HOJO EDO MACHIYA Original Short Walk with Kurokami Shutendo
Join Kurokami Shutendo, a novelist and Kurokami mountain expert with 51 years of hiking experience, for a special guided short walk. He is also the chairman of the Kurokami Mountain Conservation Association.
🔳 Sarukawa Gorge Course (Approx. 2–3 hours)
🔳 Arita Dam Course (Approx. 2–3 hours)
🔳 Kurokami Mountain Course (Approx. 5–6 hours) * Additional round-trip community bus fare: ¥400
Group Size: From 1 person (Maximum 10 people)
Fee: ¥6,000 for one person (Additional participants +¥3,000 per person)
* Includes lunch and insurance. Please bring your own drinks and snacks.
Booking: The guided walk is currently available only in Japanese. If you are still interested, please talk to Hojo staff.
* Reservations must be made at least 4 days in advance.
hojo.edomachiya@gmail.com
Kurokami Shutendo – Profile
A novelist, Kurokami Shutendo wrote his coming-of-age novel Umi no Komoriuta during his final year of high school. After working for nearly 40 years at the Arita Town Hall, he left his position in 2010. Through his work across various departments, he gained a wealth of experiences that have informed his writing. One of the most memorable was participating in the excavation of ancient kiln sites, where he studied historic porcelain firing techniques and the romance of archaeological research under the guidance of Professor Tsugio Mikami, then an honorary professor at the University of Tokyo. He also built connections across Japan and spent a month in Arita’s sister city, Meissen, Germany. To this day, he keeps in touch with friends there.
With 51 years of hiking experience, he has walked the route from Kurokami Mountain to Ryumon since childhood, once delighting in digging up fossilised shells at Kuroiwa Pass. In his younger years, he hiked the Kurokami mountain range monthly and composed seven songs, including Kurokami-san Sanka (Ode to Kurokami Mountain). Now, in later life, he enjoys painting watercolours in the mountains while sipping wine. He is currently the Chairman of the Kurokami Mountain Conservation Association, Secretary-General of the Kurokami Mountain Nature Protection Council, and President of the Kurokami Mountain Rescue Support Association.