On and off the beaten track

Lonely Planet will be releasing the long awaited second edition of their successful ‘Hiking in Japan’ guidebook this summer, so in honor of this auspicious occasion, Kansai Scene recently caught up with lead author and part-time Osaka resident Craig McLachlan to get the lowdown.

“Hi! I’m not Craig McLachlan, the actor or singer. I’m Craig McLachlan, the ‘freelance anything’ – ”. So goes the introduction on Craig’s recently updated website. It must be difficult to share a name with a famous Australian actor and he must get that comparison countless times each day, so I avoided the references during our meeting in Umeda. After all, it’s mountain information I’m after, and Craig enthusiastically obliged. The Kiwi freelancer divides his time between New Zealand, where he runs hiking tours for various groups, and Europe, doing research for Lonely Planet and guiding Japanese hikers throughout the European Alps. Here in Japan, he is best known for four groundbreaking excursions: 1) He hiked the entire length of Japan, from Kyushu to Hokkaido, chronicling his journey in a book entitled Four Pairs of Boots. 2) He completed the 88-temple pilgrimage of Shikoku island, entirely on foot during a brutally hot summer, and again, wrote a book about it (Tales of a Summer Henro). 3) He climbed Japan’s 100 famous mountains in a staggering 78 days, publishing yet another epic account (Hyakumeizan) 4) He hiked from the Sea of Japan to the Pacific Ocean, climbing all of Japan’s 3000m+ peaks in the process (no book about this one though).

For the forthcoming ‘Hiking in Japan’ guidebook, Craig re-climbed a good portion of the hikes from the first edition to check on current trail conditions and access. I was curious to know if the trails had changed much from when he first hiked them years ago: “Definitely. You need be conscious of the fact that ‘Hyakumeizan’ mountains are getting over-run with hikers (and newer facilities) while non-Hyakumeizan mountains are not getting much input. I thoroughly understand the complaints of those Japanese mountain people who dislike the Hyakumeizan concept. I’m sure Fukada Kyuya(author of Nihon Hyakumeizan;
a book listing Japan’s 100 most famous mountains)didn’t mean to create what it has all become - he wanted mountain people to chose their own 100 Famous Mountains ..... but you know how it has turned out!” So perhaps users of the updated guidebook should keep in mind the mountains that are on Fukada’s list when planning their excursions and possibly try to avoid them.
Kansai hikers will be relieved to know that the trail leading from Odai-ga-hara to Osugi-dani is supposed to re-open sometime this year, after being washed away in a typhoon in the autumn of 2004. Additionally, Mt. Iwate in the Tohoku region was officially closed to hikers back when the first edition was published, but volcanic activity has subsided enough to allow access to the crater rim. There are lots of other notable changes to the updated guidebook, but I don’t want to spoil them all for you, so you’ll have to take a look yourself. Let’s return to our conversation with Mr. McLachlan.

Readers must be sitting on the edge of their seats, anxiously waiting for the answer to Craig’s favorite hike in the Kansai area: “I love hanging off the cliff on the nishi-no-nozoki test at Omine-san. That place just oozes sacredness.” Unfortunately, it’s also one of the last places on earth officially off limits to women, but we’re all hoping the Buddhist temple on the summit will finally cave in to the pressure and allow all genders to experience the cliff hanging experience one day.

Our conversation continued for hours, as we traded stories about the 100 mountains, hiking in Japan and life in general. He does leave one last piece of advice for budding Kansai hikers: “eat it now so you don’t have to carry it!” I just hope he wasn’t referring to the guidebook!

Text: Wes Lang Photos: Craig McLachlan and Wes Lang