Australia — they require at least 24 hours’ notice. It threw our plans off completely, and we had to skip Himeji Castle when we couldn’t find parking suitable for the motorhome. Stress levels were high until we found an Airbnb in Okayama for the night — our first experience of a low platform bed (at least it wasn’t just tatami mats!).

When the Campsite’s Empty (Except for Bears!)

June 16th took us to Hiroshima — and yes, another Pokémon Centre stop at the Hiroshima Pokémon Centre! (We’re nothing if not committed to the challenge.) We stopped for gyoza (a familiar favourite) and chashu rice — a new one for us, and absolutely delicious. Little did we know, it would end up being our last proper meal of the day…

On the way to our campsite, Mominoki Forest Park Campsite, an email landed in Nataasjia’s inbox: a high-wind warning. The site was offering free cancellations, but with no backup plan, we decided to brave it. We arrived just as the rangers were leaving for the night, and they quickly checked us in and shared one crucial piece of advice: Don’t leave food outside. Bears will come. Apparently, a bear had recently been sighted near the camp ground…..

Suddenly, “roughing it” took on a new meaning. We were the only campers who hadn’t cancelled. Just us, a howling wind, and a motorhome surrounded by forest. Every rustle outside had us wide-eyed and whispering, “Was that a bear?”

We didn’t want to cook outside, and cooking inside the motorhome was against the rules, so we decided to skip dinner altogether and make do with the fruit and snacks we had. We also drank as little as possible, hoping we wouldn’t need to venture out to the toilets in the dark. Of course, nature had other ideas. Putting on our big girl pants and armed with rocks (our makeshift bear deterrents), we crept to the toilet block a couple of times during the night and again in the morning, scanning every shadow and listening for the slightest sound. We can laugh about it now, but at the time — we were absolutely terrified!

Van life in Japan? Equal parts peace and panic — but we wouldn’t trade it for anything.

🌸 Travel Lessons So Far

• Kindness from strangers (and hosts) turns travel into connection.

• Van life in Japan means planning ahead — spontaneity doesn’t always work here.

• Even the smallest moments — like baby birds at a rest stop — can be the most unforgettable.

• Bears are cute in theory, terrifying in practice.

💬 What’s one “uh-oh” moment from your travels that turned into your best story later?

Next Up

From road trips to reflection — Hiroshima’s Peace Park, friendly deer on Miyajima Island, and the sweetest maple-leaf treats in Japan 🍁

In Case You Missed It: B ME HQ Weekly Recap

🪴 Effortlessly Organic Living 1: Introducing Effortlessly Organic Living – Simple, Budget-Friendly Swaps for a Healthier You

The first edition of our brand-new sister newsletter dropped last week! Effortlessly Organic Living is your fortnightly companion for simple, low-tox swaps and realistic organic living tips — one S.T.E.P.S. step at a time.
👉 Read it here

🌅 B ME Sunrise Bite of the Week:

Sometimes the day doesn’t start with colour in the sky — it starts with calm in the heart. This week’s B ME Sunrise Bite captures that quiet before the next big adventure.

🎥 Watch it on YouTube:

📺 Explore the full journey on the B ME Sunrise Bites YouTube Playlist
(Remember to hit subscribe!)

🎯Weekly Challenge

This week’s stories were about freedom on the open road, kind gestures from strangers, and finding calm even when plans went sideways (or when bears were mentioned 🐻).

Your mission for this week, if you choose to accept it, is to do the following:

👉 Reflect on a time when things didn’t go as planned — travel or otherwise — and note one unexpected positive that came from it.

It could be a small act of kindness, a new lesson, or simply a funny story that still makes you smile. Every “detour” has a hidden gift waiting to be noticed.

If you need some help, feel free to hit reply - let’s help you get started if you’re stuck!

B ME Bites is deliberately sent on a Friday morning (Aussie time) so that where ever you are in the world, you have the weekend to give yourself the gift of implementing a small change towards a better you. What will that small change be? Is there a change that you have been trying to make and haven’t yet succeeded? Give it another go, applying the above - you can do it!

Resource Roundup

Below is a resource list that has been created with you in mind. Whenever something new that could be helpful is discovered or created, it’s added to the list, so check it out from time to time. If you’re strapped for time, once you open the page below, click on Resource List in the top menu, then click on the “Health Tools” link for a list of items that could be helpful on your path to a better you.

The answer to this week’s trivia question is:

Thanks for reading and the hope is that you found something helpful inside this issue. If you did, remember to share it with others whom could also find it helpful, using this link: https://bmebites.beehiiv.com

How did you like the content in this newsletter?

Hit reply and answer either 1,2 or 3, and, if the answer is 2 or 3, give the deets on what would make it a 1 for you!:

1. Loved it!

2. It was OK

3. Meh!

If you have an inspiring story, or a helpful tip or strategy to share, or if there is something specific you would like covered, please fill out the form below so that it can be shared with the community. Please note that this is a subscriber survey, so you may have to subscribe first (hint, hint…… 😉) : https://bmebites.beehiiv.com/forms/8d0dfdd1-4290-4e40-bff9-1f61b812c661

(Or you could also hit reply and give the details that way if it’s easier for you 😄)

Until next week, keep taking one S.T.E.P.S step at a time! (If you missed the issue explaining The S.T.E.P.S Formula, you can check that out here)

Warm regards,

Shari Ware Chief Encouragement Officer at B ME Bites

PS - Here’s a little Friday funny for you!

PPS - B ME Bites is created using the platform Beehiiv. Beehiiv was built by the creators of Morning Brew, so it’s a newsletter platform built by successful newsletter creators and as such, is so easy to use! If you are looking to create your own newsletter and are looking for a great platform, you can check Beehiiv out here. They have a great free plan as well as paid plans when you’re ready to scale.