Kunisaki and Yufuin Walk
A fully guided tour from Fukuoka’s Hatata Station to Yufuin, this five-day, four-night adventure introduces you to a variety of landmarks, including the Usa Jingu grand shrine, Tashibu village, and the Itsutsuji-Fudo sanctum that once housed an important temple. As you explore multiple stone Buddha statues and see how Buddhism first arrived in Japan via Kunisaki, culture lovers will revel in the historical aspects of this tour. Along the way, you might even see monks meditating. Of course, taking a walking tour in the suburbs of Japan is not complete without tasting local delicacies and taking a refreshing hot spring bath.
Self-Guided Tokaido Wayfarer
If you love eating, but lament the calories that you’ll pile on, this tour, which has you walking between 8km to 14km daily, is perfect. A self-guided gastronomic adventure from Tokyo to Kyoto, the Tokaido Wayfarer follows the central section of one of Japan’s great ancient highways—the Tokaido. It begins in Hakone-Yumoto and meanders for six days and five nights before ending in Kurami Onsen near Kakegawa. Along the way, you’ll stay in quaint Japanese inns with onsen baths and hotels. Additionally, indulge in tasty morsels of food, such as pounded rice cakes, pink tiny shrimps and grated yam soup, that used to satiate the passing travellers of old and are still kept alive by gourmet artisans.
Self-Guided Basho Wayfarer
Three hundred years ago, famous wandering poet Basho tackled this route from Sendai to Yamadera. The journey inspired him so much that he wrote a poetic travelogue Oku-no-hosomichi, which loosely translates to ‘Narrow Road to the Deep North’, at the end. While you don’t have to write a poem, you should sample the local cuisine and sake. The locals are also proud of their soothing hot spring baths, delights that Basho must certainly have tried. One of the inns you’ll be visiting is the Hojin-no-Ie, the only known remaining structure that Basho spent the night in during his famous journey. You don’t have to stay the evening, but you should enjoy the green tea. It might just compel you to write a poem yourself.
