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Tom Fay

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Month: September 2016

Top Ten Cheap Activities In Osaka

September 26, 2016

Check out my latest article for supercheapjapan.com Some of the best (and cheapest) things to do in Osaka!

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Mt. Daisen (1729m) in Tottori prefecture looking properly alpine in winter. The knife-edge ridge to the true summit can be nerve-wracking in places, and best attempted when the snow is frozen hard.

Tent views. Wild camping isn’t really a thing in Japan, and in national parks etc you can only camp at designated camping sites. Out of season it’s slightly different though, so if you camp stealthily and follow a ‘leave no trace’ policy no one will probably mind.

A quick solo winter camp in my local snowy stomping ground, the Hira Mountains which overlook Lake Biwa in Shiga prefecture.

The wintery shores of Lake Yogo, in Kansai’s snow country. Being much closer to the Sea of Japan than the Pacific Ocean, this northern corner of Kansai gets much more snow than the southern parts of the region.

Possibly one of Kansai’s best kept little secrets (or certainly not a place visited by foreign travelers all that much) is Mt. Shizugatake (421m) at the far northern end of Lake Biwa. Despite its diminutive size, the peak offers some of the best views around as it lies tightly wedged between Lake Yogo to the north and colossal Lake Biwa (Japan’s largest lake) on its southern side.

Happy new year!

Merry Christmas! Nothing feels more festive than a nice little hike in the snow, so headed up to the Hira Mountains just north of Kyoto a few days before Christmas.

No Scottish mountains for me this year because of the pandemic, so here’s a throwback to last year - a trip to the Assynt region in the far northwest of Scotland. Never been lucky enough to catch reflections quite as perfect as these before, and not sure I ever will be again actually.

Deep among the remote peaks and valleys in southern Nara is the hot spring village of Dorogawa Onsen, and there you can find Ryusen-ji, a mysterious temple where Shugendo practitioners known as the ‘yamabushi’ start their arduous journey into the Omine mountains. The temple at the top of nearby Mt. Sanjo (1719m) is the headquarters of the Shugendo sect, and as such, remains the only mountain in Japan which women are forbidden to climb.

The long approach. Yarisawa is the name of the scenic and remote valley which leads up to the summit of Mt. Yarigatake (3180m). The whole route starting from the trailhead at Kamikochi is 22km (13 miles) one way, with about 1600m elevation gain.

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