High Adventure in Japan
Hiking, climbing, and canyoning in the land of robots, bullet trains, and futuristic toilets

October 3 - 14, 2018 -- compiled by Jeff DePree
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Jeff DePree
Michael W.
Climbing the Obelisk

Rigging a ladder rung anchor to cross the top of a deadly drop
Goshikiga Falls
The Obelisk from afar
A final sandy climb
From the boulder field
A precarious anchor to belay up the others

Road Tripping, Museums, and Caves

Our free campsite at a roadside waterfall
Monitoring the maglev test track - the train passes the viewing platform at 504km/h!
We relied on these machines for most of our coffee - luckily they're on every corner!
400 yen udon
Bat cave (we saw no bats)
Informative map
I cannot explain this.
Made by professional geographers
Mt. Fuji Train
Thomas Train

The Traverse

Japan has 10 times the number of fall colors Colorado has
Hut with beer delivered by helicopter
One of many ladders on the route to the summit
Le Gendarme
Knife edge
Take the escape route or continue to the second half of the traverse?
Tic-tac-toe trail marking system

Matsumoto: Castles and Capsules

Onsen rules
Foot onsen (clothes permitted)
Almost a PSL
Noodle soup #23
Craft breweries are now in many Japanese towns, but a pint costs about 5 times as much as a Sapporo or Asahi
This sliding door sign is likely the most exciting aspect of the scale museum (but we didn't pay to find out)
One of Japan's most famous castles
Mustachioed samurai suits
Umbrella locker
Riding to the wasabi farm
Wasabi river
So many horse options!
The capsules
Room with a view

Tokyo: Monsters and Hedgehogs

Our artsy bus
Understated robot restaurant
Godzilla head looming over Shinjuku
One of many animal cafes
Creepy monster restaurant
Alice in Wonderland shop

Tokyo: Ghibli to Gundam

Morning sumo training
Capsule machines
View from Japan Post
Set lunch
Giant steampunk clock
We were forced to put wooden rollers on our bikes for the mile-long rainbow bridge
20m-tall gundam robot

Summiting Mount Fuji

One of many closed huts
Map of the crater
Crater
Summit machinery
One of the world's priciest toilets

Circling Shibuya

"Set breakfast with raw egg"
Mid-city Mario Kart race.
Instructions on how to make pancake
Ingredients for making your own super-spicy savory pancake
Typical Japanese fauna
Two out of the dozens of animal cafes scattered about Shibuya
My tiny $12 capsule suite, complete with a desk and what appears to be a drink cooler.

Back to Haneda

Typical fast food window display - very useful for those who speak zero Japanese.
Only 530 yen for beef curry and hot seaweed soba!
I am sure craving some reasonably priced fatty tuna!
Perhaps the country's cheapest coffee vending machine - 47 cents for a hot coffee!
Climbing the Obelisk
Road Tripping, Museums, and Caves
The Traverse
Matsumoto: Castles and Capsules
Tokyo: Monsters and Hedgehogs
Tokyo: Ghibli to Gundam
Summiting Mount Fuji
Circling Shibuya
Back to Haneda