Category: Japan

Beyond the Narrow Road to the Deep North

I’m drawn to places at the end of train lines. Today, my backpack and I head to Wakkanai in the north of Hokkaido. It’s as far north as you can go without entering Russia. Until about 150 years ago, Hokkaido was almost completely wilderness. The indigenous Ainu were able to live somewhat traditional lives while under… Continue reading Beyond the Narrow Road to the Deep North

Fictional Hokkaido

I was on a train, traveling through darkness. The elderly woman next to me asked if it would be OK if we chatted. She was on her way to her home on Shikoku having stayed with friends on Honshu. I was returning to my base after cycling on bridges and islands across Japan’s Inland Sea.… Continue reading Fictional Hokkaido

Tracing a Victorian Woman’s Hokkaido Journey

In the summer of 1878, Isabella Bird sailed from Aomori in the north of Honshu to Hakodate in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island of any size. She then sought undeveloped places beyond Hakodate. When she returned home to Edinburgh, Scotland, she published a book of her letters, Unbeaten Tracks in Japan. It’s still in print and available… Continue reading Tracing a Victorian Woman’s Hokkaido Journey