etiquette of hiking in Japan
In this article I will introduce the 3 simplest etiquette that you should remember when you hike the Japanese mountain.
There are some other etiquette in Japan for hiking.
However, hiking is done for the purpose of relaxation, for it it can not be enjoyed if you care about too detailed etiquette.
So I will introduce the three most important and simple etiquette below, I’m glad if these knowledge will be useful for your first hiking in Japan.
Let’s greet in the mountains
Let’s greet “Konichiwa (means hello in japanese)” when you pass other hikers in the mountain.
Sometimes you may be ignored it even if you greet, but you don’t have to worry at all.
Because he might have been out of breath on a steep uphill and might have been thinking something.
Either way, it is good for you to have a greeting at the mountain.
For example, greeting each others become to a conversation, you can gain useful information from your opponent.
The other day I had experience like the one below.
A person greeted me while hiking at a certain mountain and after that we met again at the top of the mountain.
So I got information from him that a certain trail was destroyed by a typhoon
and we will can’t pass the trail for a while.
I was going to head to that trail from now on, so thanks to him and immediately changed the route.
By having a greeting in the mountains, I was able to spend the weekend’s hiking meaningfully.
ascent takes precedence in mountains
In Japan’s mountains, the width of the trail is narrow, and in many cases it is difficult for people to pass each other.
In such circumstances, let ‘s give priority to’ ascending people ‘as much as possible.
It is extremely dangerous to start hiking from late because the sunset time is early in the mountains of Japan.
However, some people have to start hiking in late hours for various reasons, Also in some cases you may have such a situation.
By giving way to them, you reduce the accidents caused by their impatience, and the hikers can keep each other safe.
Also when you give way to someone on a narrow trail, you have to stand on the mountain side, this will prevent you from falling into a valley.
Then, you have to direct your backpack to the mountain side, in order to avoid pushing the person passing through by your backpack.
Let’s take care of nature in the mountains
In case of the hiking on the mountain, Let all your garbage take your home.
Inorganic garbage such as plastics not only ruin the beautiful landscape but also destroys the natural environment because it is not broken down into soil.
Also, by throwing away food, wild animals eat this and have a bad effect on the ecosystem.
For example, by getting food from humans they can not gain food themselves and are spoiled as wild animals.
Since it affects the food chain, let’s never act to feed wild animals.
