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    • Spring
      • video

        Finding the Flow from Kansai to Kochi

        Shikoku’s many mountains, valleys and proximity to the ocean has made it a hidden gem for rafting, kayaking and canyoning enthusiasts willing to take a step or two further from the Golden Route of Kyoto and Osaka.

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        Just beyond Hiroshima City is a tranquil outdoor destination home to some of Japan's last remaining oosanshouo, the elusive giant salamander.
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        The Oni Trail: Hiking Coastal Kyoto

        The mystical oni is prevalent in Japanese children’s stories, usually as a way to scare kids straight. Adventure Travel Kyoto is shedding a new light on this folklore and developing a new hiking route in the countryside of Kyoto.
    • Summer
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        The World is Our Playground

        The Pasche family has been cycling and living out of a tent in remote corners of the planet for the past 13 years on four continents spanning 50 countries.
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        Adventure Travel World Summit in Hokkaido

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        The Sweet Secrets of Brewing Mead

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        The Knights in White Lycra

        Each year a group of cyclists head to the deep north towards Tohoku’s vast rice fields and coastal trails to help transform the lives of neglected children.
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    • Autumn
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        Enjoy waterfall hikes and hot springs, beautiful beaches and delicious seafood in Kawazu on the western coast of Izu Peninsula.
    • Winter
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        Getting Dirty in Japan

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    • Near Kyoto
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        Shikoku’s many mountains, valleys and proximity to the ocean has made it a hidden gem for rafting, kayaking and canyoning enthusiasts willing to take a step or two further from the Golden Route of Kyoto and Osaka.
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      • getting dirty in japan

        Getting Dirty in Japan

        “Getting Dirty in Japan” is about getting out of your comfort zone and into some exciting outdoor adventures and destinations in Japan.
    • River and Lake
      • getting dirty in japan

        Getting Dirty in Japan

        “Getting Dirty in Japan” is about getting out of your comfort zone and into some exciting outdoor adventures and destinations in Japan.
    • Mountain and Land
    • Sky
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        Getting Dirty in Japan

        “Getting Dirty in Japan” is about getting out of your comfort zone and into some exciting outdoor adventures and destinations in Japan.
    • Snow and Ice
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        Mt. Fuji: The Path Less Traveled

        Fuji-san is the most climbed mountain in the world. If you are in good shape, there is a way to avoid the traffic for a more peaceful Mt. Fuji experience during the off-season.
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        adventure travel world summit in hokkaido

        Adventure Travel World Summit in Hokkaido

        The ATTA will host their first Adventure Travel World Summit in Asia in Hokkaido, Japan. We caught up with ATTA Director Shannon Stowell to find out more about the adventure travel industry and how it continues to grow and evolve.
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        Getting Dirty in Japan

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        The Knights in White Lycra

        Each year a group of cyclists head to the deep north towards Tohoku’s vast rice fields and coastal trails to help transform the lives of neglected children.
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        Adventure Travel World Summit in Hokkaido

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        The Knights in White Lycra

        Each year a group of cyclists head to the deep north towards Tohoku’s vast rice fields and coastal trails to help transform the lives of neglected children.
    • Races and Events
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Common Ground, A World Apart

“There are only three real sports: Mountaineering, race car driving and bullfighting.
—Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway was onto something. Whether it’s on a crimp and a prayer scaling a challenging sport route or letting it all hang out on an icy wall, the climber—like the Toreador and “speed demon”—pushes the limits of human endeavor.

I think “Papa” would have enjoyed exchanging notes with Yuji Hirayama and Leo Houlding, two world-class athletes from different corners of the globe who can usually be found high atop the world’s biggest rock walls. On this day, however, they were bouldering in western Tokyo, not far as the crow flies from Yuji’s home crags in Saitama. Excited to meet these two titans of rock, I got there early on an unseasonably warm, sunny day.

Yuji arrived next. He’s been an elite level climber for two decades, and his ability to climb hard and long routes has earned him serious respect throughout the international climbing world; in fact he’s better known overseas than here at home.

He’s sponsored by big hitters Beal, The North Face and Nissan and, although I’m a bit star-struck, he’s humble and friendly and quickly puts me at ease.

Yuji was the first climber from Asia to win the Climbing World Cup. In fact, he stood atop the podium twice (1998 and 2000). Last fall he and his climbing partner, American Hans Florine, broke their own world record for fastest ascent of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The speed ascent covered 31 pitches and almost 900 vertical meters in an amazing two hours, 37 minutes and five seconds.

He owns the first and only ascent of Flat Mountain (15a), a literal translation of his last name (Hirayama), his route near his home in Saitama, as well as the first on-sight of White Zombie in Batzola, Spain, which was the first ever on-sight of a 14b route. Simply outrageous.

Soon Leo arrived. This globetrotting, jackof- all-trades outdoorsman has been a British climbing prodigy since age 10. He’s laid-back despite a hefty resume, which includes an alpine-style free ascents of the North Pillar of Fitzroy, known as the Casarotto Pillar in Patagonia, Argentina (crazy hard).

He’s a skilled slack-line walker, a base jumper (first to descend Naranjo de Bulnes in Spain) and has beaten Everest’s dangerous game of Himalayan roulette. The dude even has his own TV show (on Virgin TV called “Take Me to the Edge,” a couple episodes will be aired in Japan). His sponsors include Berghaus, DMM, Five Ten, Adidas Eyewear, Ford and Linde/Werdelin time pieces.

Although they know each other through climbing circles and had briefly met in “the valley” (Yosemite) a few years back, they’ve never had the opportunity to climb together. Yuji takes us to Ninja-Gaeshi (V6), a local bouldering classic along the Tama River in Mitake.

Leo is slowed by a serious knee injury he suffered during a sailing accident and walks with a slight limp. He then drags his bad leg like an overweight chalk bag as he on-sights the problem and some locals buzz and rubberneck.

Yuji works a few moves and does a bit of a hand traverse to finish up his attack. Big wall climbing and bouldering isn’t a perfect match, he explains. Yuji outlines his rigorous big wall training regimen. Training for big walls in Japan means pulling on plastic. Starting on or about a 10d and consecutively upping the ante a single grade until he hits the 14s.

He then works his way back down, rounding off about 30 routes in a row. This usually takes him two to three hours. My knuckles ache just thinking about it.

As they each find their comfort zone on the rock, they start talking climbing: The Japanese bouldering grade system, rock type, different local areas and so on. Each recalls having an admiration for the other before ever meeting. For Leo, Yuji’s discipline and determination stand out. Yuj admires Leo’s free-spirited approach to life and climbing.

I listen in as the conversation takes them 23 pitches up a free route in a far-off land. They are discussing a grab at a flake-shaped hold at the end of a sequence of hard moves, the standout crux pitch of a 1,000-meter classic. But the flake has since broken and made the move even harder.

What intrigues me now, more than their mutual accomplishments and individual style, is the precise detail of their dialogue. One is from Japan, the other from England, yet they can hone in on a delicate rock feature thousands of feet above the deck in Yosemite National Park in California.

A rare space shared by the rarest of sportsmen. Commonality and friendship found a world apart. Our day ends swapping war stories and tall tales at a local sushi bar. I forget the outrageous standards these guys share and simply enjoy the company of my fellow mountaineers.

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