In recent years I’ve discovered the joys of hiking in Japan, where all levels of experience are catered for with well-maintained trails and some of the best mountain huts in the world. Up until this January, I’d never ventured out during the winter and, as this trip proved, I was missing out! Read more
A gloriously bright morning greeted me on Day 5, the Kumano-gawa River acting as a perfect mirror to the mountains and sky above. Leaving the ryokan just before 8 am, I walked back to the Hatenashi-toge pass trailhead by way of Yanagimoto-bashi bridge. Read more
After a good nights sleep at Sekisho-in temple, I got up early to attend the 7 am morning prayer service. It was cold to the bone in the main hall which I was surprised to find packed to overflowing with adherents and curious bystanders like myself. I sat next to a mother with her disabled son who had a special prayer said for him. Read more
On my return trip to Shikoku in late October, I alluded to an upcoming expedition. I spent six days walking the Kohechi route of the Kumano Kodō pilgrimage and now, as 2016 comes to a close, I’ve managed to pull together a full report. Read more
Back during my recent trip to Tokushima in Shikuku, I had the chance to head inland and hike up a series of waterfalls known as Todoroki Kujūku-taki (轟九十九滝) or Ninety-nine waterfalls near the town of Kaiyo-cho (海陽町). Read more
During my final weekend in Shikoku, one of the places I visited was Kotohira-gū (金刀比羅宮), a huge Shinto shrine that sits halfway up Mount Zōzu and is said to have been founded during the 1st century. Read more
It started raining early this morning and didn’t let up for the rest of the day. I walked a modest 20km, visiting three temples along the way before retiring to another Business Hotel. Read more
Being a sucker for following the “scenic route” I had chosen to take the longest trail (E) between Kongōfuku-ji (金剛福寺 – 38) and Enkō-ji (延光寺 – 39) which is around 20km further than the shortest. Read more
Today’s route took me through freshly planted rice fields around 25km from Marukome guest house near Dainichi-ji (大日寺 – 28) to Kōchi City (高知市), stopping at temples 29 and 30 on the way. Read more