Hi there, my name is Sam! I am an intern for Heroes made in Asia. Last year I had the opportunity to live in Japan for 8 months. I lived in Osaka where I had an internship at a small event company. In this article I will be sharing some of my favorite ways and places to enjoy the nature in Japan!
During my time in Osaka, I stayed in a share house with a diverse group of people. These people had amazing suggestions on what I could do in Osaka and surroundings. Although most people come to Japan for anime, culture and the amazing cities, but I can really recommend you to also enjoy the beautiful nature. I would love to share some of my suggestions with you, so you can enjoy the nature in Japan as much as I did on your next adventure!
Also, stay tuned for my next article. I will write about some fun activities you can do in Osaka and other Japanese cities.
Like I said before, the nature is beautiful! There are amazing hiking routes everywhere in Japan, so of course also near Osaka!
The first route I can suggest is the Namaze – Takedao train tracks trail. It is a pretty and exciting route, where you walk on the old train tracks. You go through dark tunnels and follow the tracks from the old train route. During the route you can enjoy the charming scenery of the nature, mountains and bridges. On the way I’ve only seen a few people so, it’s a great way to escape the bustling city of Osaka!
There are a variety of hiking routes near Minoh waterfalls and Kitsouji temple. I just followed the signs that are all over the mountains. It is a beautiful place to walk. You can walk to the impressive Minoh waterfalls. It can be a pretty busy place, but because there are many different routes in the mountains it will be less busy on the way. To find one of the viewpoints you can follow the Japanese route signs. Al in all, there are great hiking routes for every kind of person in this area!
You can also choose to go to the less famous, -yet still beautiful- waterfalls near Osaka, such as the Goko Falls and the Takihatshijuhachi falls. There are great hiking routes and the waterfalls are definitely worth the effort!
A few tips
You can find great walking and biking routes throughout Japan on AllTrails. Do you travel solo? On the MeetUp-app you have walking groups so that you don’t have to hike alone! On the day you will meet many solo travelers and other people. It is a great way to meet new people for your next hike. If you don’t want to go on a hike, there are many other groups for things like going out for a drink and spot groups.
Are you in Tokyo and want to hike but don’t know fun walking routes? No problem! On Hokeniryo you have different walking routes from one JR station to the next station. There are hiking routes across Temples, nature and much more.
Do you prefer to bike instead of walking? You can easily rent a bike in Japan and cycle through the most beautiful places.
Do you love cycling, but don’t want to go through the hassle of finding and planning your biking trips? There are all-in cycling vacations in Japan. They offer many packs and will plan everything for you. It is on the pricier side but a great option non the less. Do you want a more affordable option? You can always rent a bike and go to beautiful places yourself.
Here are some fun and pretty cycling routes:
Awaji island
You can bike around the island in 2 or 3 days with some fun places in between. On the island there are many places to visit, such as the Hello Kitty Smile theme park and the Hello Kitty Apple House, Parchez house of scents (you can make your own soap/perfume here), Nijigen no mori (this is a theme park with Naruto, Godzilla and many other cool things!), Hompukuji water temple and so much other things!
Biwalake
You can cycle around the lake or take a boat across the water. During your cycle journey you will see temples and some beautiful viewing points. Of course you will see the pretty lake with many boats when cycling around. You will also come across good restaurants en hotels. Here are some fun places around the lake: Ukimi-do, Former Chikurin-in Temple, Karasaki Jina and Omi Jingu.
City routes
If you’re not a nature kind of person you can explore the cities on bicycles! Most of the time, they have a flyer at the bicycle rental company where you can see different routes. I have cycled in Nara and Kyoto. I can tell you… it is really easy to rent and bike around. Kyoto is always busy and the busses to the sights are really full. With the bike it is much easier and less busy. Sometimes you’re faster on a bike than by bus!
If you don’t know how to plan a route, you can always go on AllTrails. They have some fun routes! And if you know where you want to cycle you can always go online and look for blogs with routes through Japan, like this one 🙂
A last tip: if you want to rent a specific bike, make sure the rental company has the bike you want! Many rental companies don’t offer the same bikes.
This should be plenty of excersises for your stay ^^ The next time I will give you some fun tips of what you can do in the cities in Japan!
