Long Distance Trails

We took the first step of over 1000km of thru-hike on Michinoku Coastal Trail (MCT: みちのく潮風トレイル.) Day 1 was 28.2km for 7.5 hours walking through Soma city (相馬市.)

Day 2 of our Michinoku Coastal Trail (MCT: みちのく潮風トレイル) thru-hike was 27.4km for 8.5 hours hiking on Mt. Karou (鹿狼山) and through yamamoto town (山元町).

Day 3 of our Michinoku Coastal Trail (MCT: みちのく潮風トレイル) thru-hike was 20.8km for 7.5 hours of peaks and ridge line walking on Watari horst mountains (亘理地塁山地).

We have been lucky with the weather situation since Day 1. Today was supposed to be raining again, but when we woke up and opened the hotel room curtains, the sun was already high in the sky, shining brightly, and outside even looked already hot. In Japan, we call a person who usually gets good weather whenever and …

The Routein Hotel Natori ルートインホテル名取 we stayed last night was only two stations away from the Sendai International Airport 仙台国際空港 terminal station. Though the airport area strangely lacked accommodations, the convenient airport line provides travelers with swift and easy access to downtown Natori and …

Our last night’s accommodation, Dormy Inn Express Sendai Port, had an amazingly large hot spring, so we regained our energy. As the estimated walking distance for today was about 15 km, which was relatively shorter than the past few days, we enjoyed a slow morning and had a nice breakfast buffet at the hotel dining …

A detailed instructions for smooth travel on the complicated sea route and hiking through the Urato Islands part of Michinoku Coastal Trail (MCT: みちのく潮風トレイル.)

Yesterday, while we were walking around those ancient historical sites in Tagajo city, I made a phone call to the MCT supporter fisherman named Suzuki-san, who was going to take us on his boat to our goal for today. From his voice and the way of talking, he seemed very nice and friendly. He told us the weather for t…

During the fifty days of our hike on the Michinoku Coastal Trail, we always booked accommodations to secure our beds in the walls and roofs for the next seven days or eight. It was mainly because we needed to plan how and where to send our camping gear boxes.We always used Yamato delivery service (we call them “blac…

Day 20 of our Shikoku pilgrimage walk was special in some ways. As all of the administrative things regarding Erik’s visa extension and our moving were finally taken care of, there will not be anything that may try to keep us from just walking forward. From here, no more complicated traveling back and forth; we shou…

It is too bad that the Kamo-michi かも道 route is so underrated among walking pilgrims despite its historical value, beautiful and various scenery, and several sites with interesting stories along the 4.5 km trail. The oldest Shikoku Pilgrimage trail on record The Kamo-michi is called “the oldest pilgrimage trail in…

MCT thru-hikers need at least three days to cover all the island parts on the official route. They are concentrated in the southern parts of the MCT route. That means sea travel happens at a very early stage of the MCT thru-hike for the northbound hikers. On the other hand, the southbound hikers will come just befor…

Throughout the MCT, which section is the hardest to reach?  It is, no doubt, Mt. Kinkasan Island 金華山, the last one of the three “islands” sections. It is not only the hardest to reach but also the most expensive place to get to — at least for us- and the most thorough preplanning is required.   Too…

After we returned to our hotel last evening, the drizzle quickly turned into pouring and continued all night.  Still, we were very optimistic and relaxed because the evening weather forecast expected the rain to calm down by this morning. We soaked in a big hot onsen all to ourselves, enjoyed our dinner, and ha…

The excellent view through the windows of our room at Zuiko was even better this morning. The seawater was lighter blue and more transparent, calmly shimmering under the morning sun.  The rain clouds and cold wind had gone. We slept well last night as Zuiko was pretty quiet inside and outside. Surprisingly, tho…

Onagawa, an ideal rest-day town Almost two weeks had passed since we started from the MCT Southern Terminus in Soma. It was about time to take a much-needed rest day.As much as we wished we could spontaneously stop and take a rest day, the lodging situation and hiking environment in Japan don’t work well with it. We…