#135 I climbed Mt Fuji; What You Should Know July 2016

NOTE: I climbed the Fujinomiya trail, the second most popular trail, which is accessible from Shin-Fuji train station on the Shinkansen line. If you are planning on climbing the most popular Yoshida trail (accessible by direct bus from Tokyo) this information may not be so relevant.

Since this is a rather long post, I have broken it down into little sections covering a number of topics such as climbing times, altitude sickness, WiFi, prices etc. This was all my own personal experience (and occasionally compared with the experience of friends who have climbed it too) and I hope it's helpful for anyone looking to climb Fuji this year or in the future.

Off to a good start - some deer right at the entrance to the mountain

Climbing Times

The start of the trail from 5th to 6th station

I can reliably tell you it is a 9 hour climb up, and a 4 hour climb down. This is how long it has taken most of my friends to climb all through the night, and this is how long it took me to climb while sleeping over too. At Shin-Fuji there are many pamphlets and I took one which had estimated climbing times – which are absolutely ridiculous! It estimates 30mins each from station 8 to 9, 9.5 and 10, so 90mins total. This took me 4 hours, but I was going incredibly slow because I had altitude sickness so maybe 3hours is more accurate, but absolutely nowhere near the given estimation. If climbing to see the sunrise it will be similar because there are long lines of people, but when I climbed it wasn’t busy – it was just steep climbing and I was sick and tired.

It also estimates 2 hours to get from the summit back to the 5^th station – I saw some people going down quite fast but it’s very steep and you’re very likely to slip and skid in a few places, and I even saw an old man who overtook me fall about 3 times – proving my theory that faster isn’t better if you want to get home in one piece.

Sunrise from the 8th station

Climbing Equipment

My backpack was really heavy, but I felt there wasn’t much I could do to prevent that since I had brought every essential I could think of. I could only manage about 2l of water in my backpack and another 500ml in a fannypack (great idea by the way, very convenient for phones, money, water, oxygen cans etc) so I inevitably had to pay a lot towards the top for more water, but I physically couldn’t carry any more with me so I guess just know your own weight limit.

It can get very foggy due to clouds but they quickly pass

If you go to my previous post you can see the list of all the equipment I brought. I will highlight hiking boots – I rented some from MtFujiRental.com (Kobe Outdoor) and it was a fantastic service all in English so I highly recommend their service. I have friends who climbed in regular sports running shoes and I even saw someone climbing in Converse, but I couldn’t imagine climbing without those boots. They gave me a strong, firm grip on the rocks both going up and going down, and I would really, really recommend you use hiking boots! (And they didn’t pay me to say that, I just genuinely think you need hiking boots and I can verify that’s a good place to get them!). You should also get the climbing stick, especially for the way down, even if you don’t want stamps or to try bring it home - my friend said she even just left hers in a bathroom because she didn’t want it! Since the Fujinomiya trail is the same route up and down it gets steep and slippery in places.

WiFi

Firstly, for all you Pokemon Go enthusiasts according to a friend who climbed a few days before me, there are some Pokemon but not any rare or exciting ones that she could see. If you have a Japanese phone (or rent a Japanese pocket WiFi or something) you should have full LTE (4G) coverage for 98% of your time on the mountain, and in fact I made a kind of Snapchat documentary of my journey. For tourists, there is free and easy to use public WiFi at all the stations, including the summit. I can’t reliably say how fast it is since I just used my mobile internet, but it’s there and it works (and most people who climb are Japanese and basically all Japanese phones are on contract with mobile internet, so the WiFi is unlikely to be congested with users). There are no chargers at any stations or cabins (even if you sleep over) so make sure to bring a portable charger!

Altitude Sickness

Heading up to the 8th station - it gets steep

So, I was sick. I knew it would happen, I didn’t want it to happen, I tried to prevent it happening – and still it happened. From what I understand my symptoms were moderate – not particularly severe but worse than “a little headache” some of my friends spoke of (although almost all said they were perfectly fine!). I walked up as slow as I could (considering I still needed to get to my cabin at 8^th station before 6pm) and I drank water and I felt fine. and I also met people who had climbed much faster than me and were perfectly fine, so I was just unlucky.

A short time after I arrived at the 8^th station I felt a headache coming on - I’m quite prone to headaches anyway so I had expected that much so I took a tablet and opened my oxygen. Then while trying to sleep about 2 hours later my headache got worse and I felt really nauseous. I had read absolutely everywhere on the internet and heard from friends in real life that the only cure is to go down the mountain, and since it was getting dark and I was alone and sick I began to panic about climbing in the dark, and the waste of money, and the shame of not reaching the summit - so in a mild hysteria I went to the cabin staff and said I was sick and needed to leave, but instead they took me to the mountain hospital, which was conveniently at that very station (this is the only hospital on the mountain so if you get sick at 9 or higher you’ll need to get back to here). 

Inside they gave me a ton more oxygen and had me fill out a form (English available) with some details like how I felt and my climbing information and my name and address – then it turned out the medical student assisting the doctor lives near my apartment and is a graduate of the school I teach at! So we spoke a little conversationally in Japanese which calmed me down and distracted me, and they gave me two tablets (I think one for headache and one for nausea) and also a 500ml oral rehydration solution (tasted like salty water). I’m not sure how good their English is since we spoke mostly in Japanese, but I have a feeling it was probably better than my Japanese actually.

At the end I was asked to give a donation, I could only afford 1,000yen since I was hoarding cash for more emergencies but I would have liked to have given them 10,000 yen if there was an ATM, however they thanked me and it seemed OK, I guess most people probably don’t have a huge amount of cash to spare anyway. So anyway after maybe 30mins I felt far better but still not great, so I went back to the cabin and I slept OK and felt fine by the time I got up (about 9 hours later). I hadn’t planned to see the sunrise from the summit, so I was fine with sleeping and resting a few more hours, and actually I saw it from the side of the mountain when I woke up to go to the toilet, so I guess it worked out fine! 

So the old adage of “with altitude sickness you have to get off the mountain” can now be proved untrue if you have some kind doctors to help, and also a lot of time to rest and get acclimatized! So that morning I set off for the summit, and despite having to deep breathe the whole way up and take a break literally every few steps, I actually managed to get there without feeling any more bad affects. Mountain hospital staff - I love you and thank you!

Sleeping Over

So I’ve touched on this in a few places already in this post. I stayed at Ikeda Kan at the 8^th station, you can book online via their website (in Japanese but Google translate helps) and they do speak some English. It’s basically a room full of little compartments (ranging from 3 sleeping bags to around 8 or so maybe) and I felt it was nice and cozy. There’s WiFi but no electrical outlets so bring a portable charger. If you’re staying at a cabin the toilet is free but you’ll need to duck outside in some slippers (I think that’s how they know you’re a guest and not to charge you). 

I’d read somewhere online that the cabins are really cold, but coming in from outside it seemed warmer, and I just slept in my clothes and I woke up in the middle of the night in a sweat in my hoody - maybe it was because the cabin was full and the combined body heat of 250 people brought up the temperature, I’m not sure. 

The cabin staff put me in a compartment with 2 Canadian girls – so it seems they’re careful to put women/foreigners together. A few people were snoring, but since there was none directly beside me I found it actually kind of soothing. Come around midnight everyone will be stomping around and talking full volume almost constantly until daylight, while it was a little annoying I was too tired for it to bother me much – but make sure to pack your earplugs and eye mask! 

I would recommend this station as a good place to stop, I feel at 7 it’s still a little far from the summit, while it would have been very tiring to make it up to station 9. In climbing time, it’s about a little over the halfway point. Also, since I got altitude sickness it was really, really convenient to be at the station with the mountain hospital! I would just recommend sleeping over in general, I know it’s an extra 5,500yen ish that you could save, but it’s a fun experience and you get to relax at least for a little while before you climb to the top. 

At one point I woke up around 11pm to go outside to the toilets and I could see the moon shining brightly and the stars were all out, and below I could see many torches and flashes of lights as people climbed up. It was a really beautiful and special experience to see, and I have to admit I think climbing at night would be a special kind of experience too.

Ikeda Kan at the 8th station

At The Summit

So, despite there being signs everywhere on the mountain for the summit and signs at each station (in English, Japanese, Chinese and Korean) there is literally no sign in English at the top, at least not at the Fujinomiya station anyway! There is a shrine and some torii gates and a Japanese flag so it’s probably pretty obvious you’re at the top, but I was annoyed there was no definitive picture I could take and send to my family as concrete proof, since they obviously don’t know Japanese.

That's All Folks!

Anyway! While I was very tired, I was more eager to actually get down as fast as possible and get home to bed, than to relax on top like some people, so I took a few photos and decided to take a quick walk around since I had climbed for 9 hours and suffered immensely to get that far! 

On my quick walk I accidentally found the Mt Fuji post office, which I had totally forgotten about! Most of their sets are surprisingly cheap at around 500yen for a set anywhere between 2 and 5 postcards, and postage is included (although to a foreign country is a little extra, between 20yen-100yen depending on the size).

I opted for the certificate set, which had a B5 summit certificate (all in Japanese of course but Google translate does the job) and a regular postcard sized “Mt Fuji Summit Report” where I filled in weather, my climbing time etc, and I posted these to my family. They also have some cool ink stamps, and I was sad I had no other paper to stamp other than my postcards. Make sure to go to the post office before you head back down (but it’s only open from 6am to 2pm, making it even more special and elusive!) 

The Mt Fuji Summit Post Office

Atmosphere

By atmosphere I don’t mean like the altitude, I mean like the attitudes of everyone. I know they say Disneyworld is the happiest place on Earth, but Mt Fuji must be the friendliest place on Earth! I have never felt so welcome and met as many friendly people in a year in Japan (or maybe my whole life!) as I did in 24 hours on Mt Fuji. Everyone is joined together, aiming to complete the same task – reach the summit. 

From when I first started climbing at the very bottom I met many people coming down saying “Konnichiwa” and “Ganbate!” which mean “Hello” and like “Good luck/You can do it!”. Some even spoke a little English to me to ask where I was from, and it seemed to me like they were happy to have an excuse to talk to a foreigner and try practice some English. For example, on the way up the mountain I had a conversation with one woman who asked was I doing OK and was surprised I was climbing alone and told me to be careful, then the next morning I saw her again (she was coming down, I was still going up!) and she asked me again how I was, and I said I had been sick and she gave me some sweets and was very kind to me.

Since I know a decent amount of Japanese I would occasionally mention to people it was hot or cold or it was difficult, and they would be surprised and very friendly and congratulate me on my average Japanese level like I was fluent! I think if you could learn a few words like “Ganbate” the Japanese will be very appreciative and impressed with you!

Souvenirs

6th station - they all look pretty similar

Each station sells some stuff and the 5^th station in particular has a huge selection of Mt Fuji stuff – western style souvenirs like keychains and fridge magnets , and also Japanese style omiyage like biscuits, chocolates etc. 

However, I didn’t buy any because about 80% of it is available throughout Shizuoka Prefecture  (the area where most of Mt Fuji lies) at train stations etc or even at regular souvenir stores in Tokyo, Kyoto etc etc, so there’s nothing special about them (except the knowledge that you know you actually bought it on the mountain). If you can manage it I think the most special thing would be a postcard sent from the summit of Mt Fuji, as I already mentioned above.

Money

So obviously there are no ATMs so you’ll need to bring a ton of cash. There is a 7-11 ATM at Shin-Fuji station which accepts international cards. I think you should probably bring like 10,000 more than you think you need – since if you need Oxygen it’s 2,000yen a can at the top, and I personally spent 2,000yen on four 500ml bottles of water. I also had that trip to the mountain hospital for which I needed a donation….

Anyway, it’s Japan and it’s incredibly safe to just leave your bag down and wander off to the toilet or take photos and come back again, no one is going to steal anything so don't be afraid to bring a lot of cash. Below is a list of some of the prices I saw while on the mountain.

A list of prices as of July 2016:

Voluntary Contribution:
1000yen

I think this was at the 5th station but I easily walked by and avoided it. Obviously you should pay since it goes towards preserving the mountain and environs, but it's easy to get away with it like I did.

Large hiking stick (with bells):

900yen at Shin-Fuji station

1,200 at station 6

1,000 at station 8

Getting my stick stamped

So it seems it’s cheap, then expensive, then cheap again further up the mountain. My friend said she didn’t really need it so much on the way up, but definitely on the way down to help prevent slipping, so you could put off buying one until closer the top, or grab one on your way down. The stick I got at Shin-Fuji station only had one stamp at the top, while I think the mountain ones had about 2 other stamps at the bottom too so be careful of this if you want it as a souvenir!

Stamps for walking stick:

200yen stations 6-9.5

300yen station 10

So actually I expected to pay more for the stamps for my walking stick. They were all only 200yen except at the top, but then I got a shrine pamphlet and also a little wooden prayer thingy (I don’t understand Buddhism so good). I was actually disappointed with the variety, each station only had one type of stamp.

Water:

100yen at Shin-Fuji vending machine

300 at 5^th station

500 from stations 7 up

So I was expecting a gradual increase from like 200 to maybe 600yen closer to the top, but even from halfway up they charge you 500yen. There are no water fountains or any other ways to get water on the mountain, so unless you’re really strong and can carry like 4l with you, expect to just pay the money like I did.

Toilets:

100yen at 5^th station

200yen stations 6 -9.5

So basically they’re all 200yen. The toilets are like a bio thing with no flusher….they're clean and have toilet paper but they all literally smell like horse/cow shit so if you’re feeling nauseous like me it’s not a great place to be! I didn’t need to pee that much, probably because I was using literally every nutrient or I wasn’t drinking enough….but anyway! Most huts had someone who you paid, but some were coin operated so you need exactly two 100yen coins (no 50yen coins for example). I didn’t go on the summit so it may have been a little extra. If you’re staying at a cabin the toilet is free.

Oxygen:

1,000yen for 2 cans at a Sports Authority store

1,500 at 5^th station

1,000 at 6^th station

2,000 at station 9

I’m not 100% sure of prices further up the mountain, but I definitely noticed oxygen being slightly cheaper at station 6 than anywhere else. You may not need it, but I got altitude sickness and even with my deep breathing techniques and a trip to the hospital at station 8 where I got even more, I still went through 2 cans and probably could have done with one more. You’re carrying air so it’s very light, so if possible try buy at least 2 in advance from a sports store or somewhere.

Sleeping overnight:

5,500 bed only (well…sleeping bag)

1,000 yen each dinner/breakfast

So I decided to go all out and get full board for 7,500 yen at station 8. I think the prices were all the same or very close except maybe 9.5 could have been a little more expensive. The dinner was curry rice (as expected) and although there wasn’t a lot it was just so nice to have a warm meal! However, breakfast was very disappointing for 1,000yen and I can assume it’s similar at all the huts so I don’t recommend it. It was given to me when I arrived – it was a Soy Joy energy bar, a chocolate croissant, an pan (bread with sweet red bean) and a little carton of milk that was lukewarm by the time I tried to drink it the next morning. I already had bread and energy bars in my backpack so I didn’t eat any of it. I had hoped it would be rice and miso soup (Japanese style) but I guess since everyone starts waking around 12 midnight for sunrise it would be difficult to organize. Anyway, treat yourself to dinner, skip the breakfast.

And good luck! If I can somehow manage to pull if off, you can too. Ganbate!

Sunrise from the 8th station

#134 What the Locals Eat - Japan

Having lived in Japan for over a year, I am well versed in the Japanese art of dining out. When travelling I often find it difficult to find one particular restaurant out of millions that Lonely Planet has recommended - so let's be practical. I prefer to eat at chain stores and restaurants that can be found all over the country. Chain stores are easy to find and are plentiful both in Tokyo and across the country, saving you time and effort looking for a little local eatery where they don't speak English and you're completely overpriced.

Colorful chopsticks!

There a few key things you should know before embarking on your Japanese food journey, no matter where you decide to eat. The first, and most important, is this; everyone uses chopsticks and knives and forks are not available. Expecting to find a fork in a Japanese restaurant would be like a Japanese woman coming to Ireland and being shocked when she goes into Super Macs and finds there are no chopsticks. If you can’t use them, watch a few YouTube tutorials before you go, or carry around a fork when you go out for the day. Seriously.

As for language skills, outside the main tourist areas English is usually unavailable, but some menus have photographs and many restaurants have realistic plastic models of the food in the window, so worst case scenario you can always just point at what you want. In Tokyo ticket vending machines are in many restaurants to save time – you simply put in the money, click the picture that looks best, then hand your ticket to staff and your dish is delivered swiftly, without having spoken a word.

Otherwise, many chain stores have an English menu, or in the case of international chains the words have usually been adopted into Japanese and so sound very similar to the English (for example; a “hotto ratte” in Starbucks or a “cheezu baagaa” in McDonalds).

As a final piece of advice, Japan has a lot of unique flavors and varieties of Western foods (such as KitKats) and trying these is always fun, so if you have time pop into a grocery store and see what treasures you can find. Popular variations often include matcha (green tea) and wasabi (like green horse radish).

Below is a list of chain stores that can be found across Japan, as well as the food they serve and the prices to expect.

Breakfast

The Japanese word for breakfast – asa gohan – literally translates as “morning rice”, so there’s no surprise that rice, fish and miso soup are still the most popular choice for Japanese every morning. However, many tourists are shocked to learn the Japanese have a love of bakeries and sweet breads, and these can be a popular choice, especially at weekends.

Vie De France – An affordable chain bakery with everything from sweet churros and croissants to savory curry breads and a kind of bread with bacon and fried egg on top (the Japanese-French take on a breakfast roll?). Breads are around 150yen-350yen with coffee around 300yen.

Dennys – Despite the familiar name the American chain has a very different menu in Japan. However, this is a good place to try some of the breakfast sets including rice and soup (or you could just get the pancakes). The morning select set meals are about 800yen.

McDonalds – While not exactly Japanese, the menu is different to Ireland, with breakfast options such as a Chicken Egg McMuffin and something called a McGriddle, and a side menu of hash browns, apple pies or chicken nuggets. A set meal is about 400yen.

Coffee break

While not exactly known as a nation of coffee drinkers, café chains are very popular in Japan, especially in summer when locals and tourists alike escape the soaring heat and relax with various kinds of iced coffee.

Starbucks - Lovingly shortened to “Su-ta-ba” in Japanese, the notorious chain is possibly even more popular in Japan that it is in America, and there’s one (or two) to be found on every street corner. Unlike their American counterparts they always have some kind of unique seasonal drink limited only to Japan, for example a Cherry Blossom Latte in Spring and a Baked Cheesecake Frapuccino for Summer. Check out the menu when you’re in town to see what’s new. Prices are similar to home at about 500yen (they don’t include tax in their price list so it will be a little more expensive).

Tullys

Mister Donut – Another cultural surprise, the Japanese enjoy donuts. This chain is found in a few parts of Asia and is cheaper and has more selection than Krispy Kreme (although they win when it comes to seasonal decorations). I recommend the Pon De Ring – a unique Japanese kind of squishy donut. Look out for their 100yen sales, otherwise expect to pay around 140yen for a donut and 300yen for coffee (they boast unlimited refills of the delicious café au lait).

Tullys – This is a Japanese coffee chain, similar to Starbucks but with more luxurious drinks, and usually not as crowded. Prices are around 500yen.

Lunch

The Japanese are hard workers and as such keep their lunch breaks to an absolute minimum before returning quickly to work. Japanese lunchtime is at 12.30pm and it’s best to avoid eating at this time as everywhere will be insanely crowded for that one hour. Several restaurants have only a counter with stools to accommodate more solo diners and to facilitate a quick turnaround, so sitting together in groups of more than 2 can be tricky.

Sukiya

Sukiya – This is one of many gyudon chains in Japan, gyudon being a large bowl of rice with slices of marinated beef drizzled on top. While it doesn’t look so glamorous, it tastes good, is served to you within seconds and is probably the cheapest and most filling meal you’re likely to find in Japan. A regular bowl costs around 350yen, with miso soup usually being served free. (Other popular chains include: Yoshinoya, Matsuya).

Mos Burger – This is a Japanese burger chain that is regarded by the Japanese as more healthy and fresher than rival McDonalds – though how true this thinking is, I’m not sure. Regardless the burgers are big and the options are interesting than what you find at home. Try the classic mos cheese burger with a green melon soda and fries. Prices are around 800-1000yen for a set.

7-Eleven – Convenience stores are big business in Japan, opening 24 hours and found on every street. For lunch on the go, pop into any store (options include Lawson, Family Mart, Circle K) and grab some pan (bread) from their extensive collection, or act like a true local and grab an oni giri – a ball of rice covered in a sheet dried seaweed and containing some kind of fish in the middle – my favourite is the tuna mayonnaise. Wash it down with a bottle of Green Tea or a Fanta Grape. Breads and onigiri are around 100-200yen, and drinks are about 150yen.

Snacks

Gindaco – This place sells takoyaki which blatantly are “octopus balls”, but intricately are delicious, piping hot battered balls with a teeny tiny piece of octopus tentacle on the inside, served with tons of seasonings, mayonnaise and various unknown sauces. Be brave and give them a try, you’ll be surprised! A set of 6 is about 550yen.

Vending Machines – There are vending machines on every street corner in Japan, including streets in the middle of the countryside surrounded by nothing but rice fields. Unfortunately, about 98% of these sell only hot/cold drinks (the other 2% selling cigarettes) and to find one with food is a rare occurrence. The upside is that in the cold winter you’re always within reach of a hot tea or coffee, and in summer you can keep constantly hydrated. I recommend a hot can of Boss coffee to wake you up first thing, and an ice cold bottle of Pocari Sweat sports drink to keep you energized throughout the day. Drinks are around 110-180yen.

Dinner

Since Japanese often work late, dinner time is around 6 to 8pm, so it’s best to try get in before them as lines can be long. However, it’s usually more staggered than lunchtime.

Tonkatsu Wako – Tonkatsu is deep fried breaded pork, but you can also get katsu variations of vegetables or seafoods such as prawn. The real star of the dish is the tonkatsu sauce – like a blend of Brown sauce and Worcester but a billion times more delicious. Just trust me. This chain offers formal table service and all you can eat rice, soup and cabbage, but the cheaper and more informal Katsuya chain is just as appetizing. Prices here are around 1,100-1,500yen, and Katsuya is about 600-1,000yen.

Uobei

Uobei – This is one of Japan’s popular kaiten zushi chains where the dishes go round and you take what you like. Modern chains like this now also have a kind of tablet at every seat that allow you to order what you want, which is then freshly prepared and promptly delivered to you on a mini train. They also serve hot dishes like ramen and French fries. All plates (2 pieces of sushi) are 108yen each, expect to eat about 5-10 plates for dinner (although some salary men can eat up to 20+…).

Ippudo – One of the best ramen places, ramen of course being a big bowl full of noodles in a soup, generally topped with bean sprouts and a slice of pork. The trick is to slurp the noodles and soup loudly. A popular side dish is gyoza, similar to a spring roll and best doused in a mixture of vinegars and oils. Ramen is about 800yen while gyoza are about 400yen.

CoCo’s Curry House – If you can’t use chopsticks, this is the place to go. Curry rice is very popular in Japan and is typically found on every menu, regardless of the restaurant focus. As the name suggests it’s always some kind of variation of rice with curry sauce, this would be almost impossible to eat with chopsticks and so is always served with a spoon. CoCo’s has a lot of customizable options including degree of spiciness and ingredients – ranging from cheese to beef to squid. A plate will cost you around 550-800yen.

Sweet Treats

Marion Crepes – The popularity of crepes in Japan is yet another by-product of the Japanese fascination with France. Surprisingly, Nutella is very rarely an option and instead the most popular options include a wedge of cheesecake and a ton of whipped cream. The best place to get one is in Harajuku in Tokyo, where there are about six on the one small street. The basic crepes go for around 300yen, while the cheesecake options are closer to 600yen.

Taiyaki

Baskin Robbins – Known as “31 Ice” in Japan, the chain even has Halloween and Christmas themed ice-cream cups, thanks to the fact most of Japan only starts to get truly cold around December. For a Japanese twist try their matcha and anko flavors. A small double (which is pretty big) is 470yen, and on the 31^st of each month it’s 31% off.

Food stalls – Found at temples or festivals and especially populous in Spring and Summer. Classic snacks include tai yaki - a fish shaped kind of waffle filled with custard or anko (sweet red bean), choco banana - a phallic looking banana on a stick covered in chocolate icing (sometimes pink or blue in colour), sprinkles and good for a giggle, kaki gori - a summer specialty consisting of shaved ice and syrup, perhaps best described as the Japanese cousin of a slushy. Expect to pay between 150-350yen for any of the above.

#133 The Complete Guide to Driving in Rural Ireland

Ireland is a very small country, with almost all major cities and towns accessible in less than a 3 hour drive from the capital city, Dublin. There are a few different ways you can get around that I’ve outlined below, but the most convenient way to see all Ireland has to offer is to rent a car and drive! I'm Irish and have grown up in the countryside, so I know all the small things you're likely to encounter here!

Public Transport Across the Country

Bus Eireann at Dublin Airport

Our national bus service, Bus Eireann, can take you almost anywhere between towns and cities across the country, and it is often supplemented on popular routes by private bus services that typically provide a cheaper, more frequent and more direct service.

Our train service, Irish Rail, is more comfortable and can reach some places faster than the bus, but usually the prices are far higher and the frequencies less.

Cities like Dublin, Limerick, Cork and Waterford all have local bus services to take you around, and Dublin is supplemented by the DART train, LUAS light rail, and a bicycle rental system. All our public transport has WiFi, although not always so reliable.

Taxi’s in Ireland are expensive, alright for a quick trip back to your hotel after a late night out, but for journeys much longer than 30mins you can expect to pay upwards of 40euro or more.

Most of the gems in Ireland are hidden in the countryside, an hour’s drive from the nearest small town and way out of the way of bus routes and train lines. Basically, if you want to see Ireland, really see Ireland, you’re going to need a car.

Driving in rural Ireland is not for the faint hearted, but on the scale of things around the world it’s not so difficult either! For starters, we are part of that unique collective that drive on the left, so you may need to adjust to that. Secondly, aside from our main motorways and highways, the road quality usually isn’t the best. You’ll find they are usually narrow with no room to overtake, can be very winding with sharp corners and bends, and potholes are commonplace. Many years ago flooding was prolific with locals simply knowing to avoid a certain road after heavy rain, but in recent years most of these trouble areas have been cleared and appropriate drainage built.

A typical main country road between villages

Driving Carefully and Farmyard Machinery

Locals who know the roads often have no problems going excess speeds, even when the vehicles they’re driving are tractors! While it can be a terrifying experience to see them swerve around a bend on your side of the road – as I said they’re very used to it and will have no problem swiftly swerving back onto their side of the road without giving much notice. Conversely, you should be aware that if you are very nervous and break suddenly at every corner in the road you run the chance of being rammed from behind by local drivers who weren’t expecting any sudden stops, or you could cause them to become annoyed and overtake dangerously. It is courtesy if you are driving slowly and traffic builds behind you (even just two cars!) that you find a safe place to pull in and allow those behind you to clear.

Overtaking on most country roads is hazardous, so if you are stuck behind a farmyard vehicle moving slowly (most of the larger, heavy machinery will be on the roads around August – September depending on weather) please be patient for them to find somewhere suitable to pull in, or if they are being particularly oblivious perhaps a slight beep of the horn could remind them. Large agricultural machinery is very expensive to buy and sometimes used only once a year, so one or two machines can be shared between all the farmers in a village or area. It is their livelihood and they cannot help that the machine needs to be driven on sub-par roads to the next farm, so please understand this.

Farm and Wild Animals

Admittedly, it is very unlikely you will come across one of those classic “Irish traffic jam” scenarios with sheep and cows blocking the road. They’re not moved between fields so often, and even so the distance is usually very short so you won’t be held up long. Beeping or revving your engine will only frighten the animals and cause them to bolt making the job more difficult for the farmer and delaying you longer.

If you come across an unattended farm animal such as a cow or sheep blocking the road, revving your engine or driving very slowly towards them should be enough to scare them out of your path. All farm animals will have a marking or colour spray painted somewhere on them, and it is courtesy to inform a nearby house, shop or pub as they often know the owner by the markings (or will know someone who knows) and will be able to contact them to remove the animal before it causes an accident.

You can occasionally encounter horse riders on the roads, and you should approach slowly and wait for a signal from the riders. In some cases these horses are being trained to get used to traffic, so are likely to panic and bolt if you frighten them by making a loud noise or driving quickly by.

While driving at night you need to be aware of many of Ireland’s nocturnal animals which may dash across the road such as rabbits, foxes, badgers and hedgehogs, or occasionally even an old farmer who is stumbling home after a few drinks in the village pub!

“City drivers”

We have a joke in Ireland about the fact that city drivers (from Dublin usually) can’t drive well in rural areas because they are unused to the narrow, winding roads, and also that rural drivers can’t drive well in the big cities or motorways because they get confused with all the different lanes of traffic.

In Ireland you can tell where a car was bought by the letters in the registration plate – for example D means it’s from Dublin while WX means it’s from Wexford. We sometimes try gauge a drivers competence by looking at this – if you see a nervous/slow/bad driver on a certain road and their registration has the name of a different county, then you can assume they’re not from the area and aren’t sure of the roads. In all likelihood your rental car will have a D registration, so locals may take heed you’re not from the area and give you a wider berth. However, the popularity of second hand cars in Ireland means this isn’t always a reliable way to tell.

Parking and Security

Parking is free in most rural places, but be sure you’re not blocking an entrance or parking inadvertently on private land. In a village, perhaps the most suitable place to park up is the carpark adjoining the local church. Some isolated places such as beaches are targeted by petty thieves (probably teenagers) who hide out and wait for you to leave your car, and then break in stealing your wallet or phone. Even if an area looks empty do not take this to be guaranteed, and either take your belongings with you, lock them in your dashboard or at least hide them from view.

It is beneficial to always have a good amount of petrol in your car. Almost all villages will have some kind of petrol station, but they can be spaced far apart and often their opening hours are limited, maybe 9am to 6pm or even less on a Sunday. Therefore, especially in the evenings, it is better to have a full tank because you could end up stranded somewhere at 9pm, or your journey may be delayed the following morning because you need to wait for a station to open. You also don’t want to take a wrong turn down an unknown country road and end up far from a station running low on petrol!

You know it's rural when there's grass in the middle of the road...

Rural Cycling

While it may seem like a nice idea, generally speaking, cycling in the countryside is dangerous – the roads are narrow and lined with wild hedges that are cut maybe once or twice a year, so often branches and weeds will stick out, liable to knock you off your bike or cause you to swerve into traffic. You also must remember that Ireland is a quite a rainy and windy country, even in summer, so there is no guarantee of fine weather for your trip. Some people do it, but I personally couldn’t recommend it.

Caravans and Camping

Since Ireland is accessible by car ferry from the UK and France, we sometimes get European visitors in camper vans. Basically, the same principals as above apply as regarding narrow roads and driving carefully. You should also be aware that it is illegal to park a campervan or pitch a tent on private land without permission, or not at all on public land such as beaches, woodland or car-parks. Therefore, you must really only use your caravan or tent at designated parks and pay fees. However, if you are only staying one night and will clean up after yourself, I think no one will notice you if you stay at a beach or something, since they are not patrolled so often and usually just respond to reports from the public. But officially it is against the law and you should plan to stay at approved sites.

The reason for these strict rules is that in Ireland we have a group called Travellers (like gypsies) who live in caravans and move from one place to the next. They have a bad reputation for staying in large groups in once place for maybe a few weeks, which can affect people who live in the area or who want to park their cars since there is no space. They also sometimes can leave a big mess behind which is expensive and troublesome to clean. While this is definitely not true of all Travellers, it has happened enough times to sanction these laws.

During your time driving around rural Ireland you may encounter none of the above situations – but they do happen and it is better to be prepared and informed than to panic or become impatient.

Driving in Ireland will take you to hundreds of ancient, unique places that would be otherwise be inaccessible, and it is a quick and convenient way of seeing the countryside. Safe travels!