Tokyo’s Daylight Hours and the Best Time to Hit the Trail Right now the evenings are drawing in fast, and on a dreary, overcast day it can already look quite dark by 4 pm, often before you’ve even left work. By early December, the sun sets over...
Hiked on Nov 7, 2026 . Kofun-period burial mounds 積石塚古墳 – Sanjingu Shrine 山神宮 Duration: 3 hours Distance: 6.5 km Elevation change: 448 metres Highest point: 715 metres Start: Isawa-Onsen Station (Chuo Main Line) Finish: Isawa-Onsen...
A Hand-Painted Bus and Train Timetable From 1983 On a May morning in 2015, near the bus stop at the Kentokusan trailhead in Tokuwa, I came across an old timetable board. It wasn’t on display. It had been propped up against a shed, weathered and rust...
Knowing Where You Are Isn’t the Same as Being Found Sponsored content, produced in coordination with COCOHELI. All opinions are my own. Feature image courtesy of COCOHELI. When a hiker goes missing in the mountains, the first question seems simple...
Hiked on Oct 31, 2026 . Sawara-ike 椹池 – Oku-Amariyama 奥甘利山 – Mt. Sentoboshi 千頭星山 Duration: 2 days Distance: 20.9 km Elevation change: 1717 metres (bus stop to summit) Highest point: 2139 metres Start:...
Why a Map of Bear Reports Isn’t a Map of Bear Risk More hikers and news outlets are now pointing people to Kumamap, a multilingual map of bear reports from across Japan. ABC News Australia profiled it in June, and CNN featured it in September in a...
Hiked on Oct 18, 2026 . Kurumayama-kata 車山肩 – Mt. Kurumayama 車山 – Yashimagahara 八島ヶ原湿原 Duration: 5.5 hours Distance: 16.5 km Elevation change: 325 metres Highest point: 1925 metres Start: Kowashimizu bus stop Finish:...
Hiked on Oct 8, 2026 . Nasu Ropeway 那須ロープウェイ – Mt. Asahi 朝日岳 – Okamaguchi お釜口 Duration: 4.5 hours Distance: 6.8 km Elevation change: 525 metres Highest point: 1915 metres Start: Nasu Ropeway bus stop Finish: Nasu Ropeway bus...
A Periodic Table of Peaks The third field guide of the year is also the biggest. After two pocket-sized cards, this one brings all 100 of Fukada Kyuya’s famous mountains together on a single A3 sheet, laid out so the whole list can be taken in at a...
Hiked on Aug 17, 2026 . Shiomi Suspension bridge 塩見橋 – Water Source Entrance 水場入口 – Mt. Sasayama south peak 笹山 南峰 Duration: 2 days Distance: 14.7 km Elevation change: 1903 metres Highest point: 2733 metres...
If I Wanted to Open a Sanso in the Alps Today, Could I? If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably passed a mountain hut and wondered at some point: what would it actually take to run one of these myself? Buy a mountain plot somewhere, put up four...
July 21st to July 24th, 2026 . Nakabusa Onsen 中房温泉 to Kamikochi 上高地 This is a long and demanding multi-day hike suitable for experienced hikers. Do not attempt this hike unless you have experience in route-finding. Carry the relevant...
Hiked on Jul 13, 2026 . Hirogawara 広河原 – Shiraneoike 白根御池 – Mt. Mae-Kotaroyama 前小太郎山 Duration: 2 days Distance: 13.3 km Elevation change: 1340 metres Highest point: 2860 metres Start: Hirogawara Bus...
A Pocket Guide for Climbing Mt Fuji in 2026 Hot on the heels of the Japan Hiking Field Guide comes its first companion: a pocket reference built for one mountain and one mountain only. If you’re climbing Mt Fuji this season, this pocket guide...
Where to Pitch a Tent in the Kiso Valley Most people walking the Nakasendo Kiso Valley stay in ryokan and minshuku, and for good reason: it’s both the traditional and enjoyable way to do this route, and the welcome at places like Minshuku Matsuo or...
Book Launch I’m pleased to announce that The Nakasendo Kiso Valley: A Complete 5-Day Walking Guide is now available as a paperback on Amazon, with availability across several international Amazon stores, alongside the existing PDF edition on Ko-fi...
