Really Rural Japan

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Really Rural Japan

Welcome to Really Rural Japan. This is a space for sharing and promoting the places and things that we love in rural Japan.

From hikes to traditional crafts, festivals to farming. Let's shed a little more light on the best places in Japan.

17/01/2025

Mizuhiki Workshops:

Mizuhiki is an ancient Japanese craft mostly unknown to the world outside of Japan.

Colorful chords are tied into auspicious shapes that often adorn envelopes call kin-pu, used to gift money on special occasions.

Iida City of the Ina Valley makes about 80% of Japan’s mizuhiki and during a workshop you can meet a lifelong master and learn not only the craft, but also their stories and lives.

31/12/2024

A New Year’s Post!

Here is one photo from every month of 2024. There were some huge moments that changed my life forever!

I had a second child.
I published a book.
I grew my small family business into a … slightly bigger small family business.
I lead tours deep in rural in places that no one else has.
I saw old friends and made plenty of new.

All in all a great year and I have my family, friends and fantastic guests to thank for it!

There are some big announcement and things coming up for Really Rural Japan in 2025! But it all takes time so I will announce them when we get there.

I always want to take a chance to pledge something a little odd. In 2025 my New Year’s resolution is … I don’t want to work so hard. Owning a small business is an incredibly motivating experience. So much so that you can be tempted to work incessantly. This coming year, in 2025, I want to commit to sustainability. That means for the environment, the local community and economy, and for me and my family.

This is a year for balance and baby steps in more ways than one!

17/11/2024

Kiso in Autumn:

Today’s guided tour was a wonderful hike through the back mountains of Kiso Fukushima. I chose it for guests as the autumn leaves were simply in peak condition! We didn’t see a soul!

This was followed by a slow soba lunch in Narai Juku and some photography of the town.

For private tours of the Nakasendo and Kiso Valley with local guides …

13/06/2024

A Family Run Business:

On a recent tour, my family came to pick me up afterwards in Magome. We got to have a little photo session too. We are a family of three, soon to be family of four, and my four year old son and wonderful wife make my life here as a guide, busy, balanced, healthy and happy!

Thank you to every one of our guests who supports our small, family run guiding business out here in the Japanese countryside!

For your tours, get in touch on the website!

07/05/2024

Milestone Reached:

50 only 5 Star reviews on TripAdvisor!

After just over one year in business, Really Rural Japan has been extremely fortunate to have loving guests willing to repay the hard work we put into our tours with glowing reviews!

Thank you so much!!!!

06/05/2024

The Torii Pass on the Nakasendo:

Today during a tour on the Torii Pass of the Nakasendo, we bumped into a local craftsman cutting an Oroku Gushi comb by hand from Minebari trees from the nearby forest! These combs have a long history and an uncertain future, but the locals are doing all that they can to protect the traditions and keep the future bright.

29/04/2024

Private Tours on the Nakasendo and in the Kiso and Ina Valleys:

With a busy spring season more than half way through, I finally have made the time for a post! A huge thanks to all of my guests who help me make my dream of being a local guide in rural Japan a reality. Thanks to you I am supporting my family out here and, as my little business grows, I hope to create jobs so that more families can live out here happily in the Japanese countryside and do rewarding work like me.

Our tours are always simple, beautiful and full of passion and detail. At present there are very few English speaking guides out here and we hope to activate a positive change out here so that more local guides help to stimulate this shrinking rural population and economy.

13/03/2024

The Benefits of a Local Guide!

Sometimes the trip that you want and the weather forecast that you crave don’t align. This week Tuesday was one such event! Heavy rain poured down in southern Kiso, but further north, the precipitation came down as dry snow and the forest was about as beautiful as you can imagine. Seeing the forecast, I quickly changed the plan for my Aussie guests. We hiked on an ancient pilgrimage path known as the Ontake Kodo. We still got wet, but a shorter hike in snowy conditions was a whole lot better than a long hike in torrential rain!

06/03/2024

The Seinaiji Kaido in winter:

Today as I arrived at the top of the Nashino Pass of the Seinaji Kaido, I heard an almighty crash. My first thought was that I had awoken a sleepy bear that had broken a branch as it ran away from me. But a few seconds later, another crunching tree snapping sound.

It turns out that the ice attached to the pine trees today was heavy enough to rip huge branches of the trees. Not just the noise, but the sheer pace at which the great arms of the forest were hurtling to the ground was really quite remarkable! Every 5-10 seconds another roar!

The Seinaiji Kaido once linked Tsumago of the Nakasendo in the Kiso Valley with Iida in the Ina Valley. I wonder if this same phenomenon could be heard in the Edo period by travelers on the ancient roads.

05/03/2024

Our commitment to sustainability:

One of the things I often hear from my guests visiting Japan is their shock at the amount of plastic that Japan wastes on its food and drink. This is a hygiene obsessed, gift giving culture and so many companies struggle to wrap their heads around the idea of plastic free service. I was also surprised to hear that other travel agencies in the area are perpetuating the problem.

We encourage and source as environmentally friendly lunches and food for our tours as we can. Recently a restaurant that we use has started offering plastic free bamboo leaf bento. It is delicious and perfect for a hike! I am so glad to be part of this change and can’t wait to share more of these bentos with our guests!

31/01/2024

Nakasendo Guidebook Now For Sale!!!

Really Rural Japan has a big announcement to make! For the last two years and two months I have been slavishly working weekends and late night while running a full time job creating a guidebook to the Nakasendo!

It will be available on Amazon all around the world both on kindle and in paperback form from tomorrow (Feb 1)! Look for the title “Hiking the Nakasendo - The Samurai Road of the Kiso Valley and Beyond”.

It’s full of hiking guides, maps, photos, travel advice, and loads, loads more!

Making this book has been the hardest thing I have ever done! It has been a huge journey and has made me into an extremely knowledgeable local guide (if I say so myself) and taught me so much about the area and about myself.

If you can, please show some love and buy the book that I spent so long making and make the Nakasendo your next hiking adventure in Japan!

21/01/2024

Finally a real snow day on the Nakasendo this year!

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