Far East Blogging: Modern Hiker in Japan, Bastish.net, and 80 Days or Bust
I wanted to point to three writers I’ve been enjoying, all of whom coincidentally are posting about the Far East.
First up is a trio of posts that blogger Modern Hiker’s has put up recently about his trip to Tokyo last year. Great descriptions and photos:
The most recent from Kamakura seems to encapsulate what I imagine life to be like in Japan with the modern and ancient intertwined, from the organized games at an elementary school, to being caught in the wonder of a giant bamboo grove, to doing the tourist duty at a 13th-Century statue of Buddha.
As we continued our unscheduled surprise hike through the wilderness of Kamakura, we came upon many of the same sorts of things we saw while walking through Takao-san: rugged, rocky trails; dense forests; elderly, fit hikers; and shrines hidden and carved just about everywhere you could think of putting one.
The second writer is one well-familiar to hiking bloggers as someone who posts both evocative stories and gorgeous photographs — living in Japan, Bastish.net has posted about playing host to his parents of late. Back a couple of weeks, check out these posts: “Shitami” and “Going for Water”, while short, are wonderful. And since he’s been posting since the year 2000, there’s lots to check out.
The third writer is 80 Days or Bust, a travel blog being posted on the Condé Nast Traveler website by Mark Schatzker. Here’s the description:
One man sets off to re-discover the world the old-fashioned way, traveling no faster than 100 mph and taking the time to see, eat, drink, and blog about his experiences.
He started in California and took a cruise ship across the Pacific — the current posts are about traveling across Mongolia on horseback and in a Russian-made UVZ van. Schatzker has a good sense of humor that comes through in his writing, and the informal nature of the blog makes for a fun read. For an example, check out “My Sorry Attempt at Fly Fishing in Mongolia”.