Ahhh, Japan. My love since middle school and my home for almost five years. My favorite things about Japan include okonomiyaki, shrines and temples, festivals, functioning public transport, and the excessive bowing. Read more below!
Welcome to another edition of the Deskwarming Diaries, where an ALT suddenly remembers she hasn’t updated her blog in wayyyyyy too long. Today’s edition includes small fish, school stories, good news, snow, and New Years festivities. Let’s jump in! Today’s lunch...
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...
When I first came to Nagano, I immediately wanted to go hiking — easier said than done. Where I had imagined a wealth of information ended up just being fruitless internet searches and unhelpful tourism brochures. Some of them did mention hiking, but there were no details! Well...
Mt. Fuji Summit Time: ~9am Elevation: 3,775m To read about our ascent, click here! To read about our time at the summit, click here! The ascending trail is too steep and too crowded to have people descend on it at the same time, so the decent is actually carried out on a...
Subashiri Trail Station 7.5 Time: 1am Elevation: 3,200m To read the first part of this series, the ascent, click here! It’s so much fun to sleep on a rock-hard futon cramped between two other people in a hot room surrounded by snorers, 600m in vertical elevation away...
I cannot believe that this time last year, Hunter, Nikkita, and I were climbing Mt. Fuji together! Since the mountain is closed to hikers this season because of Covid-19, read on and hike with us instead! Tune in tomorrow for part two, The Summit Shuffle! The Subashiri Trail 5th Station...
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...