About Me
Why I Started This Blog
Hello everyone! Thank you for stopping by my new blog. My name is Yamato, and I’m Japanese living in Kyoto with my wonderful wife and kids. I was born in the Kansai area of Japan, where I also grew up.During my twenties and thirties, I spent several years living overseas, traveling the world and working abroad, until I finally found my place back here in Japan. Now, I’m excited to share my hiking experiences and hidden spots around Kyoto with you, hoping that you’ll discover the same joy and wonder I do every day.
A Spark of Inspiration
I want to start this blog by sharing how it all began. In the early 2000s, I was a backpacker wandering through Southeast Asia, India, and Europe, traveling alone in what I can only describe as a youthful “moratorium period.”Back then, there were no smartphones like we have today. Sure, we had internet cafés, email, and maybe Skype, but the best way to get local information was talking face-to-face with people. We asked fellow backpackers on trains or buses, or we chatted with friendly shopkeepers for tips on where to go. We even wrote helpful notes in old-fashioned guesthouse notebooks to guide each other. It was a time when curiosity naturally led us to real human connections.
Nowadays, everyone—including me—relies on smartphones. When we travel, we open Google Maps, use apps like Uber or Grab to get around, pay with our phones, and rarely talk to local people. In Kyoto, I often see visitors glued to their screens, missing out on the personal interactions that make travel so enriching. Of course, we can’t blame them—technology is convenient, and that’s simply how the world works now. But that’s precisely why I want to share the real, lived experiences that aren’t always found on a screen.
Kyoto Through My Eyes
Kyoto has long been one of Japan’s most renowned tourist destinations. A few decades ago, I never would have imagined it becoming so crowded with visitors from around the world. If you stroll through well-known spots like Kiyomizu-dera(清水寺） or Fushimi Inari Taisha（伏見稲荷大社）, the sheer number of people can sometimes feel overwhelming. Even so, I’ve come to love Kyoto’s quieter corners—hidden shrines, lesser-known temples, and small hiking trails that wind through bamboo forests or lead to secret mountain viewpoints.
These places rarely appear in guidebooks, or if they do, they get just a tiny paragraph overshadowed by the more famous attractions. My hope is to introduce these hidden gems to you, so you can escape the usual crowds. After all, a great journey isn’t just about visiting top landmarks—it’s about discovering the soul of a place and forming your own personal connection with it.
From the Himalayas to Kyoto Hills
You might be wondering how I got so passionate about hiking. Well, over a decade ago, while I was backpacking, I lived in a Himalayan mountain village. Each morning, I would wake up, sip chai, and gaze at the snow-capped peaks. I was completely captivated by the raw, untamed beauty of nature there—its vastness and constant change. My daily routine involved hiking farther and farther into the surrounding hills, discovering new paths that weren’t on any map. One day, I even stumbled upon a giant snake sunbathing and encountered a vulture. Luckily, I never ran into bears or snow leopards, so I managed to avoid any real danger.
Sometimes, I’d invite fellow backpackers to join me on these explorations. We’d build a small bonfire in the woods and brew coffee together. Through these simple, shared experiences, I learned that walking side by side in nature can forge powerful connections, even between strangers. This sense of camaraderie is what sparked my enduring love for hiking, and it’s something I still cherish today.
Now that I’m back in Japan, I feel a similar calling here in Kyoto. The mountainous scenery may not be as towering as the Himalayas, but there’s a peaceful, spiritual feeling in the forests and shrines tucked away in these hills. I sense the echoes of history in every step, and it reminds me of the joy I felt guiding people in those distant mountain passes. By sharing these hidden trails and overlooked corners, I hope to reconnect with that same sense of camaraderie and discovery.
My aim is to create a blog filled with authentic stories and practical insights, free from the typical “best-kept secret!” marketing hype. Yes, I might use affiliate links here and there to keep this project going, but my true passion is to help fellow travelers find the magic in Kyoto’s natural and cultural treasures. I believe travel should be about genuine curiosity, open conversations, and the excitement of discovering the unknown.
If you’ve read this far, I hope you’ll stick around for future posts. Together, let’s uncover Kyoto’s less-traveled paths, share in the spirit of mindful exploration, and maybe even revive that old-fashioned culture of helping each other. With just a little curiosity and the willingness to look beyond our smartphones, we can still make those real, human connections that make travel so enriching.