It’s been a long time since I walked a section of the Nakasendō (中山道). Back then it was the mountainous trail between Magome (馬籠宿) and Tsumago (妻籠宿), an insanely popular Nakasendō ‘theme park’ for both Japanese and foreign tourists.
read more Nakasendō/Kiso-ji – Walking Kiso Fukushima to Agematsu
A 3 a.m. start thinking I’d be the only one on the trail. But you are never alone in Japan, even in the middle of the night on a mountain. Frustrating, yes, but reassuring too.
It was during a walk around my neighbourhood – I saw grandson and grandmother out with a kite.
The trails are open and the longer hikes are possible again. Back in 2014 I hiked up Eboshigadake (2291m・烏帽子岳) in southern Nagano and have wanted to return for a long time.
Photo above – A brief glimpse of the Mt. Shiomi area in the Minami Alps. As I mentioned in a
I can’t take landscape photographs. I’ve tried but I don’t have the patience or the skill.
If I’m honest I still find the idea of hiking in the Japanese Alps daunting. It’s only recently that I’ve started making the switch from cycling and bike packing to hiking and exploring the mountains on foot so planning a trip can feel overwhelming at times.
Photo above – First ‘hike’ as a new family. The Japanese hiking world has a thing – yama girl. Young
On the very same day that we brought the child home a good friend passed away. He had so many good things going for him but in the last couple of years made some reckless life choices and threw them all away.
read more Life Changes: Time, Adoption, Death of Friends, and a Pair of Shoes.
Late last summer I went on a solo night hike up the Chuo Alps from Agematsu in Nagano. The A
