Hiked on Mar 16, 2018 . Tojinzushiro 唐人津城 – Kanbiki Lookout 神引展望台 Duration: 3 hours Distance: 6.4 km Elevation change: 96 metres Highest point: 109 metres Start: Kamanoshita Campground Finish: Oura Beach Difficulty: ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ❶ ...
Tokyo a City of Extremes With near on 14 million people living in the Tokyo Metropolis it goes without saying there isn’t much in the way of personal space. The corollary to this craziness is excellent food, shopping, nightlife and entertainment...
Cycling from the Shin Ome-kaido to Sayama Lake Recently while cycling around the Tama and Sayama Lakes in western Tokyo, I came across a tunnel network which appeared to be from an abandoned railway. It struck me as a little odd that they would...
Remnants from the Second World War in Tokyo Preserved ruins from the Second World War in Japan are few with the notable exceptions being the Hiroshima A-bomb Dome Genbaku Domu, the Nagasaki Urakami Cathedral wall remnant and the one-legged torii of...
Tracking Down Saitama’s Tallest Waterfall Saitama Prefecture like neighbouring Tokyo has only one waterfall chosen as one of the 100 Japanese waterfalls of Japan way back in 1990. Whilst it’s not the easiest location to reach by public transport...
A Village where Scarecrows Outnumber People Following in the footsteps of Nagoro in Shikoku, the tiny village of Niegawajuku in Chichibu, Saitama is seeking to revitalize itself with lifelike scarecrows (or kakashi). Niegawajuku like much of rural...
Exploring the Backwoods of Okutama One of the places I love frequenting in Okutama, Tokyo is the rather obscure Kurasawa Valley a lazy 20-minute bus ride from Okutama Station. Flanked on either side by precipitous cliff faces it was once home to the...
Caving in Tokyo: Then and Now There was a time not so long ago when visiting a tourist cave was a popular way to spend a lazy weekend. Rewind to the early 1980s and there were seven such caves operating in Tokyo now sadly more than half of them have...
The Kurasawa Bridge (Kurasawabashi) One could be forgiven for thinking the Tokyo Gate Bridge is the highest bridge in Tokyo and while its truss sections rise some 88 metres, the bridge’s “clearance” when measured from the deck of the road comes in...
Dodge the Crowds and Enjoy Superb Fall Scenery The Oze Marshlands are without a doubt one of the most beautiful tracts of unspoilt nature in the Kanto region. Last year I hiked across the Ozegahara Marsh to Oshimizu and this year I decided to start...
Hiked on Oct 1, 2017 Sep 29, 2025 . Kamikochi 上高地 – Karasawa 涸沢 – Mt. Karasawa 涸沢岳 Duration: 4 days Distance: 36.7 km Elevation change: 1598 metres Highest point: 3103 metres Start: Kamikochi Bus Stop Finish: Kamikochi Bus Stop ...
Kamikochi Showa Era Photochromes By any measure Kamikochi in the Hida Mountains of Nagano Prefecture is one of the best natural spots in Japan. But surprisingly this wasn’t always the case. Up until the mid-19th Century Kamikochi underwent extensive...
One of the Best Places to See the Fall Foliage in Japan The splendid autumn colours which envelop the glacial cirque at Karasawa in the Northern Alps are a sight to behold. The only downside is you’re likely to be witnessing the “koyo” with loads of...
Beer, Boots and a Thousand Tents The Karasawa Cirque is surrounded by the towering peaks of Mt. Oku-Hotakadake and Mt. Kita-Hotaka in the Northern Japanese Alps. The glacial-eroded cirque has diameter of 2 kilometres, sits at an altitude of 2,300...
My Backpacking Gear Deciding what gear to pack for a hike is a careful balancing act between saving weight and potentially putting your health and wellbeing in harm’s way. As someone who readily admits to bringing along too much stuff, I have in...
Hiked on Aug 27, 2017 Aug 10, 2022 . Hirogawara 広河原 – Shirane-oike 白根御池 – Kita-dake 北岳 Duration: 3 days Distance: 11.8 km Elevation change: 1673 metres Highest point: 3193 metres Start: Hirogawara Bus Stop Finish: Hirogawara Bus Stop...