My hiking journey along the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail in Japan started by passing through a torii gate, a Shinto symbol marking the transition into sacredness. This, I thought, is how you make an ...

Japan’s recent deadly eruption of the Mt. Ontake volcano shows the lethal side of a land created by Earth’s “ring of fire.” But Japan has enjoyed one major benefit from millions of years of eruptions: ...

Today we are hiking one of the most beautiful sections of Japan's most legendary hiking trail... the Nakasendo. A trail that was once one of the main roads connecting the cities of Kyoto and Tokyo.

Some of the hiking world’s best-kept secrets can be found in the Japan Alps, the hills around Kyoto and in the vast wilderness of Daisetsuzan National Park. Japan is one of the hiking world’s ...

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Laying eyes on Lake Mashu, often considered Japan's most beautiful lake on the northerly island of Hokkaido, is not good luck. Usually ...

There’s a word in Japanese, nukumori, that doesn’t just mean warmth. It’s the kind of warmth that rises from a wood-burning hearth, from a steaming onsen, from a bowl of soup placed gently in front of ...

We are only a dozen steps into the forest the first time we stop to gawp, our necks craned to scan the towering canopy. We are surrounded by trees that creak in the gentle wind, and 1,000 shades of ...

The Japanese have long understood the pleasures of the outdoors – from admiring koyo ("colorful autumn leaves") to goraiko ("watching the sunrise from a mountain top"). It's little surprise that ...

My hiking journey along the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail in Japan started by passing through a torii gate, a Shinto symbol marking the transition into sacredness. This, I thought, is how you make an ...