KIWI YAMABUSHI

Kia ora Koutou, I'm Tim Bunting, The Kiwi Yamabushi. I am a practicing Dewa Sanzan Yamabushi Japanese mountain ascetic (What's a Yamabushi?). I have been living in Yamagata, Tohoku, north Japan, since 2010. Since 2016, I have trained as a yamabushi under Master Fumihiro Hoshino through Daishobo pilgrim's lodge on Haguro-san, and through Dewa Sanzan Jinja. If you want to find out more about how you too can train in the ways of Shugendo, check out Yamabushido.jp (tell them I sent you).


In my spare time I write stories about the overlooked side of Japan, namely up here in the Tohoku region. I write a daily blog, have a newsletter with over 1,000 subscribers, have a YouTube channel also with over 1,000 subscribers, and am on most socials as @kiwiyamabushi.

I am currently on a mission to summit and document all 100 Famous Mountains of Yamagata.

I am available for online consultation, public speaking in both English and Japanese, and I am able to guide you on The Dewa Sanzan mountains by working through Yamabushido.jp or DewaSanzan.com. As a Master Yamabushi and the creator of Dewasanzan.com, I believe I am the most knowledgable native English speaker on these three mountains.

POPULAR ARTICLES

My newsletter articles are free to read on Substack for a week, but you can just get them sent to your email for free if you subscribe. After that, they are only available to paid subscribers. However, articles that get more than 1,000 reads I put here so everyone can enjoy them. All of the articles can be found here.

Chokai-san (Mt. Chokai)
Hiking Guide: Mountains of The Shonai Region of Yamagata

Introducing the mountains in the Shonai Region of Yamagata

Yukidaruma: The Japanese Art of Always Building Snowmen With Two Balls Instead of Three Because Why Waste Your Time and Energy?

You had me at 'Japanese art'.

a giant eel with a cleaner shrimp
It’s eel day. Don’t mow your lawn.

And the Japanese Colonel Sanders’ golden idea

MOUNTAINS OF YAMAGATA

Here are a few posts of my adventures climbing the 100 Famous Mountains of Yamagata. Read about the project here, or view all articles here.

Tokami-yama and The Castle of Mist

And its role in north Japan's fiercest war

The Autumn Leaves of Mount Taizo
The Epitome of Autumn Leaves in North Japan: Taizo-san (Mt. Taizo)

Mount Taizo all but single-handedly confirms why autumn is by far the best season for hiking in Japan.

The sun sets over the ninth station of Mt. Gassan
Gassan, the Dewa Sanzan’s “Mountain of Death” (Mt. Gassan)

The tallest Dewa Sanzan peak with a thriving Haguro Shugendo Yamabushi culture.

DAILY YAMABUSHI

Here are some of my Daily Yamabushi posts. Get more here.

Tim Bunting AKA Kiwi Yamabushi on Zao-san
A tip for travel

Get stuff ready for before you go as well

Tim Bunting AKA Kiwi Yamabushi on Zao-san
The Thought to do it

The action to do it

Tim Bunting AKA Kiwi Yamabushi on Zao-san
Slow is steady

Steady is fast

KIWI YAMABUSHI

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi

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Sakata City, Yamagata, Japan 

timb008@gmail.com

All photos my own unless otherwise stated. Contact for more. 

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