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Johan Kruseman
A day later, I was in the Japanese Alps. And the Japanese take them seriously, very seriously. Although the mountains there had peaks just above 3000 meters with a few scattered patches of snow and perfectly maintained hiking trails, every Japanese person was prepared to climb Mount Everest: helmet on, walking stick in both hands, climbing shoes, ankle gaiters, and a North Face logo wherever there was 5cm of space.
When I arrived in my unbranded shorts and t-shirt and sneakers, I was stopped three times with words like “super dangerous” and “maybe not so good for you.” The last person was so concerned that I was only allowed to continue when I mentioned that I had hiked in the Himalayas before (I left out the part about doing the first half of a two-week trek there in flip-flops to prevent the poor ranger from having a heart attack).
Traveled route: Nagoya, Tokio, Mount Fuji, Japanese Alps, Takayama, Kioto, Osaka
