With plenty of mountains, onsen, wildlife, and food, Nagano has something for everyone. I may be a little biased because it’s where I live, but Nagano is awesome! Check it out!
This is part two of my first attempt at Chogatake! If you missed part 1, click here to read it first! After a night of fitful sleep, I woke up around 4am because the sun was up and shining into the room. I could already hear the sound of the hut’s front door opening and closing as...
Chogatake is located in Nagano’s Middle Alps in Kamikochi, the same park as the beautiful Karasawa. Roughly translated, Chogatake means “Butterfly Peak” because of the butterfly-shaped snow patches visible in spring. I was itching for another overnight trip and chose...
“Sensei, do you want to try one?” I looked up and saw an eye-catching, rectangular shape wrapped in crinkly plastic in my coworker’s outstretched hand. “Sure! What is it?” “It’s candy… But you might not like the texture. It’s like...
This is the final part of my trip to the Karasawa Cirque! Miss a section? Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2! I was staring at my watch, watching it tick time away, when my alarm went off. “Op, 5:30. Time to ‘wake up’ and check the sunrise.” Luckily for us...
Hi there! This is Part 2 of my trip to the beautiful Karasawa Cirque. Miss the first part? Check it out here! Jessica and I ‘awoke’ to the sound of rain hitting our tent at around 6am. We finally left the tent around 8, our need to go to the bathroom greater than our annoyance...
While talking with my friend Jessica in August about possible trekking options, we came across a picture of Karasawa Cirque and looked no further. This natural amphitheater sits 2300 meters above sea level and boasts great views of some of the tallest mountains in Japan, a huge, sprawling...
Exactly one year ago, I adventured out for my first solo hiking trip as a spontaneous birthday present for myself. This first foray into the Northern Alps remains in my top 5 memories of Japan, and I’ve wanted to do it again ever since! This year, the campground for Karamatsu-dake...
Now solidly in rainy season, I find myself staring blankly out windows if the weather is nice. I was able to go on a single hike before the weather forced me inside though — Mt. Iizuna! This mountain is close to my house, and I’ve hiked it probably five times since I came here...
In America, I always celebrated the new year with platters of meat and cheese, sitting on the couch and watching the ball drop on TV. That’s a liiiitle bit hard to do in the middle-of-the-countryside Japan, so this year, I celebrated in traditional Japanese fashion: hatsumode and...