I first visited the small town of Wajima (輪島) on the Noto Peninsula (能登半島) while on a bike packing trip back in 2015. Protruding out into the Sea of Japan on the Hokuriku coast (北陸), the Noto Peninsula is one of my favourite places in Japan, and one that has been regularly visited since that first trip.
These little day trips are proving to be just the ticket. A dip into history, a new corner of Japan, and exercise to boot. Being fairly central, I get to choose.
The Kiso-ji (木曽路), a small section of the Nakasendo (中山道), runs through the Kiso valley in Nagano prefecture. I wrote about walking it between Kiso Fukushima to Agematsu here and decided last week to walk it some more.
read more Walking the Nakasendō/Kiso-ji – Shiojiri to Niekawa
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.
Ginko trees (inchō・銀杏), along with momiji (紅葉) and persimmon (kaki・柿 – not to be confused with the other kaki meaning oyster) make for a staple of the Japanese autumn.
Ideas for hikes, walks, or bike rides usually start to take fruition around Thursday of any given week. An idea is picked out of the void, worked with, tweaked, and then usually put into action over the weekend.
read more Walking: One Kilometre Radius, Eight Kilometre Walk
