Why I’m Hiking the 100 Famous Mountains Of Yamagata
Why would anyone in their right mind want to climb 100 mountains?
In short, because it’s fun.
It's hard to describe to anyone who hasn’t been up on a mountain on a stormy day, who hasn’t seen the sunrise through a literal sea of clouds (Unkai in Japanese), or who hasn’t witnessed nature at her best.
Climbing mountains is fun! The more you climb, the more you want to climb!
So I finally updated my main mountains project page. It was getting a bit too full what with all the mountains I was climbing, and it slowed the page right down, especially on mobile.
What you’ll see now is an extensive piece on not only why I’m climbing the mountains, but why I think you should too. There’s just too much to discover for one blog post, so I’ve separated the mountains into categories, you’ll see what I mean. This should make it much easier to navigate, and hopefully better convince you to come here and check the place out for yourself.
Kia ora koutou
Kia ora koutou. Tim Bunting the Kiwi Yamabushi here bringing you mindfulness tips and hiking guides straight from the Japanese mountains.
Any Medium.com users out there?
I also cross post all my articles on Medium.com, so you can read them there if you prefer.
Plus, I’m three followers away from being able to join the Medium Partner Program. This is one way in which you could support my work so I can bring more of it to you. The best thing is, it’s free for you!
What I’m reading
I was reading The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Murakami Haruki in the original Japanese, which I can do, but it’s a bit of an effort (If you’re learning a second language, always read something you know at least 95% of the words for). So I switched it for some of his work in English; A Wild Sheep Chase, and I must say, it makes for much easier reading for me. He’s a bit of a surrealist, so if that’s not your taste, sorry. Otherwise, anyone who enjoys reading fiction should enjoy this one!
Here are my posts for the week: December 30, 2022 to January 5, 2023:
Start with what you can do
The exercise you do, is the exercise you should do.
Made a mistake? Use this simple Japanese philosophy.
The Mandalorian famously translates it as ‘this is the way’. But how would you translate the word ‘do’, as in Judo, Kado, Sado, Kendo, or in my case, Shugendo?
Wanna write a daily blog? Do this.
Tips from a serial blogger (4 years and counting)
Why I’m Hiking the 100 Famous Mountains Of Yamagata
For fun. But also to put this must-see prefecture on the map.
Why you should prioritise tasks by utility
A tip for getting past those tedious tasks
A world of difference
Be kind to yourself
Keep the scoreboard ticking over
Maintaining that all important momentum
See any you like? Let me know!
Dreaming of spring
Yudono-san Jinja Torii (shrine gates) at the lunar new year in February last year. One of my all-time favourite hikes. I won’t be able to this year, but if you’re in Japan, consider joining Shida-san on this epic snowshoe hike! Details are here in Japanese, and you can watch a video of the experience I made here:
That’s all for this week!
Thanks for reading this far. As always, feel free to unsubscribe if this isn’t what you’re after. If it is, and you think someone else would enjoy it, please consider sharing it with them!
Ka kite ano.
Tim.
Hello Tim, It would be extremely helpful if you could create some sort of pilgrimage guide through the mountains you hike.