I’m filled with questions when I look at a map of a place I have never visited.
How do I chunk up a manageable journey through this place? How do I get there? Which areas do I visit? Where are the hiking trails? Where are the trailheads? How do I get around? How do I find a room?
I once stared at a map of Japan and, like most newbies, focused on central Japan. Most visitors stick to this part of the island of Honshu. They visit Tokyo and points south, 4 hours or less by bullet train, Kyoto, Hiroshima. Easy, populous, over-loved.
The first time my partner and I stopped in Japan, we used Kyoto as a base for exploring: a good plan for first-time visitors.
Since that first trip, I’ve found I can go to just about any corner of Japan and find a great place for the solo hiker. I find good trails, decent and inexpensive places to stay and eat, reliable public transport, civility and safety.
If I could visit only one region of Japan, it would be Kagoshima Prefecture on Kyushu, the southernmost of the main islands.
Location of Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan. |
- The city of Kagoshima, and day hikes near the city.
- The island of Yakushima.
- The Kirishima Volcanic Group section of Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park.