Home - Tim Bunting

TIM BUNTING

KIWI YAMABUSHI

Kia ora koutou. I’m Tim Bunting, the Kiwi Yamabushi.

I’m a practicing Dewa Sanzan Yamabushi, a Japanese mountain ascetic based in Yamagata Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. Since 2016, I’ve trained in Haguro Shugendō under Master Fumihiro Hoshino through Daishobō, a pilgrim’s lodge on Haguro-san, and through Dewa Sanzan Jinja.

If you’re interested in experiencing Shugendō for yourself, check out Yamabushido.jp. Tell them I sent you.

In my spare time, I share stories from the overlooked corners of Japan, especially here in Tōhoku. I publish a Substack newsletter with over 1,500 subscribers, write a daily blog, and post videos on YouTube (over 1,000 subscribers). You’ll find me on most platforms as @kiwiyamabushi.

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

I’m available for:

Online consultation
Public speaking (in English or Japanese)
Guided experiences on the Dewa Sanzan (via Yamabushidō.jp or DewaSanzan.com)

As a Master Yamabushi and the creator of DewaSanzan.com, I believe I’m the most knowledgeable native English speaker on these sacred mountains.

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.

ALL

DAILY YAMABUSHI

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

The Matcha Effect

If you've spent much time in Japan, you will be familiar with the common questions Japanese people ask you, such as 'can you use chopsticks?', 'do you eat bread three times a day?', or my personal favourite 'aren't you cold?' when you're wearing a t-shirt inside on a winter day, seemingly ignoring the fact that […]

My Content First Policy

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our presentation. It gives me a great honour to introduce to you today the product that is about to change your lives. This product, ladies and gentlemen, has the potential to make your life 1000x better, while also being awesome!” There I was, sitting watching various groups give a sales […]

The Greatest Chance for Growth

'Try never to be the smartest person in the room' - Michael Dell. Back in 2008-2009, I went through the greatest learning curve I have ever experienced. I was an exchange student studying in Japan for six months, and in that short span I feel I learned a few years' worth of lessons. I had […]

Stay the Course

The best time to begin to invest was yesterday. The second best time is today. After much research and deliberation, I decided a few years ago to begin investing in index funds. If you're unaware, index funds are where you purchase the top (say 500 or so) companies of a market, on the basis that […]

Knowledge that knowledge is not power is power.

My profile for my university job states 'In the communication age, knowledge is power. Find your power.' It didn't take me too long to realise that this is actually complete rubbish. If the greatest ideas in the world were stuck in the mind of someone without the ability to communicate them, then they're completely useless. […]

The one constant thing in life is change.

Back about 10 years ago in an interview applying for a MEXT scholarship I was asked what in my opinion was the biggest difference between NZ and Japan. My answer now is the role of women in society, however that Japan is extremely conservative and NZ extremely progressive would be a close second. When I […]

Better communication, better results.

I heard of a challenge from Seth Godin to write everyday. I have learned the importance of effective communication by being a teacher, translator, and interpreter over the years, and I'm going to write this blog, even if it's crap, everyday for as long as I can. My reasoning is purely selfish, to be a […]