The start of my Japanese Alps Traverse is less than a week away and I have been looking into the route a bit more since, you know, I should probably know where I’m going. My starting point will be Ichiburi Station (市振駅), a train station) in the south of Niigata Prefecture (新潟県). This station is […]
Thru-hiking The Japanese Alps
A lot of my hiking endeavors began with me thinking to myself, “Hmm, that thing would be cool to do,” and last November, I thought to myself, “Hmm, traversing the entire Japanese Alps would be cool.” I got super into planning a traverse of Japan’s Alps for exactly two days before I gave up, frustrated […]
Japan’s Most Dangerous Hike: The Okuhotakadake – Nishihotakadake Traverse
The most dangerous thing you will encounter on most hikes in Japan is probably dehydration or perhaps one of the giant Japanese hornets if you’re unlucky enough to catch one on bad day. However, the number one killer of hikers and people in the outdoors is not bears, snakes, ax-murderers, or even the chupacabra – […]
Hiking Yarigatake (槍ヶ岳) in Japan
Name: Yarigatake Japanese name: 槍ヶ岳 Location: Kita Alps (北アルプス) Summit elevation: 10,433 ft / 3,180 m Elevation change: 6,991 ft / 2,131 m Round-trip distance from trailhead: 17.6 mi / 28.4 km Round-trip time from trailhead*: 12 hours Difficulty: Strenuous Water on trail: Yes Trailhead facilities: Parking, bathroom, lodge, drinks, food Nihon Hyaku-meizan: Yes Yarigatake […]
Hiking Mount Haku (白山) in Japan
Name: Mount Haku Japanese name: 白山 (Hakusan) Location: Hokuriku (北陸地方) Summit elevation: 8,865 ft / 2,702.2 m Elevation change: 4,764 ft / 1,452 m Round-trip distance from trailhead: 10.6 mi / 17 km (following the route here) Round-trip time from trailhead*: 8 hours (following the route here) Difficulty: Strenuous Water on trail: Available at Murodo […]
Hiking Okuhotakadake (奥穂高岳) in Japan
Name: Mount Okuhotaka Japanese name: 奥穂高岳 (Okuhotakadake) Location: Kita Alps (北アルプス) Summit elevation: 10,470 ft / 3,190 m Elevation change: 6,627 ft / 2,020 m Round-trip distance from trailhead: 12.8 mi / 20.6 km Round-trip time from trailhead*: 10 hours Difficulty: Strenuous Water on trail: No, but available at Okuhotakadake Lodge (seasonal) Trailhead facilities: Parking, […]
Hiking Tateyama (立山) in Japan
Name: Mount Tate Japanese name: 立山 (Tateyama) Location: Tateyama, Toyama (富山県立山町) Summit elevation: 9,892 ft / 3,015 m Elevation change: 2,017 ft / 615 m Round-trip distance from trailhead: 3.5 mi / 5.6 km Round-trip time from trailhead*: 3 hours 30 minutes (from Murodō) Difficulty: Moderate Water on trail: No Trailhead facilities: Parking, bathroom, campground, […]
Hiking Mount Tsurugi (剱岳) in Japan
Name: Mount Tsurugi Japanese name: 剱岳 (Tsurugi-dake) Location: Tateyama, Toyama (富山県立山町) Summit elevation: 9,839 ft / 2,999 m Elevation change: 7,283 ft / 2,220 m Round-trip distance from trailhead: 10.6 mi / 17 km Round-trip time from trailhead*: 10:55 moving time / 12:02 total time Difficulty: Strenuous Water on trail: No Trailhead facilities: Parking, bathroom, […]
15 Things To Know Before Hiking In Japan
Hiking in Japan can be a lot like hiking elsewhere in the world; except that sometimes it’s not. My experience hiking in Japan has taught me a lot about the country and what can be expected when hitting the trail or climbing one of its many famous mountains. Some of what can be found hiking […]
Big In Japan – How I Got Featured In A Japanese Newspaper
Long story short, I’m hugely famous in Japan now and will probably never be returning to the America (or even leaving this volcano filled island). Here’s how it happened: I’ve just spent three hours dragging myself through 4,000 vertical feet (1,200 m) of boulder field to the saddle beneath the summit of Mt. Okuhotaka – […]
