June 22, 2014

Hike around Lake Onuma at Mount Akagi

In May, I went to Maebashi City in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo, in order to visit Mount Akagi (赤城山). There is no actual peak named “Mount Akagi”: It refers to the whole mountain range in the area. Its best-known attractions are Akagi Shrine, Lake Onuma (大沼) and Mount Kurobi (黒檜山). While I was there, I took a series of trails going through some of the peaks surrounding the lake. This page can serve as a reference (although it differs a bit from what I did).

May 14, 2014

Hike to Mount Mitsutoge, Mount Kachi Kachi & Lake Kawaguchi

A couple of weeks ago, I went on a hike to Mount Mitsutoge (三つ峠山), in the Fuji 5 Lakes area.

May 9, 2014

Hike to Mount Toyama in Nikko

Mount Toyama (外山) is a mountain in Nikko. It is only a short walk (~1.5km) from the World Heritage sites, with great view on Nikko and Mount Nyoho at the summit. Here is a map of the trail.

May 8, 2014

World Heritage Shrines and Temples of Nikko

A few weeks ago, I returned to Nikko to visit the shrines and temples of central Nikko, which are on UNESCO’s list of Word Heritage Sites.

May 3, 2014

Hike from Lake Naguri to Ome: Mount Bonoore, Mount Iwatakeishi & Mount Takamizu

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently went hiking in Naguri (名栗), in Saitama Prefecture. It is a popular hiking area with many trails to choose from. For myself, I followed a trail to Ikusabata station, in Ome City (Tokyo), passing through Mount Bounoore, Mount Iwatakeishi and Mount Takamizu. Here is a map of the trail (in reverse direction).

May 2, 2014

Enoshima in spring

After Kamakura, I took the Enoden Line train to Enoshima.

May 1, 2014

Kamakura Hiking Trails part 3: Daibutsu Hiking Course

After the Tenen Hiking Course and Kencho-ji Temple (see part 2), I walked directly to Jocho-ji Temple, where the Daibutsu Hiking Course trailhead is located. This trail goes to the most famous sight in Kamakura: The Daibutsu (Great Buddha) statue at Kotoku-in Temple. It also passes through Genjiyama Park and near the Zeniarai-Benzaiten Shrine.

May 1, 2014

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine / Egara Tenjin Shrinexa0/ Kamakura-gu Shrine / Zuisen-ji Temple

Kamakura is famous for its large number of buddhist temples and shinto shrines. The biggest is the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (鶴岡八幡宮), located at the center of town. It is dedicated to Hachiman. On the same day, I also visited Egara Tenjin Shrine, Kamakura-gu Shrine and Zuisen-ji Temple (which I had already visited earlier).

May 1, 2014

Kamakura Hiking Trails part 2: Tenen Hiking Course

After the Gionyama Hiking Course (see part 1) and visiting Zuisen-ji Temple, I made my way to the trailhead of the Tenen Hiking Course, which goes to Kencho-ji Temple, in Kita-Kamakura.

May 1, 2014

Kamakura Hiking Trails part 1: Gionyama Hiking Course

Kamakura is surrounded by the ocean in the south and by wooded hills in all other directions. Attractive hiking trails lead through the woods along these hills and connect Kamakura’s numerous temples and shrines. It is possible to walk them all in one go, starting and ending at train stations.

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