Question 1

How big is a group?

Accepted Answer

Twelve at the absolute most, and usually nine. The number is not a marketing choice: it is the largest table a family-run minshuku will lay for one party, and the largest group a mountain hut will book together. Past twelve you stop eating in the same room, and a route through rural Japan quietly turns into a coach tour.

Question 2

Do I need to speak Japanese?

Accepted Answer

No. Every route is led by a bilingual guide and a local specialist, and you will be fine with nothing but arigatō gozaimasu and a willingness to point. We do send a one-page sheet before you fly — the six phrases that actually change how a day goes, and the two gestures worth knowing.

Question 3

Can I come on my own?

Accepted Answer

About half of every group does, which makes solo the norm rather than the brave exception. There is no single supplement on shared rooms. On the ryokan nights a private room is a straightforward add-on; on the mountain huts it does not exist, for anybody, and that includes us.

Question 4

How fit do I need to be?

Accepted Answer

Every route publishes its daily distance and ascent, and we would rather talk you out of one than watch you dread day four. The Alps traverse is five to eight hours on foot with a thousand metres of climb; the Inland Sea rarely passes three, most of it flat and much of it on a bicycle.

Question 5

What is actually included?

Accepted Answer

Beds, all ground transport inside Japan including the rail, your guide, permits and entry fees, and the meals listed on the route — which on the ryokan and hut nights means dinner and breakfast, because that is how those places work. International flights are not: you book those yourself and keep the airline, the routing and the miles.

Question 6

What about tattoos and onsen?

Accepted Answer

Still a real constraint at some baths, and pretending otherwise ruins an evening. We book private or tattoo-friendly onsen on every route where a bath is part of the night, and we say which is which on the itinerary before you pay. Nobody has to have that conversation at a reception desk in a towel.

Question 7

What happens if a route is cancelled?

Accepted Answer

If we cancel — too few people, or a typhoon that makes it unsafe — you choose between a full refund and a transfer to any other departure. If you cancel, the sliding scale is written into the booking terms before you pay anything.