Outdoor Japan Traveler

The Amami Islands have long existed in the crosswinds. Locals have endured powerful typhoons and shifting geopolitical winds,...

Hakone is best known for stunning views of Mt. Fuji and luxurious hot spring ryokan. Many visitors do day trips to this popul...

Autumn is Japan’s most colorful season and the best time of year to be outside enjoying some two-wheeled social distancing. We’ve...

Nagano Prefecture—once referred to as “Shinshu” and “Shinano-no-kuni”—is home to some of Japan’s great mountains, attracting seri...

While I am a proud perennial cider drinker, I will concede that autumn is certainly the season when cider’s magic is best experie...

As summer turns to fall, so the offers of the seasonal table at farmers markets change. Zucchini and cucumber give way to pumpkin...

Soon after I moved to Nagano in 1997 I started hearing stories about a foreign resident and conservationist who had bought up tra...

This summer brings some changes to the farmers market scene in towns and cities up and down the country. While some markets have ...

From the Editor The symbolism of spring has never been more poignant than in 2020. The country feels like it has been reeling ...

The many islands and coastlines that make up Japan are home to the greatest diversity of large and small life forms on the planet...

Grappling with a slightly rusty chain bolted into the hard, cold rock, I heave myself up onto the relative safety of a flat ledge...

It’s been almost seven hours of running in the mountains. The sun is setting, it’s freezing and you’re off trail with only your r...