Japan walking holiday activities

Many mountains are considered sacred in Japan, with Mount Fuji being the most revered. Japanese people parade up to its various stages in pilgrimage, some to the summit at 3,776m and others to the 1,000-year-old Murayama Sengen Jinja Temple, just before the final level of the climb. The official climbing season is early July until mid September when the mountain huts are open. There are various routes up to the summit, and your holiday company will advise on the best one for your abilities, which are less crowded, and so on. But, in short, you need two days to climb it if you want to do the traditional summit at sunrise.

The other iconic peak is Mt. Yarigatake, or Yari, at 3,180m, located in the Hida Mountains. It has a sharp, jagged peak and is sometimes called the Matterhorn of Japan. Indeed, you make the final ascent using mountain ladders. The ascent takes a full day and people either spend the night after summiting at Yarigatake Mountain Hut, or the night before, and then summit at dawn. The hot springs back down at the foot of the mountain in Kamikochi will never feel so good.

On many of Japan’s walking trails you will have an opportunity to stay in a traditional rural ryokan inn. These would have hosted people on the pilgrim or samurai trails over the years, and their sparse architecture feels unchanged with time. The room has little furniture, bar some tatami mats and a low table for drinking tea. Your futon bed will be rolled out on the tatami mat at bedtime, often when you are taking your bath, which is also part of the traditional ryokan ritual. The food is nearly always off-the-scale superb. There are sometimes options to stay in a minshuku, which is a smaller, budget version of the traditional inn, with more basic food. Although basic is usually beautiful in Japan.