Walking in Japan

The common perception of Japan is one of high-tech cities steepled with skyscrapers, ancient temples and shrines, so walking through the mountains here can be quite a revelatory experience. It may surprise you to know that the Japanese are mad-keen hikers, and if you’re on a well-known route around New Year or Golden Week (from 29 April) you’ll receive plenty of friendly greetings along the way.

To be on the trail in Japan is a wonderful thing. You’ll walk through pristine and at times awe-inspiring natural scenery: sacred mountain peaks dotted with historic shrines; paddy fields shrouded in the morning mist; forests that blaze with colour at the turn of the season; serene fishing villages, monasteries and timber-clad postal towns. In the evenings you’ll relax in traditional ryokans, soothing tired limbs in onsen hot spring baths and you can follow routes that link thrilling metropolises, getting to and from the trailhead using Japan’s superb shinkansen trains. It’s a completely different side to the country, a galaxy apart from the teeming streets and constant noise of Tokyo or Osaka.

When you think of walking in Japan, perhaps your thoughts turn first to the snow-capped, volcanic Mount Fuji. But while mountain worship is a big deal here, Fuji is just a fraction of the options available to you. And of course as Ruth Hubbard from our specialist vacation operator InsideJapan explains, “You can only climb Mount Fuji in July and September due to snow at other times of year. Every night, there are thousands of people on the slopes during these months. But don’t forget that 70% of the country is mountainous, so there are many more peaks to climb, such as in the Kamikochi Alps.” Perhaps follow in the footsteps of Samurai warriors on the ancient Nakasendo Trail instead, join a procession of modern-day pilgrims on the Kumano Kodo Trail, or discover one of the tallest waterfalls in Japan and the historic spa town of Yumoto in Nikko National Park, just two hours north of Tokyo.

Around 70 percent of Japan’s terrain is mountainous, so it’s hardly surprising that mountains play a significant role in Japanese culture and spirituality. Dewa Sanzan is the collective name for three peaks: Mount Gassan, Mount Yudono and Mount Haguro, all in Yamagata, a prefecture in the northern reaches of Honshu. They are sacred in the Buddhist and Shinto religions, and also the mountain ascetic religion of Shugendō – each has its own shrine, and Haguro (the shortest of the three and the only one accessible year-round, with a two-hour ascent) has a handsome five-storey pagoda at its summit. You’ll often encounter Yamabushi in Dewa Sanzan – ascetic mountain warrior priests that would have served as guides for important pilgrims – living in this environment makes them exceptionally fit and hardy.

Two hours north of Tokyo and situated on Japan’s ‘Romantic Road’, Nikko National Park houses the 15th-century, UNESCO-protected Toshogu Shrine, and is a focus of Buddhist and Shinto mountain worship. Wonderfully scenic, this is prime easy-going walking terrain, and also offers the chance to stay for a while in Yumoto, one of Japan’s most lovely hot springs towns. A popular resort in summer too, when people come to escape the city heat, Yumoto is famed for the colours of its vegetation at the turns of the seasons, especially from summer to autumn.

You can walk in Japan at any time of year – wintery forests are beautiful if you’re prepared for the cold weather, while the May to June rainy season isn’t usually so wet as to be unpleasant. Note however that if you intend to scale Mount Fuji it can only be done between early July and early September due to snow levels. It takes around six hours to make the ascent but with some trips you stay in mountain huts, and set off for the summit before dawn to catch sunrise from the summit.

However, it’s inarguable that the best (and correspondingly busiest) time for walking in Japan is spring or autumn: spring for the chance to see the delicately beauty of the cherry blossom, autumn to watch as the vegetation turns dramatic shades of yellow, orange and red.