FOCUS: RVs Attract Diverse Demand in Japan

By Waka Ota Tokyo, Nov. 12 (Jiji Press)–Recreational vehicles are attracting ever-rising attention in Japan, not just as campers but as evacuation shelters, traveling hotels and business offices. According to the Japan Recreational Vehicle Association, the number of such vehicles owned in the country hit 165,000 in 2024, nearly triple the 2005 level of around 50,000. The tempo of rises was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which boosted demand for places to work and spend time without interacting with others, industry people said. The association expects the overall figure will climb to 300,000 by 2030. Also behind the uninterrupted popularity growth is a rapid increase in the number of RV parks, where bathrooms, restaurants, power pedestals and other facilities are available. The total reached 580 this year, after hitting 300 in 2023, according to the JRVA, which aims to set up 1,000 such parks by 2027. About 80 pct of users are in their 50s and 60s, a spokesperson for the association said. But camper manufacturers and sellers have also seen younger customers recently. “There are increasing numbers of customers in their 30s to 40s,” Hiroaki Koga, president of KRC, a Fukuoka-based company that runs Car Shop 3seven77 and other RV businesses, said at the Japan Mobility Show 2025 in Tokyo’s Koto Ward. “RVs were originally meant for camping, but now the use of such vehicles just for overnight stays is becoming popular,” he also said. “Midsize models, especially, are gaining popularity.” Takahiro Kaneda, chief of a product procurement center in Noda, Chiba Prefecture, of custom camper builder FLEX Inc., which focuses on Toyota Motor Corp.’s Hiace van, said that “probably around 60 pct of its customers are in their 30s to 40s.” Tokyo-based FLEX, which deals with smaller campers priced around 7 million yen, has a concept to offer everyday RVs. “Hiace Wagon-based campers are particularly popular for their reasonable sizes and as they are easier to park,” Kaneda said. “There are customers who trade in their two vehicles and buy one of our RVs” for use both daily and for recreational purposes, he also said. In the area dedicated to RVs at the show, which ended Sunday, relatively smaller models with sticker prices starting around 5 million yen, almost half those for large-sized rivals, seemed to attract practical demand. A visitor in his 30s to the area, from Shizuoka Prefecture, said, “I want a camper that can be used daily, including giving my kid a ride.” He then ruled out the idea that his family will own two separate vehicles–one for everyday activities and the other for overnight stays. “I also like fishing, and I need to be at the fishing point before sunrise,” he said on how he would use such a vehicle. “Hotels are getting more expensive recently.” According to Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd., the average room price of 15 city and no-frills hotel brands of 13 listed operators in Japan had stood at 16,679 yen as of the end of March, up 12.6 pct from a year earlier. Kristofer Karch, a 30-year-old visitor from the United States, looked around Japanese campers showcased in the RV area to get some inspiration to customize his own camper. “The Japanese approach to space usage is so much more efficient,” said Karch, adding that he plans to use a camper rental service while staying in Japan to actually compare differences between Japanese and U.S. products. Meanwhile, Natsuki Ichikawa, in her early 40s, from Aichi Prefecture, said her interest was more on what to do in an emergency, especially with her pet, rather than using her car for outdoor purposes. “I was looking at a small vehicle for evacuation, as we can’t take pets to a shelter,” Ichikawa noted. “I’m here to get some interior ideas for my own vehicle.” The JRVA has already found that RVs can play significant roles in supporting disaster relief work. In the wake of the 7.6-magnitude Noto Peninsula Earthquake on Jan. 1, 2024, the association sent 60 campers in the hardest-hit cities of Wajima and Suzu in Ishikawa Prefecture as accommodation facilities for over 200 official response team members dispatched by local governments across the country. “The best part of RVs is the speed of the first move” for help, JRVA Chairman Kenji Araki said at the show. Equipped with independent batteries for air conditioners and other in-car electric appliances, those vehicles were helpful in the disaster, which occurred in the dead of winter in the north-central Japan region, according to the association. In June this year, the Japanese government started a system to register and manage vehicles such as RVs, food trucks and trailers to be sent to disaster-hit areas in a database called D-TRACE. Under this framework, the central government will cover up to 90 pct of local governments’ costs to operate them. The mobility exhibition also suggested that campers would be more of multi-purpose mobile spaces in the future. The Tokyo Future Tour 2035 section showcased Carstay Inc.’s “moonn. T-01,” a commercial van-based compact electric camper with solar panels on the roof developed under the “traveling living room” concept. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp.’s NOMADpro Canter concept showed an interior design with a table, bench, toilet and monitors, proposing one possible use of a truck in the future. General contractor Takenaka Corp., trailer manufacturer Croco Art Factory and Off-grid Field jointly exhibited the Roomette 1500 trailer, a “mobile house” that can be converted into a highly accessible small office equipped with a satellite communications system and an independent power source. The three companies also displayed a “mokujiku” timber-frame trailer capable of meeting a variety of demand including for accommodation facilities and business footholds. In an experimental project, a mokujiku FamilyMart convenience store served workers at the 2025 World Exposition construction site in Osaka. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]