TIM BUNTING

KIWI YAMABUSHI

山伏

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi on Mt. Gassan

キウイ

DAILY YAMABUSHI


Chip Away

August 4, 2025

Bit by bit

Contradiction is key

August 3, 2025

It helps you make the decision

Minimalsit-inspired optimization

August 2, 2025

For clothing OR your smartphone.

What you’ve got

August 1, 2025

Always better than nothing

Interesting and interested

July 31, 2025

Let the world show you the way

Inspiration or otherwise

July 30, 2025

Something to work off

Build something

July 29, 2025

Build anything

FEATURE ARTICLES

Here are a few samples of what you find in my newsletter, Mountains of Wisdom.

What do Yamabushi do? What does it mean to be a Yamabushi?

The perennial question for us followers of Shugendo

Say Sayonara to Sayonara: Japanese words that are misunderstood

And the best way to learn the real meaning of words

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

Introducing the mountains in the Shonai Region of Yamagata

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi
Why do yamabushi do yamabushi training?

Yamabushi gotta yamabushi.

coffee beans
A Coffee Lover’s Guide to Sakata

The Best Coffee Spots in Sakata, and what I really think of them

The Curse of Yamagata’s Mountains

Watch the view. Or maybe don't.

The Astounding Waterfalls of Chokai-san

The waterfalls of Chokai-san

Why are greengrocers called the ‘800 store’ in Japan?

Ask the wives of court nobles of the 14th century...

Chokai-zan
Japan’s Rothschilds and The Port City of Sakata

Why do I live in Yamagata? Why don’t I live in Tokyo or Osaka with the rest of them?

white fish under water
How Cup Noodles and Kawaii Culture made Axolotls famous in Japan

At the time, The Unlimited Teddy Bear was watching footage of Minecraft axolotls in English when they realised the English word for Axolotl was, in fact, Axolotl.

coffee beans
Japan’s Two Biggest Obsessions

Starbucks is decidedly NOT a Kissaten

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

And the Japanese Colonel Sanders’ golden idea

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi
The Futodasuki Yamabushi Sash

Why do Shinto yamabushi wear the strange vermillion sash? What special meanings does the Futodasuki hold? What does the mirror represent?

The real star of Japanese cuisine

How this humble plant made it to the top of my list of Japanese foods

sushi on brown wooden board
The Best Sushi in Japan

And the red man who lead us to it

MOUNTAINS OF YAMAGATA

Here are a few posts of my adventures climbing the 100 Famous Mountains of Yamagata.

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.

Tokami-yama and The Castle of Mist

And its role in north Japan's fiercest war

Mt. Shogadake
Dancing in the Day Lilies: Shoga-dake

Shoga-dake is a former Shugendo peak on Chokai-san famous for its floral brilliance.

Mt. Chokai seen from Mt. Yonetaihei in the winter
Homer Simpson’s Heaven in North Japan: The Donut-shaped Yonetaihei-san (Mt. Yonetaihei)

Tiny donut-shaped peak in Sakegawa Village of the Mogami region worthy of a snowshoe hike.

A Ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn) at Semi Onsen Hot Spring Resort
Turtles, Tigers, and a Legendary Japanese Character: Kamewari-yama (Mt. Kamewari)

Legendary location next to a quaint Onsen (hot spring) resort along the Oguni River in Mogami Town

Hiking Japan’s Forgotten Highway: Sabane-yama and Ushu-Kaido (Mt. Sabane)

The odd connection between Osaka castle, the Shinkansen and Shinjuku, and the mountains of Yamagata.

Close Encounters of the Tengu Kind

(Murayama) Tengu-yama is a 403-m high peak in Nishikawa town that is home to a Tengu, a yokai or supernatural being.

How NOT to climb a mountain in winter

Forget Hakuba. Forget Hokkaido. White-Boy Mountain is where it’s at. 

Mt.-Takadate-and-Shimoike-lake-in-Tsuruoka
Wetland Wonderland of Takadate-yama

Takadate-yama is short in stature, but packs a lot of punch as home to one of the only RAMSAR wetlands in Japan

Mother. Hunter. Mountain. Hokari-yama (Mt. Hokari)

Kinbo Shugen Mountain with a strange name and amazing trails amongst the autumn leaves

A Jizo statue at the top of Mt. Kyogakura in Sakata
Womb Passes and Monkey Crossings: Kyogakura-san “The Shugendo Peak of Sutras” (Mt. Kyogakura)

This tiny Shugendo peak and how the Japanese language got three alphabets

This mountain is EVERYWHERE in Japan: Ha-yama

Former Dewa Sanzan peak in inland Yamagata Prefecture with an extensive Shugendo and Mountain Worship history.

Zao-san and Why We Climb Mountains (Mt. Zao)

Zao-san: Snow monsters, ski fields, mountain hags, multi-coloured crater lakes, hot springs, and more.

Mt. Maya seen from the distance
Mythical Beasts, Buddha’s Mother, and buried Yamabushi treasure? Welcome to Maya-san (Mt. Maya).

More than one of the best hikes in Shonai

The Pyramids of… Japan? — Yakushi-san and The OG Japan content creator (Mt. Yakushi)

Small pyramidal peak in the northern Yamagata town of Kaneyama

Yamabushi

Here are some blog posts about yamabushi.

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi looks out over Mt. Chokai from Mt. Gassan
Yamabushi
YAMABUSHI

Random Posts

man wearing black cap with eyes closed under cloudy sky

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