Selective Hikes in Japan
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Walking Kumano Kodo: The Imperial Route
20 Apr 2026Notes from and planning guidance for the Nakahechi Route of the Kumano Kodo, the best-known of the ancient pilgrimage routes crossing the Kii Peninsula. Following forested mountain paths between historic villages and sacred shrines, it offers a journey through one of Japan's most spiritually significant landscapes.
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Hiking Japan: From Okinawa to Hokkaido
23 Feb 2026A roundup of my favorite hiking trails across Japan, from south to north — beginning in Iriomote Island in Okinawa and ending in Rebun Island in Hokkaido.
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Hiking the Kyoto Trail
17 Aug 2026Kyoto Trail is a 80 kilometers route that encircles the city through mountains and passes by some of the city`s most famous landmarks. I hiked the trail in November 2024.
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Daisetsuzan Hikes: Asahidake to Naka Dake Loop Hike
24 May 2026Daisetsuzan National Park is the largest national park in Japan and home to Hokkaidos`s highest mountain - Asahidake. I spent five days in the park exploring the various trails each with a unique but equally splendid scenery.
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Hiking Mt. Miyanoura in Yakushima
16 Mar 2026Mt. Miyanoura peak hike in Yakushima is one of the most rewarding hikes and traverses in Japan. The hike leads you to the highest peak in Kyushu through forests, rock formations and magnificent interior mountain views.
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Gentle Beauty: Kuju Mountain Hikes
15 Mar 2026Kuju Mountains, located in Oita Prefecture in Kyushu and part of the Aso-Kuju National Park, is one of my favorite hiking destinations in Japan. The mountain range rewards hikers with a rich network of trails and diverse landscape scenery without asking for much in return.
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Karasawa Cirque Hike: Gentler Option in the Northern Japanese Alps
29 Jul 2025Japanese Alps scare me a little. Well, maybe more than a little. Despite being an avid hiker, the sheer size and - I have to admit - the intimidating beauty of the region, which is home to some of the highest peaks in Japan - has made me keep my distance from one of the most rewarding hiking destinations in Japan.
Walks and Rides in Japan
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Cycling the Shimanami Kaido in Two Days
12 Jun 2025The Shimanami Kaido is a roughly 70-kilometer cycling route that connects Japan’s main island, Honshu, to Shikoku via a series of seven bridges and six islands across the Setouchi Inland Sea (a region poetically depicted in Donald Richie`s The Inland Sea).
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Iseji Route: The Eastern Route of Kumano Kodo
03 Apr 2026Mt. Fuji is fully visible on this overcast winter day in Honshu. It feels strange that I still get excited every single time that I get a look at the perfectly picturesque peak of Mt. Fuji.
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Walking Shikoku and Biking the Shimanami Kaido
09 May 2025A weeklong journey through Shikoku, followed by a bike ride along the Shimanami Kaido, Japan’s famous cycling route linking Shikoku to Honshu.
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Walking Goto Islands: a Travel Diary
16 Mar 2024I am writing this sitting in my room at Hostel Ta Bi To, in the tiny town of Tomie on Fukue Island, the largest of the five islands of Goto Islands Archipelago. This is the first of my travel diaries that I plan to post on a daily basis during my nine-day stay in Goto Islands, where I plan to do some island hopping and walking as much as I can.
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Circling Yakushima: In Praise of Road Walks
17 Dec 2025Circling Yakushima on foot? You may ask - why would anyone desire to spend three days hiking or better to say walking in Yakushima on the road having to watch out for cars when some of the most intriguing hiking trails in the World are almost as readily available with a short bus ride? Well, the answer is a very simple one for me: I sometimes just want to walk.
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Walking Shikoku: Discover the Temples, Small Towns and Surf Beaches
28 Jul 2025Back from Shikoku. What a wonderful two weeks it was and how I need these rural Japan breaks to better connect with this beautiful country that I now call home. It all started with mountains, two of the most atmospheric temples that I have been to in Japan, heavy rain and wind (a blessing and visual feast when you hike through forests).
Nature Experiences in Japan
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Islands of Japan Worth Ditching the Mainland For
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Nikko: the Same Trees, Same Colors but Different Leaves
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Dreamy Hot Springs of Japan
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Lake Towada and Oirase Stream: an Autumn Trip
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Aoni Onsen in Aomori, Autumn Wonderland
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Mizumoto Park: Seasons in Tokyo
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Japan Travel Guide: Cities, Islands, Hot Springs, Hikes
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Gone For a Walk
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Lotus Flowers and Season in Tokyo
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Taking the Long Road: Pilgrimage Routes of Japan
Hello, this is Burcu! While this website is the main platform where I publish travel-related content, I also run a Japan-focused newsletter called Letters from Japan. Once a month, I share a letter featuring travel stories and photography from across the country. Each new monthly letter is free to all subscribers for one month after publication before becoming part of the paid archive. One recent letter, Hiking Japan: From Okinawa to Hokkaido, presents some of my favorite hikes in Japan in geographical order. // Paid subscribers have unlimited access to the complete archive, as well as additional posts designed to support Japan itinerary planning with a more logistics-focused, information-heavy approach. These include the Japan Trip Planning Q&A Series, covering topics such as transportation and accommodation, as well as specific trips like biking the Shimanami Kaido in two days. // Another category includes the “One Fine Day” city series, covering Kanazawa, Tokyo, Nagasaki, and Kyoto, each offering a walking itinerary through the city. There are also several multi-day itinerary suggestions based on my own trips, such as “Blue Forests of Japan: Autumn Trip to Aomori,” which shares my annual fall foliage journey to the northernmost prefecture of Tohoku; “Tohoku Onsen Hopping,” introducing several historic hot spring stays in the region; and a weekend trip to Shibu Onsen and the snow monkeys of Nagano. // Paid subscribers also have access to the Travel Diaries series, whose recent entries include a week-long winter trip to Hokkaido, Walking Goto Islands off the coast of Nagasaki, and a five-day hike along the Kyoto Trail. // The structure of the paid archive and the different categories of posts are explained in more detail on the Letters from Japan About Page. // If you would like to subscribe, you can use the form right at the bottom of the page or click here.