Mountain Penguin

02/07/2026

Okawara Highlands—Tokushima’s best hydrangea spot.
It’s close enough that Erik occasionally goes trail running from the mountain behind our house via ridgeline.
You could also say it’s located right at the summit, directly above Jigen-ji Temple, the third temple on the Shikoku Bekkaku 20 Temples Pilgrimage.

Because of the high elevation, the hydrangeas bloom later here than in the lowlands—and they’re in full bloom right now.
Thanks to the recent string of rainy days, they’ve been well-watered, so every single bush is blooming magnificently.

The greatest charm of this place is that all the hydrangeas are the same type—deep blue and perfectly round. The blue stands out beautifully against the green mountains and trees. Against this backdrop, huge white windmills stand in orderly rows, adding just the right accent to the carpet of blue and green.

29/05/2026

Asenda Pass 阿千田越 and Komo Pass 古毛越 are old trails traditionally used Shikoku pilgrims to visit Shushoji Temple 取星寺, the okunoin of No.19 Tatueji temple.
Though few pilgrims walk on these trails today, they are kept maintained and cleared by local people. They are also shown in the Shikoku 88 route guide.
We were honestly amazed how beautiful these unpaved trails were. Way better than we expected.
For day hiking, park your car in Tatsueji's public parking lots (300 yen/day). The round trip was very easy and enjoyable. Well-marked at every corner. Suitable even for non-experienced, beginner hikers.

Asenda Pass 阿千田越 and Komo Pass 古毛越 are old trails traditionally used Shikoku pilgrims to visit Shushoji Temple 取星寺, the okunoin of No.19 Tatueji temple. Thou...

28/05/2026

【New Article】
https://mountain-penguin.com/mct-19/
Day 19 of our MCT thru-hike began in the mountains, leaving the former schoolhouse inn and walking through hamlets that were clearly proud to have the trail pass through their home. After crossing Sakanokai Toge Pass, we went over Mt. Tatsuganesan, encountered the heavy story of Mankai Shonin, and followed the Monk’s Trail — complete with a random moai carved into a tree, calmly pointing the way.

The day also turned into our longest vending-machine drought since the lucky octopus area, until one finally appeared in the middle of nowhere like a small miracle. We finished soaked in rain, briefly losing faith in both Google Maps and road signs while searching for the “missing” BRT station, before finally riding a packed bus into Kesennuma and settling into a comfortable business ryokan with our supply boxes waiting.

19/05/2026

Nestled in the mountains of Kamiyama Town at an elevation of about 1,000 meters, the “Shikoku Alpine Botanical Garden: Gakujin no Mori” is a treasure trove of Shikoku’s rare alpine plants.

After seeing a forecast on their official social media that the best time to view the Himeshaga (Fringed Iris, Iris gracilipes A. Gray) flower clusters would be this weekend, we decided to make a last-minute trip there.

To avoid the weekend crowds, we set out a bit later than usual. By the time we arrived, all the other visitors were just about to head home.
As we walked along the path through the quiet flower garden, the only sounds were our footsteps and the chirping of birds.

On our way out, we stopped at the botanical garden's restaurant “Kangetsu Chaya” to pick up some of their famous warabi mochi, sudachi soda, and vegetable tempura to take home.

Nestled in the mountains of Kamiyama Town at an elevation of about ...

16/04/2026

The Kamodani Henro-michi-kai is a local volunteer group that has been maintaining the pilgrimage path around Temple 21, Tairyuji—the oldest existing trails on over 1200 years history of the Shikoku Pilgrimage for many years. I have been involved in their maintenance activities for over 10 years since I moved to Tokushima, and my husband joined us more than five years ago.
Last weekend, we went to work for their semiannual cleanup held each spring and fall to coincide with the pilgrimage seasons.
https://youtu.be/vtgNXf8FbK4
The core members are local people in their 70s and 80s who were born and raised at the foot of the mountain where Tairyuji Temple stands.
As we live both in the Netherlands and Japan, frequently travel back and forth between two countries, we always look forward to seeing these friendly "fathers" and "grandpas."
For the spring pilgrimage trail cleanup, participants are divided into two groups—the Kamo Trail and the Iwaya Trail—to maintain two trails in a single day. On the other hand, the fall cleanup takes place after typhoon season, when the trails are often in rough shape, so we spend a full day on each route, completing the work over two days.
This time, we were in the Kamo-michi group. This route features a beautiful bamboo grove near the base of the mountain, but if the grove isn’t maintained frequently, it loses its beauty in the blink of an eye. During this cleanup, the bamboo grove was the most labor-intensive part of the work.
In this video, you can get a glimpse of what we did.

春の遍路道清掃

23/12/2025

【NEW Blog Article】
Hiking in De Hoge Veluwe - the Nederlands' largest National Park.
https://mountain-penguin.com/de_hoge_veluwe/
Our summer hike in De Hoge Veluwe National Park turned out very different from the relaxed walk we’d imagined. Starting from the Hoenderloo Gate, we crossed open heathlands glowing purple, trudged through deep sand under a relentless sun, and cooled off in quiet forests where moss softened the light. A shaded lunch break at the central café revived us before the long, hot stretch across the flat sand plains. Between the traces of the Kröller-Müller family’s old estate, the debate over wolves, and a deer that appeared at dusk, the day revealed the park’s beauty and its quiet toughness.

09/11/2025

We enjoy a beautiful autumn day in the Netherlands.
For those who wonder where people in the flat land could have mountain sports training, watch the video.

18/10/2025

【New Article】Netherlands: De Duitntjes Trail, Garderen
https://mountain-penguin.com/de_duintjes/
Autumn in the Netherlands always feels fleeting. One week the trees are golden, and the next the wind and rain have swept everything bare. On one of those quiet November days, when the air was crisp and the light already turning wintry, we set out for a short walk in the woods — De Duintjes Trail in the village of Garderen.

26/09/2025

【NEW Article】
https://mountain-penguin.com/chita_pilgrimage-1/
Chita Pilgrimage 知多四国 is one of the three most popular Utsushi Reijo 写し霊場 of the Shikoku Pilgrimage.
(Other two: Shodoshima in the Seto Sea and Sasaguri in Fukuoka)

An utsushi reijo is a pilgrimage route established as a ‘copy’ of a major pilgrimage such as the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage or the Saikoku 33-temple pilgrimage, both historic and highly revered routes in Japan. These ‘copy’ pilgrimages were created as local alternative for those who could not afford the original for various reasons but could still undertake a similar spiritual journey closer to home.

Because of the crazy heat in Sumer 2025 in Japan, we had only a few hiking trips. One of them was section walk on the Chita Pilgrimage.
Our latest article is about the Day 1 of our Chita Peninsula hiking.