First impressions of the industrial outer suburbs of Tokyo - a seemingly endless display of concrete and elevated highways - give little clue about the natural pleasures of coming days. Following the meeting your guide will take you to a local restaurant (meal is at own cost) followed by an optional night tour, typically to Shinjuku and/or Shibuya, to sample Tokyo’s neon lights (transport is at own cost). We will have an important tour briefing at approximately 6.00pm, so please check with reception for the exact time and location. On arrival you will need to make your own way to the group hotel. At every step of the way craft and cuisine will round out your Japanese experience, with encounters with locals adding a memorable human dimension. Our Japanese walking based journey ends in another throbbing metropolis - Osaka, a mercantile Mecca. Keeping to the backroads theme we have discrete opportunities to experience temple gardens, peerless Buddhist arts and architecture and the bohemian street culture of the ancient capital. Between these hinterland adventures are a few special days in Kyoto the “Florence of Japan” due to its endless fine art treasures, unique sense of identity, and walk-friendly environment. Japan’s original Buddhist monks proved their faith on this trail in the 7th century, when the mainland religion found its place among the esoteric native Shinto. Travelling by train and bus we head to the Kiso Valley and hike along an historic trail, the legendary trade route which connected the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It begins with a brief immersion into the maze of Tokyo, before heading into the countryside to gaze at the nation’s symbol, Mount Fuji from a suitable ringside seat: the top of one of its surrounding hills. The itinerary is interspersed with interesting urban explorations. Accompanied by expert leaders, you will hike through places of natural beauty and hinterland sites of deep significance.
This walking tour of Japan wanders around the cultural barrier and into territory that Japanese hold sacred. From a distance it may seem that the old Samurai-and-Geisha traditions have given way to the mechanical marvels of consumer culture, but come closer and you will find a society shaped by deeply ingrained values, with many living traditions. The mountains – the main terrain of this tour - are surprisingly unpopulated.
Those flatter lands are where the bulk of the population lives. Fly over Japan and you will see that the entire archipelago is mountainous except for a narrow strip of coastal shelf, a few broad inland basins and some river valleys. The Kaisando Hall is dedicated to the temple's founder, Jikaku Daishi, while the Nokyodo was used for copying sutra.You may not have considered it, but Japan is a superb walking destination. One of Yamadera's most famous buildings, the Kaisando Hall and the smaller, adjacent Nokyodo building are located up and to the left of the gate. The area is open and affords wonderful views out into the valley, in contrast to the lack of views along the ascent through the forest.
Past the Niomon Gate there are many temple buildings at various points along the mountainside. Shortly after, visitors will reach the Niomon Gate, built in the 19th century and one of the temple's newer buildings, from where the upper temple area begins. Near the top, the route passes by the massive Mida Hora rock, which is shaped like Amida Buddha. There are stone lanterns and small statues in the surrounding forest along the way that make for an atmospheric hike. The stone path up the mountain has about 1000 steps, which might make the approach difficult for some visitors. Temple buildings in the upper area of the temple grounds