July 2026

July kicked off with some relatively cool weather here in Tokyo, which feels absurd considering how hot Japan's summers usually get, but it was a welcome start to the month. By mid-July we had some pretty darn hot days, but the plus side is that the snow on mountains has all melted and we've truly entered the summer season for hiking. Over the weekend I was hiking in the Southern Alps with a friend, which is why this newsletter is a little delayed compared to the usual. It's our third year in a row of doing a 3-day hike in the Alps together (in previous years we went to Mt Washiba and Mt Yari) so it's been a really nice yearly tradition to continue. July was also the month where it felt like my consistent exercise routine has finally started to show results. I did my first 10km run in a year or so (after slowly building my way up from 4km). I also got up to 40kg on barbell squats at the gym. Last year I derailed my gym routine mid-way through after I hurt my back, so this year I've…