October 2026

We have officially hit autumn weather here in Japan, and after a rainy September it was nice to enjoy some sunnier days in October. Summer feels so endless with its heat in Tokyo, but then the pleasant autumn weather always seems to pass by in the blink of an eye so I'm trying to make the most of it! On the blog, I had a good mix of reading, coffee and hiking. Hiking the Northern Alps: Mt Tate and Mt Shirouma I kicked off October with two hikes in Japan's Northern Alps - Mt Tate and Mt Shirouma-dake. These are among the most popular of the Northern Alps hikes, but I had never quite gotten around to them for one reason or another. The start of October in the Alps is really the tail end of the season and snow could set in at any time, but it's a pretty underrated time to be up there - it's not nearly as crowded as it can be in the hot summer months. If you bring enough warm clothes for the close-to-0°C mornings, I highly recommend it! I did Mt Shirouma-dake as an overnight hike with a…