Introducing: Walk Japan
We are delighted to announce that we are now handling the PR for Walk Japan, the pioneering operator of walking tours in Japan.
- About Walk Japan -
Founded in 1992, Walk Japan specialises in fully guided and self guided walking experiences, exploring the diverse landscapes and rich heritage of Japan. With an unrivalled range of walking tours across the length and breadth of the country, Walk Japan’s focus is firmly on opening up beautiful and interesting areas of Japan, many little known, that are otherwise difficult to access and fully appreciate.
The company’s expertise is rooted in study trips originally run by two Hong Kong University academics, Tom Stanley and Richard Irving, for their students of Japanese history and Japanese social geography. These study trips developed into Walk Japan’s tours over 30 years ago, created for people who like to walk and also like to learn, understand and appreciate. Walk Japan’s experiences bring this fascinating country up close by mixing with its people and their way of life, offering the chance to see Japan through a local lens.
Scheduled small group tours run at a maximum of 12 people plus a dedicated Tour Leader, many of whom have long experience across a broad range of businesses in Japan including the media, agriculture, commerce, arts, finance, academia and tourism, in addition to their role. Walk Japan also operates a variety of self guided tours, and private custom tours tailored to particular interests and requirements. The latter include educational tours for schools and other major travel organisations around the world.
All tours are physically active to varying degrees, to match almost everyone’s abilities - from gentle walking, through trail walking to mountain trekking. Wherever possible the tours make full use of public transport with its many varied, very pleasant and efficient guises, and local businesses such as delightful family-run inns, temple accommodation and local restaurants.
- Community Project -
Complementing the positive impact of its tours, which impact local communities of lesser-known areas in positive and sustainable ways, Walk Japan began a Community Project in 2007 to help reinvigorate Kyushu’s beautiful Kunisaki Peninsula, where the company’s in-country operations are headquartered.
A long-term, ever growing venture, and particular passion of Walk Japan CEO Paul Christie, it is today a model of sustainable tourism development, centred on agriculture, forestry, restoration of vacant buildings, support of local farming, and care of public land. Walk Japan provides well-paid employment at their offices in a locality that has few other job opportunities, attracting young people in particular to come to live and work in Kunisaki, rejuvenating the local society which has an ageing population like many rural areas. Volunteers from around the world come to learn and become a part of the project’s many initiatives. Through the Community Project, Walk Japan provides viable and practical examples of what can be achieved in turning around a declining rural community.
In 2022, Walk Japan celebrated 30 years as the leading walking operator in Japan by the purchase of a 5.3 acre cedar plantation, which had been left unattended for many years. As a part of the Walk Japan Community Project, the company has undertaken the decades-long responsibility to regenerate it as an ecologically diverse, sustainable environment - a mixed woodland supporting a variety of wild flowers, lichens, wild mushrooms, insects, birds and animals.
- Latest Tour Offerings -
Michinoku Coastal Trail and Self Guided Michinoku Coastal Trail, North Honshu
These new walks take in the best sections along the 637-mile Michinoku Shiokaze Coastal Trail available as a fully guided or self-guided tour. Starting in Hachinohe and ending in Kesennuma, travellers follow along the trail of the spectacular Sanriku Coast in Japan’s northern Tohoku region, weaving through beaches, cliff tops, and coastal communities, all with spectacular views over the Pacific Ocean and intricately carved coastline. Offered April - June and September - November.
Michinoku Coastal Trail is a 9 day, 8 night tour; starting at 460,000 Japanese yen (approx £2,680) per person, based on double occupancy.
Self Guided Michinoku Coastal Trail is a 10 day, 9 night tour; starting at 274,000 Japanese yen (approx £1,595) per person, based on double occupancy.
Shio-no-Michi: The Salt Road, Central Honshu
The Shio-no-michi: The Salt Road tour follows an ancient trade route through coastal towns and mountain villages. Traversing the glorious rural scenery of snow-capped mountains, beech forests, and clear streams, this tour offers a glimpse into the lives of the porters and other travellers who journeyed along this once vital route, instrumental in providing supplies deeper inland. Offered year-round.
Shio-no-michi: The Salt Road is a 9 day, 8 night tour; starting at 420,000 Japanese yen (approx £2,450) per person, based on double occupancy.
Self Guided Kunisaki Wayfarer, Kyushu
A new self-guided walking tour following ancient paths once trodden by monks on the little-known and less-visited Kunisaki Peninsula, Kunisaki Wayfarer offers walking enthusiasts an exceptional pilgrimage on foot, which follows rugged forest trails and quiet country lanes, leading guests from temple to temple through verdant and remote countryside. With daily walking distances between 6.2 and 9.3 miles, this active adventure starts at the Usa Grand Shinto Shrine, one of Japan’s most important, and ends in Himeshima, a delightful island on the Seto Inland Sea. Offered January - June and September - December.
Self Guided Kunisaki Wayfarer is a 6 day, 5 night tour; starting at 180,000 Japanese yen (approx £1,050) per person, based on double occupancy.
Self-Guided Tokaido Wayfarer, Central Honshu
This self-guided walking and gastronomic adventure follows the central section of Japan’s greatest ancient highway, the Tokaido, in Kanagawa and Shizuoka Prefectures, which connected Tokyo and Kyoto during the Edo period. Renowned for its varied scenery of rural landscapes, picturesque coastal stretches, and charming historic towns, guests gain a deeper understanding of these areas through sampling meibutsu, “famous items” of the region. Offered year round.
Self Guided Tokaido Wayfarer is a 6 day, 5 night tour; starting at 170,000 Japanese yen (approx £990) per person, based on double occupancy.
Onsen Gastronomy Series
In collaboration with the Onsen Gastronomy Tourism Association, Walk Japan has developed a new series of Onsen Gastronomy tours. These carefully curated journeys celebrate the rich traditions of Japanese bathing culture, focusing on the revitalizing ritual of bathing in onsen hot spring baths and indulging in the exquisite flavours of seasonal delights. Spanning up to five days, each tour offers a blend of leisurely and guided walking experiences, traversing easy terrains with daily distances ranging up to 10 kilometres.
Onsen Gastronomy: Oita & Kumamoto, Kyushu
Commencing in the heart of the onsen capital of Japan, Beppu, where the essence of the city identity is deeply rooted in its centuries old, vibrant onsen culture. This tour encompasses Oita and the north-east corner of Kumamoto Prefectures in the centre of Kyushu, a region renowned for its richly varied, rural landscapes, the high quality of its food sourced from the fertile land, pristine rivers and the surrounding seas, and particularly for its abundance of onsen hot springs. Offered year round.
Onsen Gastronomy: Oita & Kumamoto is a 5 day, 4 night tour; starting at 316,000 Japanese yen (approx £1,845) per person, based on double occupancy.
Onsen Gastronomy: Gifu, Central Honshu
On this tour, participants will venture through the northern Gifu region. This largely remote region captivates with its mountain ranges, dramatic valleys, elevated plateaus, and hidden hamlets. The onsen hot springs in this area complement the captivating landscapes, providing a rejuvenating and harmonious retreat. Offered year round.
Onsen Gastronomy: Gifu is a 5 day, 4 night tour; starting at 344,000 Japanese yen (approx £2,005) per person, based on double occupancy.