After driving past field after field of cherries in Yamagata Prefecture, Hunter and I finally parked and made our way to 立石寺 (Risshaku-ji), more commonly known as 山寺 (Yama-dera). That 山寺 literally translates to “mountain temple” should give you some idea of what getting to...
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...
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...
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...