Attending Fuji Rock 2025!

Fuji Rock 2025 has come to an end. I still feel like I'm in a dream. The festival was that amazing again this year!
I’m already looking forward to next year’s Fuji Rock, so I’m going to work tirelessly for the next 12 months preparing.

According to my smartphone, I walked a total of 103,330 steps during the festival, which comes out to about 66 kilometers!
(I attended the pre-festival event and slept in a tent for 4 nights and 5 days.)
I don’t normally exercise at all, but somehow I can walk endlessly at Fuji Rock.
#FujiRockThings

My favorite act this year was Barry Can’t Swim who performed on the White Stage on Saturday! It was insanely fun!! I seriously hope he does a solo show in Japan ASAP. I still haven’t come down from the high. Over a week has passed, and I’m still listening to Barry Can’t Swim during my commute.
Other acts I loved:
Fred Again.., Kiasmos, LITTLE SIMZ, FOUR TET, OK GO, TYCHO, MARCIN, VULFPECK, James Blake, CA7RIEL & PACO AMOROSO, NEWDAD, THE PANTURAS, THE HIVES, VAMPIRE WEEKEND, HAIM, and so many more.
There were a few I couldn’t catch the full set for, but everything I saw was amazing.
Honestly, I wish I could rewind all the way back to the pre-festival night and start over.

If you're wondering, “Hey, how was [that artist]?”, be sure to check out the official reports! The pro writers have written detailed reviews (with photos).

FUJIROCK EXPRESS Official X

FUJIROCK EXPRESS Official Website

I’m already excited thinking about who will perform at next year’s Fuji Rock.

Now then, Naeba was once again scorching hot this year, but we did get heavy rain on Saturday. The sky was clear for a few days leading up to the weekend, so a lot of people were caught off guard… I saw quite a few folks completely soaked with no rain protection. With that said, the majority did come prepared. Once the rain hit, the temperature dropped rapidly, to the point where it actually felt a bit chilly.
That heavy downpour was the only real rain we got, so I didn’t end up needing my full two-piece rain gear. My KiU poncho was enough.
For footwear, I wore my high-cut trekking shoes the entire time, and even with puddles and mud all over the festival grounds, my feet stayed nice and dry the whole weekend.

In general, I used almost everything from my packing list, but I would like to highlight what items turned out to be especially useful at this year’s Fuji Rock and what weren’t handy for me.

□ Items That Were Useful

• Sunglasses (→ The sun was intense, and these helped with both glare and UV protection. My eyes felt way more comfortable with them on.)
• Cooling wipes (→ It was hot and sticky, so wiping down with these left me feeling refreshed and clean.)
• Mint spray (→ Spraying it on clothes or towels gave a lasting cooling effect and it was super helpful in the heat.)
• Insulated bottle (→ Drinks warm up fast in the heat, so it was a blessing to have cold beverages stay cold.)
• High-powered fan (→ Once the sun rose, the inside of the tent turned into a sauna… having some airflow made it easier to get a bit more sleep.)
• Handheld fan (→ After sweating a lot, using this around my neck and scalp seemed to help me cool down much faster.)

■ Items I Didn’t End Up Really Using

• Rain boots (← It only rained for a few hours on Saturday, so I never ended up wearing them. I’m still bringing them next year just in case of a downpour!)
• Cold-weather jacket (← It wasn’t as cold this year, so I stayed warm enough after dancing at the shows. But you never know when temps will drop, so I’ll be packing this again just in case.)
• Face masks (← A hand towel did the job just fine. Might skip these next year.)

Also, I tried out a new folding chair in the venue this year:

LOGOS / Chill Chair

〇 What I Liked

• It stands on its own and opens easily just by undoing the buckle (← You can do it one-handed!)
• Closing it is just as easy—collapse and clip the buckle (← Quick and easy to move on!)
• The seat is wide, so it’s super comfortable to sit in (← Very relaxing ◎)
• Since the seat is mesh, I didn’t have to worry about it getting wet in the rain (← Can even be rinsed off or washed completely)

● What Could Have Been Better

• The steel frame makes it heavier than chairs like the Tiny Chair (← LOGOS, please make it lighter!)
• Even when folded, it’s still a bit bulky since it just buckles shut (← You might be able to fix this with a cheap elastic band from the 100-yen store)

Despite the weight being a drawback, the ease of opening and closing, along with the comfort of the seat, make me want to use this chair again next year!

That’s all for now!