Japan’s Hiking Insurance Providers Compared

Hiking and Adventure Sports Insurance Important note: The hiking insurance policies listed below are available to everyone. The only caveats are that you can navigate the website (in Japanese only) and that it needs to be tied to a Japanese mailing...

Takamori Lighthouse and the Grandma who Built it

A Small Star on a Small Island As hard as it is to believe a grandmother built a lighthouse. The lighthouse in question is the pint-sized 3-metre-high Takamori Lighthouse on Shikinejima one of the smaller islands that make up the Izu Seven Islands...

Shikinejima: Kamanoshita Campground

Old Style Campground Meets High Tech The diminutive Izu Island of Shikinejima is often overlooked for its larger neighbour Niijima. Arguably Niijima has better beaches at least surfing ones while Shikinejima is charming and chilled out with plenty...

Shikinejima Coastal Hike

Hiked on Mar 16, 2018 . Tojinzushiro 唐人津城 – Kanbiki Lookout 神引展望台   Duration: 3 hours   Distance: 6.4 km   Elevation change: 96 metres   Highest point: 109 metres   Start: Kamanoshita Campground   Finish: Oura Beach...

Superlative Tokyo: The Biggest and Best of them

Tokyo a City of Extremes With near on 14 million people living in the Tokyo Metropolis it goes without saying there isn’t much in the way of personal space. The corollary to this craziness is excellent food, shopping, nightlife and entertainment...

Hamura-Yamaguchi Abandoned Light Railway

Cycling from the Shin Ome-kaido to Sayama Lake Recently while cycling around the Tama and Sayama Lakes in western Tokyo, I came across a tunnel network which appeared to be from an abandoned railway. It struck me as a little odd that they would...

5 Sites in Tokyo to Explore WWII Ruins

Remnants from the Second World War in Tokyo Preserved ruins from the Second World War in Japan are few with the notable exceptions being the Hiroshima A-bomb Dome Genbaku Domu, the Nagasaki Urakami Cathedral wall remnant and the one-legged torii of...

Waterfall Wonders: Marugami Falls

Tracking Down Saitama’s Tallest Waterfall Saitama Prefecture like neighbouring Tokyo has only one waterfall chosen as one of the 100 Japanese waterfalls of Japan way back in 1990. Whilst it’s not the easiest location to reach by public transport...

Niegawajuku: Saitama’s Scarecrow Village

A Village where Scarecrows Outnumber People Following in the footsteps of Nagoro in Shikoku, the tiny village of Niegawajuku in Chichibu, Saitama is seeking to revitalize itself with lifelike scarecrows (or kakashi). Niegawajuku like much of rural...

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