River trekking / tracing in Japan
I already traveled Japan a couple of times. Resources here helped me plan my trips quite a bit.
Last year though I traveled to Taiwan and more or less stumbled into river trekking / tracing there. At the time I didn't know what it was as I just wanted to explore the area and I overheard a conversation of the hostel owner and an awesome english guy recommending a "hiking" trail, which is supposedly the best experience in the area if you are fit.
Long story short I joined him on the trail and it turned out to be the best single experience from the trip. The trail involved hiking, some climbing and swimming and ended at a big waterfall.
Next year I'm planning a 6 month long trip around asia, but probably will be spending a lot of that time in Japan. In the last couple of days I looked for information about river trekking in Japan, because according to wikipedia it is a traditional sport in Japan. It's really hard to find proper information in english about it though, therefor I want to ask if any of you have any information about it? Maybe some of you already did something similar and don't mind sharing the experience.
Also don't hesitate to ask questions about the experience and if you are interested in doing it.
Posted Sep 27, 2019, 12:58 PM UTC
沢登り sawanobori might yield you more results for Japan. Pretty fun stuff! Montbell shops usually have a good stock of equipment
Yeah that's what I was looking for! Can't believe I couldn't find it myself. Thank you so much!
Did you do some of these? If so can you recommend a nice trail?
I haven’t done it but for a while I was toying with the idea of getting gear and doing it. They should have some guide books and information at Montbell stores or other outdoor shops
I have some experience of Sawanobori. It is fun splashing play in summer and I love it. If you have enough climbing skill, you will have fun.
Depending on the course, there has some grade, from easy to very difficult. Even in easy course, it has the risk of fatal accident. Some people die every year. I also had some experience of ground fall, but I’m still alive.
As for the gear, you need helmet, harness and special boots with felt sole or special rubber sole.
In suburbs of Tokyo, there are a lot of courses, in Okutama, Okuchichibu, Tanzawa and Okumusashi area.
If you would like to try, I recommend you to join a guide tour.
From what I found guided tours were fairly expensive. I know the equipment as I have done it in Taiwan, although without the helmet (was also not a guided tour, just got the gear rented for free from the hostel I stayed in)
I also don't really fancy a lot of climbing. When I'm looking at sawanobori images I often see steep cliffs and waterfalls that people are climbing, My only climbing experience comes from the Taiwan trip, so I would not want to do one where you have to climb a lot, so more on the easier side. Thanks for the input.