Complete Tokai Nature Trail Guide

The complete trail guide provides information abut prefectures, the main course and the bypass courses. I draw from multiple resources to verify the information that I present in this guide. I use my own hiking experience, Tokai Nature Trail Vol. 1-3, the official prefecture maps when available, and information on the internet.  This guide starts by covering general information about the trail, such as camping, animals, where there is water, food, and critical Japanese phrases you will see while hiking. I’ve have spent a significant amount of time in Japan, both in the rural countryside and the big cities, and have included information based on my experience on the trail and living in Japan that I feel will help. 

 

The guide is broken down by course, and within each prefecture I provide a breakdown of each section based on the maps I have created. This is a departure from the first edition that was broken down based on the maps published in Tokai Nature Trail Vol. 1-3. . 

 

I also  rely on various tourist resources, prefectural websites and sometimes blogs to find information about the places listed on the maps. I am not fluent in Japanese, but I speak enough to wade through these resources that are in Japanese. The English sites rarely offer the same amount of information, hence the reliance on Japanese resources. These are all listed in the biography. Sometimes I was unable to find information about the different places because they do not have any information listed. This tends to happen with small places such as mountain passes, small shrines or old ruins. When that happens the place is mentioned, along with the distance to the next place.

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