Travellers' ChecksSelf-guided hikes in Japan; Furama goes boutique in Koh Samui; Qingdao beer fest deal
Japan is ‘one of the hiking world’s best-kept secrets’, according to one guidebook publisher, but without English you’ll struggle. Guided-hiking tour companies are a solution
Guidebook publisher Lonely Planet rates Japan as “one of the hiking world’s best-kept secrets”, and rival Rough Guides waxes lyrical about “active volcanoes to tackle, epic long-distance pilgrimage routes once smoothed by the feet of emperors, and steep hikes that take you from the beach to lofty peaks thousands of metres above the sea”. My own hiking endeavours have been less ambitious, been shorter and usually involved getting seriously lost for several hours. (Asking for directions in English in Tokyo can be hit and miss; out in the countryside, you’d better have either a good phrasebook or a good sense of humour – and a tent.)
Hot springs and heavenly hikes in Japan's Kumano region
Guided-hiking tour company WalkJapan began sending tourists out on their own last year, with its Wayfarer Self-Guided Tours of part of the Nakasendo Imperial route between Tokyo and Kyoto. Now, a second self-conducted walk has been added to the Wayfarer portfolio, following the Kumano Kodo (above) pilgrimage route, a Unesco World Heritage site. The seven-day hike winds through some of the country’s most spectacular scenery, with pre-arranged accommodation at family-run inns (assuming you can find them, of course).