Beautiful Postcards Recall Lake Okutama’s Early Years During the second half of the Showa Period from the 1950s onwards Japan experienced remarkable economic growth with significant investment in large-scale infrastructure. In the Kanto...
Former Shibuya Municipal Water Towers Nestled in a quiet, upscale corner of Setagaya in Tokyo finds the Komazawa Water Towers which hail from the late Taisho period. The towers were completed in the March and November of 1923 the same year as the...
Japan Rescue Organization Hiking Accident Statistics One of the hazards of outdoor recreation such as hiking, camping, mountain biking or skiing is that it entails an element of risk. For solo adventurers such as myself, the level of risk is even...
Hossawa Falls on a Wintry Morning During a previous visit to the Hossawa Falls in early spring a few years back, splendid greenery complemented Tokyo’s most renowned waterfall. This time was a little less joyful, arising at the crack of dawn on a...
Final Roll Call for these Rural Saitama Schools Abandoned buildings are commonplace in rural villages across Japan but a certain sadness must come when a school bell rings a final time. School closures serve as a veritable canary in the coal mine as...
What’s in a Name: Daisen vs. Oyama Reading the correct kanji for a particular mountain or any uncommon place name for that matter would arguably be the most challenging aspect of the Japanese language. Most kanji have at least two readings:...
Vestiges from the Old Japanese Army Chofu Air Base Surrounding Chofu Airport in western Tokyo finds several remarkably well preserved Second World War concrete aircraft hangars. Two of these shelters lie adjacent to one another whilst a third one is...
Experiencing Sayama Hills at Dawn One nice thing about living in burbs of western Tokyo is Tama Lake and the surrounding 3,500 ha Sayama Hills. In fact, for nature starved Tokyoites it’s probably largest recreation area within 30 km (18.5 mi.) of...
Early Morning Summit Assault on Tokyo’s Finest Even in shoddy weather Mount Takao sees a hefty share of day-trippers while on good days the summit can get so jam packed as to make you wish you hadn’t bothered. Today’s mission was to find out...
A Building Resolute with the Passing of Time A derelict 1930s electrical substation resting blissfully in the middle of a suburban park isn’t something that you would normally expect to find; less one ravished by gunfire from the Second World War...
Relax and Unwind at these Secluded Spots With a population exceeding 13 million residents, the Tokyo Metropolis easily ranks as the most populous of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Area wise it lies third from the bottom, resulting in a limited amount...
Okutama at its Finest: Mitsugama Falls In short, there are few more beautiful places in Okutama than the Unasawa Valley. The main drawcard are three waterfalls which snake their way along the Unasawa Creek downhill of Mount Odake. The hiking course...