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 Hardest Part of Swimming

For a lot of things, the starting is the easy part but it can take a while to gain motion and to sustain it. The hardest part of swimming is getting in the pool. Every time, you know that there will be that initial shock your body gets when you jump in, and that takes […]

Life and the Barkley Marathon

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching a movie called the Barkley Marathon on Netflix. I felt that the film dragged on too long for such a simple message, but it was entertaining nonetheless. The film is about the Barkley Marathon held in Tennessee where participants try to complete five 20-mile loops through the wild […]

Being the best

Sometimes it can be useful to see where you sit in the pecking order so you have a more visible goal to work towards when trying to improve, but even then you’re comparing yourself to others, which is only useful at getting better than them. Once you’re there, what do you do? You have to […]