Japan’s Long Trail Movement, Long Trails Worldwide

  Richard J. Samuels. 3.11 Disaster and Change in Japan.

Since the Shinetsu Trail was established in 2008, there has been a growth of other designated long trails established in Japan. Organizations like the Japan Long Trail Association and events like Long-Distance Hikers Day have become important for the growing community of hikers.

The most prominent long trail to be recently established in Japan is the Michinoku Coastal Trail which runs over one thousand kilometers up the northern coast of the main island of Japan. Katō proposed the trail following the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami disaster in the Tōhoku region, when trillions of yen were readily spent by the government on reconstruction projects.

C. Michael Hall, Yael Ram, and Noam Shoval. The Routledge International Handbook of Walking.

Hideaki Ishibashi. “Up the Coast: A Trip to Feel the Revival of the ‘Michinoku Shiokaze Trail'; Full Length Opened in June (Miyagi Prefecture)". Image used with permission from 朝日新聞社 (Asahi Shinbunsha). Photo used with permission from the Michinoku Trail Club. (The English translation of this article was not provided by the publisher.)

Like the Shinetsu Trail, there is a strong revitalization ethos, but the trail is also unique in its design, which passes through towns. In the event of a tsunami or earthquake, the trail would help connect residential areas to evacuation plazas.The Michinoku Coastal Trail was constructed in sections and officially opened at its full length in 2019.

Beyond adaptation measures, Katō also reflected on 3/11 as a chance to change the mindset of the Japanese people to cooperate with nature through trails. By 2020, the Shinetsu Trail will be officially extended to Mt. Naeba for a total length of 120 kilometers (seventy-five miles)—Katō’s original vision for the Shinetsu Trail.

In the near future the Shinetsu Trail will be officially extended to Mt. Naeba for a total length of 120 kilometers (seventy-five miles)—Katō’s original vision for the Shinetsu Trail. A budding partnership between the Shinetsu Trail Club and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) is a sign of growing international collaboration as well. The ways in which long trails contribute to our relationships to the environment will continue to evolve according to our conditions and needs. Spending time on a long trail—whether it be in Japan, the U.S., or another corner of the world—can provide one with the
opportunity to reconsider place, relationships, values, and oneself.

In the past decade alone, thousands of people have taken up hiking on long trails as a pastime in Japan. Conferences like Long-Distance Hikers Day help hikers to share their stories and advice for long-distance hiking, both in Japan and abroad. Such a growing universal community can powerfully open up new ways of engaging with our surroundings while strengthening our existing relationships to the natural environment.