Highlights

Two-day hike over Miyanoura-dake (1,935m) on Yakushima and seeing the oldest cedar forests in Japan · Open-air seaside natural hot spring baths · Visit to a shochu distillery · Classic Isoteien garden at the old Shimazu family residence in Kagoshima · Climbing Mount Aso, volcano with the biggest caldera in the world · Visit to Usuki town and stone Buddhas on Kyushu coast · Hot sand baths · Travel on the shinkansen bullet train · Hiroshima Peace Park · Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima · Izumo Grand Shrine · Matsue – castle and home of Lafacadio Hearn · Climbing Mount Daisen · Train journey along the beautiful Sea of Japan coast · Traditional Japanese pottery-making session · Kinosaki hot spring town · Delicious food, particularly local seafood specialities (flying fish, crab) and mountain vegetables.

Guide – Bob Heffill

Bob first visited Japan in 1973. After graduating from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies in 1980, he worked in Japan as an English teacher in state schools for three years. He subsequently spent over twenty years working as a professional Japanese translator and interpreter. Bob established Hike Japan in 2003 after completing his Mountain Leader training course. He now runs Hike Japan - a company specializing in small group walking adventures - together with a network of expert local guides.

Style of tour
Japanese-speaking British leader. Accommodation in family-run minshuku , traditional ryokan, hotel, temple .

Dates
Saturday 14 November – Sunday 29 November 2009

Price for 2008
400,000 yen
(Single supplement 40,000)

Duration
16 days 15 Nights

Hiking days
5 days

Grade
Moderate / Vigorous

Group size
Maximum: 9 Clients Minimum: 5 Clients

Includes:
All domestic transport, accommodation, meals, guides, entrance and activity fees

Does not include:
International Flights, drinks with meals

Booking

www.hikejapan.com

info@hikejapan.com

Phone:

Japan tel/fax: (+)81 (0)3 5226 1169
Japan : (+81) (0)80 3445 1130 (mob)
UK : (+44) (0)207 353 2363

Hike Japan Ltd.
Registered office
89 Fleet Street London EC4Y 1DH

INTRODUCTION

Tokyo · Yakushima · Mount Aso · Usuki · Hiroshima · Miyajima · Izumo Grand Shrine · Matsue · Kinosaki hot spring · Kyoto

Hike Japan tours typically travel to some remoter parts of the country. This tour is a particularly good opportunity to explore places well off the beaten track. We will fly from Tokyo to Kagoshima and then on to the island of Yakushima. We explore Yakushima and do a two-day hike over the forested interior of the island. Flying by light aircraft to Kyushu, we then we travel on by road over Mount Aso to the east coast, take a bullet train to Hiroshima , bus to Matsue, and then another train along the beautiful Japan Sea Coast to Kinosaki and Kyoto . Whilst we will be on the move much of the time, there will be times to relax and learn something about the islands, people, and culture of the West. The delicious local food would be worth the trip alone.

Speak to any outdoor guide in Japan and they will recommend you visit Yakushima. The mountainous island is covered in ancient, dense cedar forests. The mightiest of these has a girth of about 28 metres! Trails cross the island, however, and we will spend one night in a mountain hut on our hike. Annual rainfall is high, but November is probably one of the best times to visit. Deer and monkeys thrive on Yakushima. After the hike, we will stay in comfortable cottages by the sea, where we can relax in natural hot springs on the shore. Flying fish are a local delicacy – washed down with the local shochu brew.

Flying back to Kagoshima we will travel by minibus to the volcanic Aso region in central Kyushu. Mount Aso has the largest active caldera (crater) in the world – a circumference of some 128 kilometres. Only the middle is smoking – the surrounding area is lushly fertile. After a night in a lovely local ryokan , we will climb up to rim for a closer look.

Next stop on the tour is the coastal town of Usuki , famous for its Buddhist rock carvings. These were carved into rock faces between the 12 th and 14 th centuries and are designated National Treasures. Usuki has a well-preserved town centre you can explore. From Usuki we will enjoy a morning trip to Beppu for a sand bath on the beach, and lunch.

Our journey then continues by train from Kyushu to Hiroshima on the main island of Honshu . The section from Kokura to Hiroshima will be on the fabled bullet train. We will stay in a modern ryokan next to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park . The Peace Memorial Museum explains, in a vivid way, the reality of the nuclear holocaust. From Hiroshima we take a short ferry ride across to Itsukushima Shrine with its ‘floating' Shinto torii gateway (popularly regarded as one of the three most famous scenes in Japan ) on Miyajima.

Next stop on the tour is Matsue. To get there we have to cross to the Sea of Japan coast, a different prospect to the heavily industrialized Pacific coast. Matsue was the home, for a short time, of the writer and teacher Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904). His observations on life in 19 th century Japan are well worth reading. We will visit his house, situated not far from Matsue Castle . We will take a morning trip by local train from Matsue to look at the Grand Shrine at Izumo, one of the oldest and most important shrines in Japan, and the following day will climb sacred Mount Daisen.

Our next destination is the natural hot spring ( onsen ) town of Kinosaki . We will stay in a quiet part of town, not far from a quiet Zen temple with a wonderful garden. An afternoon pottery session has been arranged at a local pottery with a noborigama or ‘climbing brick kiln'. Your wares will be shipped on to you. Crab is a local speciality, and autumn is the start of the season, so expect some on the menu.

From Kinosaki we will travel by train to the old capital of Kyoto. Activities can easily be arranged in Kyoto or you can enjoy some free time or shopping. Your guide can adapt the time to suit the interests of individual members in the group.

The tour aims to blend some adventurous hiking with less strenuous, cultural activities, all fuelled by good food and company.

DAY-BY-DAY ITINERARY

DAY 1 – SATURDAY MEET IN TOKYO, FLY TO YAKUSHIMA

Group will meet in Tokyo for internal flight from Haneda to Kagoshima in Kyushu. Flight departs Tokyo's Haneda airport. Connecting flight direct to Yakushima.

Overnight minshuku

DAY 2 – SUNDAY DAY TO RELAX ON YAKUSHIMA

We will explore the island today, driving around the coast and enjoying a swim in South China Sea (weather permitting!).

Overnight minshuku

DAY 3 – MONDAY HIKING ON YAKUSHIMA

Early morning start for first day of hiking. We head for the 1,935m peak of Miyanouradake, the highest point in southern Japan, passing some cedar trees reckoned to be many thousands of years old. Yakushima is in the Kirishima National Park, and in 1993 was the first place in Japan to be recognized as a World Heritage Site. Spend night in very basic mountain hut – we will carry sleeping bags and our food for the hike.

Overnight mountain hut

DAY 4 – TUESDAY HIKING ON YAKUSHIMA

We continue along the trail, along high ridges where, weather permitting, we should get some great views. We will pass the largest cedar in Japan , the Jomon sugi, and the massive Wilson stump as we descend from the peaks.

Late afternoon visit to open air hot spring baths beside the sea. Relaxing evening.

Overnight cottage Yakushima

DAY 5 – WEDNESDAY TRAVEL TO KAGOSHIMA

The 2008 tour is spending an extra day on Yakushima following feedback from the 2007 group. There will be time to relax after strenuous hike across the island on the previous two days.

Overnight cottage Yakushima

DAY 6 – THURSDAY TRAVEL TO MOUNT ASO REGION

This morning we will take a morning flight back to Kagoshima. From Kagoshima we will drive to the southern part of the Mount Aso region in the centre of Kyushu . We will have lunch and an afternoon walk in the company of a local ex-pat. Overnight is in an inn with delicious local food and hot spring baths. In the morning you can try your hand at whipping up some macha – powdered green tea (the sort used in the tea ceremony).

Overnight ryokan Uchinomaki

DAY 7 – FRIDAY CLIMB MOUNT ASO AND TRAVEL TO USUKI

This morning we will approach Aso from the north and climb up to the rim, from where we should get good views down into the crater. The walk takes about 5 hours.

After descending we will drive to Usuki, stopping to see the 700 year-old Buddhist stone carvings on the way.

Overnight minshuku Usuki

DAY 8 – SATURDAY USUKI AND BEPPU

In the morning we will travel to Beppu for a hot sand bath in the traditional bathhouse or on the beach. In the afternoon there will free time to wander around the old part of the town of Usuki before dinner.

Overnight minshuku Usuki

DAY 9 – SUNDAY TRAVEL TO HIROSHIMA MIYAJIMA SIGHTSEEING

Local and shinkansen bullet train to Hiroshima in the morning. Visit to Itsukushima shrine on Miyajima island in the afternoon.

Overnight modern ryokan in Hiroshima

DAY 10 – MONDAY HIROSHIMA PEACE PARK AND TRAVEL TO MATSUE

In the morning we will visit Hiroshima 's Peace Memorial Park . After lunch we will travel to Matsue by bus.

Overnight hotel Matsue

DAY 11 – TUESDAY VISIT IZUMO GRAND SHRINE AND SIGHTSEEING IN MATSUE

Today we will take a local train to Izumo to see Izumo Taisha or Grand Shrine. Noodle lunch. In the afternoon we will visit the well-preserved Matsue Castle, and other sites including Lafcadio Hearn's old house and the museum of modern art.

Overnight hotel Matsue

DAY 12 – WEDNESDAY CLIMB MOUNT DAISEN

Today we will climb Mount Daisen , about an hours drive from Matsue, weather permitting. If weather prevents a walk to the top, we will shorten the walk. In either case we will descend via the Daisen shinto shrine.

Overnight hotel Matsue

DAY 13 – THURSDAY TRAVEL TO KINOSAKI AFTERNOON POTTERY

Today we will take a train along the Japan Sea Coast to the pretty, natural hot spring town of Kinosaki. In the afternoon we will visit a pottery. You will have a short lesson, followed by the chance to play with some clay and make something that will always remind you of your adventures with Hike Japan .

Overnight ryokan Kinosaki

DAY 14 – FRIDAY TRAVEL TO KYOTO

This morning we will take a train to Kyoto . After checking in to our hotel, there will be time to see one or two sites before dinner. Activities can be arranged depending on the interests of individual group members.

Overnight hotel in Kyoto

DAY 15 – SATURDAY KYOTO AND BULLET TRAIN TO TOKYO

After a leisurely breakfast, there will be time for enjoying Kyoto sites or simply shopping. Activities for all or part of the day can easily be arranged. We will take the bullet train to Tokyo in the late afternoon. Farewell dinner.

Overnight hotel Tokyo

DAY 16 – SUNDAY TOUR END AND ONWARD TRAVEL

Transfer to airport or travel onward to other destinations.

TRIP NOTES

Equipment & Clothing

On receiving your booking, we send you a dossier which contains a suggested gear and clothing list. If you have any queries at this initial stage do ring us and we will be pleased to offer advice.

Accommodation

YAKUSHIMA: Minshuku, mountain hut, cottage ASO: ryokan USUKI: minshuku HIROSHIMA: modern ryokan, MATSUE: hotel KINOSAKI: ryokan KYOTO: hotel TOKYO: hotel

The mountain hut on Yakushima is very basic with no electricity or running water. We get water from a nearby stream. You will need a rucksack large enough (at least 50 l) to carry a sleeping bag and a share of the food and other supplies for the 2-day hike.

Meal Plan

All meals are provided.

Important Notes

Every effort will be made to keep to the above itinerary, but we cannot make absolute guarantees! Changes to the itinerary will normally be made to introduce an improvement. Weather conditions, road and transport conditions, and the health of walkers can all contribute to changes. The guide will ensure that the trip runs according to plan, but an easy-going nature is an asset!