Japan walking holidays travel guide

Japanese walking holidays are often as much about experiencing local history and culture as they are about the hikes. Check the number of days of full walking in the itinerary, because sometimes it might only be for half of the actual trip, if it is a guided trip. If it is tailor made, then you can hike as much as you like. And generally the walking is not too strenuous. On Nakasendo Trail walking holidays, there are only about four days of walking, and outings vary from two to five hours in length on mainly flat-ish, well trodden mountain paths that twist and turn through ancient forests. On Shikoku Island hikes, you will walk on gently rising mountain paths, a bit rough underfoot but nothing too taxing. On the Kumano Kodo Trail, the mountains are a bit tougher and on a guided hiking tour you will walk for about five days, between two and six hours a day, but with more climbs. So, although it is not Kilimanjaro by any means, a good level of fitness is required to tackle up to 1,000m ascents some days. But they are always interspersed with easier days, so don’t panic.

Most walking holidays in Japan are nomadic, given the linear nature of the famous walking trails. On the Nakasendo and Kumano Kodo Trails you generally walk from one ‘post town’ to the next, stay in traditional ryokan or minshuku inns. On the Nakasendo Trail, you may have an opportunity to stay overnight at the Mount Koyo monastery, sleeping in the traditional temple lodgings known as shukubo. When taking on the summits of Fuji or Yari you will spend a night or two in basic mountain huts with lots of other fellow trekkers waiting to summit, or celebrating their having just done it.