A New Pocket Reference for the Trail I’ll preface this by saying this is one of the projects on the blog I’m happiest with. Pulling all of this information together into one place has been a labour of love – something I’ve spent a good chunk of time...
Route Notes, Accommodation & Logistics As someone who naturally gravitates towards longer, multi-day walks, the Nakasendō had long been on my radar – not as a quick day trip between Magome and Tsumago, but as a continuous walk through the Kiso...
Hiked on Apr 28, 2026 . Mt. Obinayama 帯那山 – Tara-toge 太良峠 – Mt. Tanayama 棚山 Duration: 2 days Distance: 18.5 km Elevation change: 1091 metres Highest point: 1422 metres Start: Toichi bus stop (taxi) Finish: Yamanashi-shi Station (JR Chuo...
Hiked on Apr 25, 2026 . Mt. Odake 王岳 – Mt. Kagikake 鍵掛 – Mt. Settogatake 雪頭ヶ岳 Duration: 6 hours Distance: 10.4 km Elevation change: 828 metres Highest point: 1738 metres Start: Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba bus stop Finish: Saiko Iyashi-no...
The Best Headlamp for Most Hikers Of all the items in your pack, few carry higher stakes than a headlamp. A sleeping pad that fails means sleeping on the ground; a headlamp that fails at the wrong moment can be genuinely dangerous. On a dark...
The Actual Costs, and What a Blog Like This Earns Around 450 posts, roughly 19,000 page views a month, and a question I get surprisingly often: “What does it cost to run the blog and does it make any money?” This post attempts to answer that...
My Personal Top Fuji-View Hikes in Japan After 13 years of hiking and writing about the trails of Kanto and beyond, I’ve put together this guide to the best hikes in Japan for Mt. Fuji views – twenty-one personal favourites spanning prefectures from...
Hiked on Mar 14, 2026 . Onnazaka-toge 女坂峠 – Shoji-toge 精進峠 – Panorami-dai パノラマ台 Duration: 5 hours Distance: 8.5 km Elevation change: 512 metres Highest point: 1422 metres Start: Shoji bus stop Finish: Panorama-dai-shita bus stop ...
History, Belief, and the Making of Japan’s Most Enduring Symbol Living in Tokyo gives me the somewhat rare privilege of seeing Mount Fuji from my balcony on clear days – a view that renders the peak as a serene, distant icon. Yet, having climbed the...
Camping at the Foot of a Giant When it comes to “galactic scale” campgrounds in Japan, Fumotoppara ふもとっぱら in the Asagiri Kogen highlands of Shizuoka Prefecture reigns supreme. Spreading out at the foot of majestic Mount Fuji, the site is a behemoth;...
A Reservoir Laid Bare I’ve lost count of how many times over the years I’ve driven, ridden buses, or hiked – often directly across – the waters of Lake Okutama, via its two “drum bridges”. Formed by Ogouchi Dam, it has been both a familiar landscape...
Hiked on Feb 9, 2026 . Mt. Asahi あさひ山 – Yuuhiyama Park ゆうひ山公園 Duration: 2.5 hours Distance: 6.4 km Elevation change: 126 metres Highest point: 213 metres Start: Hanno Station (Seibu Ikebukuro Line) Finish: Hanno Station (Seibu Ikebukuro...
Hiked on Feb 2, 2026 . Koyodai observation deck 紅葉台 – Sankodai observation deck 三湖台 – Mt. Haneko 羽根子山 Duration: 4 hours Distance: 9.3 km Elevation change: 520 metres Highest point: 1355 metres Start: Koyodai Iriguchi bus stop Finish:...
Lessons Learned after Stumbling into Mountain Guiding Around this time last year, roughly ten days before I was due to fly home for Christmas, an unexpected email landed in my inbox. Someone wanted to join me on a hike. Anyone who has followed this...
Hiked on Nov 30, 2025 . Akiyama Nijurokuya-yama 秋山二十六夜山 – Tateno-toge 立野峠 Duration: 5 hours Distance: 10.4 km Elevation change: 442 metres Highest point: 972 metres Start: Shimozaki bus stop Finish: Yanagawa Station (Chuo Main Line) ...
Hiked on Nov 23, 2025 . Akaiwa 赤岩 – Mt. Nijurokuyayama 二十六夜山 – Sennin-mizu 仙人水 Do not attempt this hike unless you have experience in route-finding and make sure you carry a topographic map and handheld GPS device. Duration: 5 hours Distance:...
