Upcoming Hikes 19th to 26th October 2025 Highlights include: Hiking on good trails and back roads for about 70km along the ancient Shio-no-michi, or Salt Trail, that starts on the Sea of Japan and climbs up through a deep river valley to 1,000m along the foot of the North Alps. The trail was used by […]
Hike the Ancient Salt Trail Read More »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbkB5W0svns&t=1sAustralian Sarah Àlainn sets off on a journey to discover the charms of Hakuba Valley outside of the winter season. Walking along the Shio-no-Michi (Salt Road), she showcases its nature, food and culture. Located in the Hakuba Valley is the Shio-no-Michi (Salt Road), which was used to carry salt from the Japan Sea to inland
Walking the Shio no Michi with Sarah Àlainn Read More »
by Aidan Ross McFarlane | CRAFT Weaving may not be at the forefront of everyone’s mind when you think of exciting activities for the weekend, but we invite you to open your mind to a type of weaving that is all about self-expression and making deliberate mistakes to foster a unique piece of art that reflects
Saori Weaving: 6 Things You Need to Know Read More »
April 2021 The last stage of the Shionomichi Trail going into Matsumoto was not nearly as boring as I thought it might be. Our daughter, Nicola, accompanied me so that might have made it more interesting as she doesn’t tolerate navigation errors and so I had to be on my toes! I assumed it would
Shionomichi Trail – Toyoshina to Matsumoto Read More »
This Spring I decided to walk the last 40 kilometers of the Shionomichi Trail going to the start/finish of the trail in Matsumoto. I did it on two separate days about a month apart. Spring is a wonderful season in the high plains and mountains of Nagano as the earth starts to warm up again
Shionomichi Trail in Spring Read More »
One of the scenic highlights of walking the Shionomichi (Salt Trail) are the views of the awe-inspiring North Alps. The entire length of the 120-kilometer Shionomichi trail runs along the bottom of these mountains that rise to over 3,000 meters and include some of the best skiing, snowboarding, and alpine hiking spots in Japan. There
A pleasant hike up into the North Alps Read More »
After a long and damp rainy season, Kazuko and I were bursting to get out and do some long- distance walking, but we didn’t think our legs would be up to tackling a mountain peak yet. So we thought what better place to walk then the scenic and gentle second half of the Shionomichi (Salt
Summer walk on the Shionomichi Read More »
We hope that however and wherever you have been spending the Covid-19 lockdown that you are staying physically and mentally healthy. Hopefully, we can all get through this tough time without getting sick and losing our incomes. Hopefully too, we can start getting out and about and eventually being able to travel to Japan to
Spring Greetings from Japan! Read More »
Ever since I first came to Japan and backpacked around western Japan for 2 months during my summer university vacation over 45 years ago, I have been fascinated by Japanese architecture. I couldn’t believe that the great big temples, shrines and castles that I visited on that first trip, like the Todaiji in Nara, Izumo
Why I like to live in a kominka (farmhouse) Read More »
ShumiStay Japan customers who have been on some of our trips will have encountered various museums and archeological sites associated with the Jomon period 3,000 to 5,000 years ago. This interesting article indicates that there is a revival in learning and experiencing the Jomon culture. https://features.japantimes.co.jp/jomon-revival/ Here is a photo of one of our groups
Jomon cultural revival Read More »
