Tag - Nagano

View of the Karamatsu-dake mountain hut from the campground below

Karamatsu-dake: A hike in the breathtaking Japanese Alps

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...

3 Tips for Finding Hiking Trailheads in Japan

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...

The view was beautiful! I could see the Northern Alps in the distance and the Togakushi ridge a bit closer

Hiking Mt. Iizuna — A Voyage into Tengu Land

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...

Deskwarming Diaries #12

Welcome to another edition of the Deskwarming Diaries, where the best part of the day is most certainly lunch. Today’s post features bugs, birds, frogs, and the words ‘stranger’ and ‘chunky.’ Let’s jump in!

The Rocks of Onioshidashi Park

This sprawling park at the foot of Mt. Asama (an active volcano) lets you walk on winding trails through a field of igneous rock. I have visited Onioshidashi Park twice, once in October 2018 and again in January 2020; the beauty of the strangely-shaped rocks and the majesty of the still...

Hatsumode and the Ringing of the Bell

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...