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.
Looking Back on the Year The main impetus for getting this blog started was frustration with the lack of information in English on hiking trails around Tokyo. Over the past year I have relished the opportunity to document my experiences and realised...
A Chance Upon at the Tokyo Peace Pagoda To expect the unexpected is something I have come to cherish about my ventures into the mountains and to discover that Tokyo is home to a long-forgotten Peace Pagoda was definitely one of them. The glistening...
Hiked on Dec 12, 2013 Aug 23, 2023 . Mt. Iyo イヨ山 – Mt. Nukazasu ヌカザス山 – Mt. Mito 三頭山 Duration: 5 hours Distance: 11.4 km Elevation change: 991 metres Highest point: 1531 metres Start:...
Great Sub 700g Sleeping Bag With an ever expanding range of sleeping bags to choose from the difficulty arises when researching to buy a new one. This was the conundrum I faced a few months back while searching for a new 3 season bag. Even narrowing...
Hiked on Oct 31, 2013 Aug 23, 2023 . Hinata Ooya 日向大谷 – Mt. Ryokami 両神山 Duration: 2 days Distance: 10.3 km Elevation change: 1093 metres Highest point: 1723 metres Start: Hinata Ooya Bus Stop...
A Dependable Lightweight Tent from MSR Mountain Safety Research has been at the forefront of lightweight durable tent design for many years and the MSR Hubba HP solo backpacking tent is no exception. While this tent is no longer sold in the North...
Hiked on Sep 30, 2013 Aug 23, 2023 . Mt. Kinpu 金峰山 – Mt. Kobushi 甲武信ヶ岳 Duration: 3 days Distance: 26.8 km Elevation change: 1089 metres Highest point: 2599 metres Start: Mizugaki-sansou Bus Stop...
Hiked on Sep 21, 2013 Aug 23, 2023 . Mt. Daibosatsu 大菩薩嶺 – Daibosatsu-toge 大菩薩峠 – Tabayama Village 丹波山村 Duration: 2 days Distance: 20.7 km Elevation change: 1156 metres Highest point: 2056 metres ...
An Unexpected Visitor at Breakfast While sorting through my photos from this past weekend’s hike to Mt. Daibosatsu one shot in particular caught my attention. At first it actually kind of freaked me out as it appeared I had caught an ‘uninvited...
A Sure Way of Escaping Tokyo’s Summer Heat and Humidity Where is a good place to escape the suffocating heat and humidity of Tokyo? How about Hakone, that holiday mecca out Kanagawa way. So that was the decision we made a couple of months back and...