I wrote a short feature for The Japan Times on hiking in the North Japan Alps recently; the article covers my three day hike from Kamikochi to Mt. Yari, across the notorious Daikiretto, before finally ascending the third highest mountain in Japan, Mt. Oku-Hotaka. I had a great weather window in late October last year, just before some of the first snows fell, and this remains one of my favourite hikes in the whole of Japan, mostly because it involves almost as much scrambling/climbing as it does walking.
You can read all about it here http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2017/04/28/travel/effort-reward-hiking-precipitous-spine-central-honshu/
Tom Fay 