David grew up in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, with hiking and outdoor pursuits being a major part of his life for as long as he can remember. He has been writing, snapping photos, and sharing his adventures on RIDGELINEIMAGES.com since 2013.
At university, David majored in environmental management and holds a Graduate Diploma of Education. He has been living in Japan for over 15 years, first in Fukushima Prefecture and now in the Tokyo Metropolis. With a love of hiking and photography, he felt the best way to combine the two was a blog to provide some inspiration for others to enjoy the myriad of trails and outdoor offerings on Tokyo’s doorstep. You can follow David on Instagram @ridgelineimages.
Fall Colours Transform Koganei Park A nice thing about living in western Tokyo is its expansive planned gardens and parklands. The autumn season is particularly stunning with Showa Park in Tachikawa a major drawcard for locals taking in the changing...
Hiked on Oct 21, 2015 Aug 24, 2023 . Mt. Hodosan 宝登山 Duration: 3 hours Distance: 6.2 km Elevation change: 347 metres Highest point: 497 metres Start: Nagatoro Station (Chichibu Main Line) ...
A Company that Stands by their Word After years of faithful service, quality hiking socks—or any socks, for that matter—tend to wear out. At this point, you would normally discard them or repurpose them as shoe polishers. That is, unless you made...
Hitching a Lift up Tokyo’s Mountains With seventy-two percent of Japan being mountainous it shouldn’t come as a surprise the country contains an extensive network of aerial lifts. In Japan, the term “ropeway” applies to all forms...
Exploring the Outdoors Around Tokyo The scale and diversity of Tokyo makes it hard to condense into a short travel write-up, especially the outdoor scene which caters for all and sundry. Having said that, what follows is a brief rundown of some...
Hiked on Sep 19, 2015 Nov 5, 2022 . Kurotake 黒岳 – Mt. Koganezawa 小金沢山 Duration: 2 days Distance: 15.6 km Elevation change: 1038 metres Highest point: 2014 metres Start: Yamatoten Mokusan Onsen...
A New Frontier in Hiking Shoe Design Zamberlan has a rich history and enjoys excellent reputation when it comes to performance footwear and was eager to road test their latest speed hiking shoes. As someone who prefers the versatility and comfort of...
Hiking to the Hyakuhiro Waterfall in Okutama On a dreary overcast day last week I decided to check out a towering waterfall in the Okutama watershed. One of the major drawcards hiking Mount Kawanori is passing by the rather impressive Hyakuhiro...
Musings from 10 Years Hiking in Japan Whether setting out on your first hike or already an accomplished mountaineer there are definitely some quirks unique to hiking in the Japanese mountains. This was especially so coming from an Australian hiking...
Splendid Backdrop Scaling Yatsugatake Mountains Last summer near perfect conditions provided an excellent opportunity to take a three day hike over the Yatsugatake Mountains. These volcanic mountains are situated on the border between Nagano and...