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A classic route, Tokugo Pass to Kamikochi

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72th Weston Festival took place on June 3 , Sunday in Kamikochi. So…what/who is Weston ? Walter Weston's tablet Walter Weston was an English missionary and stayed in Japan three times in his life. During his stay in Japan , he climbed a lot of mountains such as Mt. Fuji , Hotaka or Yarigatake , and wrote a book to introduce Japanese mountaineering to overseas countries. Before Weston did that , People in Japan did not hike/climb mountains as a hobby like we do today   ( it was for religious reason or for living ), so , Weston opened our eyes to recreational mountaineering in Japan! Japan Alpine Club thanks his huge contribution , and set a bronze tablet in Kamikochi , and keep holding a “ Weston Festival ” on the first Sunday of June of each year As a part of the festival , it ’ s also been the tradition to walk Tokugo Pass for Kamikochi on the previous day of the festival since 1965… And , I definitely recommend you this route as a one-da...

2018 Season Has Just Started in Kamikochi!

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Happy to post my first blog! We, “Sanken” Committee of Japan Alpine Club (JAC) started this blog to tell some information around Kamikochi, including its history and, Japanese mountaineering, etc.   First, let me explain what Sanken is… Sanken is our chalet and is located in Kamikochi near Kappa-bashi Bridge, of which the name is Sangaku Kenkyusho ( 山岳研究所 , Kamikochi Alpine Research Center), so we call it Sanken for short. This chalet is mainly for research purpose, but it also provides accommodation for the member of JAC. (What’s our research about? I’ll write that in another post in the near future.) On Apr 21 and 22, we worked to open the chalet. It had been covered to avoid the damage from snow during a long winter (since the end of Oct-and mid-Apr.) so we cleaned up.   After we have done, we took a pleasant walk to Myojin. Spring has come here!