Heavens of Kamikochi

I was reading this 'Hiking with the gods of nature in the heavens of Kamikochi' from Mainichi news and it reminds of of my dream to visit Nagano.I've been to Japan three times and somehow never made my way to Nagano,  one of  the best alps in Japan. It was in 1998, the first time I dreamt of Nagano while watching the Winter Olympic and then few years ago I happened to watch 'Season of Snow', a movie taken in a snow resort showing the stunning view of the majestic white mountains of Hakuba, at that time I told myself 'why don't you go there on your next trip to Japan?' well somehow Nagano is still on my 'next-visit list in Japan'

Back to the Kamikochi, if you love nature, hiking and mountains this article about the priceless view of sacred highland of Kamikochi and the energetic 73-year-old mountain guide is worth the read.

Here are some useful links about Kamikochi and Nagano:

http://www.kamikochi.or.jp/english/index.php

http://kamikochi.org/

http://www.hikyaku.com/nagano/naganog.html

(The scenic beauty of Kamikochi, picture courtesy of Mainichi)