Have a safe and happy summer!

I hope you've had a good year and have got some nice plans for 2018. For New Year, I went down to Mt Kosciusko for a few days of gentle hiking with some friends from Japan. What did you do? Autumn tour reports I'm so happy to have finished up my 2017 tours with everyone returning home safe and well. Over the last couple of months, I've run my Earth & Fire ceramics tour, Spirit of Japan walking tour, and Autumn Colours tour. My ceramics tour was lovely with a very friendly and talented group of potters. For Spirit of Japan, we had some wet and wild weather, but I felt so blessed to have a great group of walkers who took the typhoon in their stride. In contrast to that, my Autumn Colours tour was full of blue skies! ShinetsuTrail.com For 2018, we're starting a new venture that focuses on a very special walk in the central alpine region of Japan. It's called the Shinetsu Trail. It's an 80km trek, that's soft underfoot because of the grand beech trees that drop their leaves each year on the trail. We think it's the best long-distance woodland trail in Japan. We hope you can join us on one of our Half Treks or Full Treks. Visit our new dedicated website, ShinetsuTrail.com to be inspired. Deep North Autumn Walks I've also developed a new tour for 2018, which I'm calling Deep North Autumn Walks. This tour starts in late October when the Autumn colours in northern Japan are at their best. I'm focusing on Aomori Prefecture, where we can visit the world heritage area of Shirakami Sanchi, as well as Oirase Gorge below Lake Towada. It's such a beautiful area that's got some excellent food, friendly locals and gorgeous nature. Get in touch if you're interested.