TIM BUNTING

KIWI YAMABUSHI

山伏

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi on Mt. Gassan

キウイ

DAILY YAMABUSHI


Ready or not

June 30, 2025

Make it automatic

She is testing you

June 29, 2025

To make you a better you

The Team Player

June 28, 2025

Standards set.

Because Uketamo

June 27, 2025

That’s why you do it

The Mountains will Appear

June 26, 2025

The clouds will clear

Creative Time

June 25, 2025

Me Time

Put it out and leave it out

June 24, 2025

Your yoga mat

FEATURE ARTICLES

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

Kumomi: The Next Japanese Sensation

Those clouds aren't going to watch themselves!

The Slow Demise of the Japanese City

One Traffic Light at a Time

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'.

Dragons and how they protect my house in Japan

One major role for dragons in Japan (besides protecting my house)

The World’s Best Dojo

It's not where you think

Say Sayonara to Sayonara: Japanese words that are misunderstood

And the best way to learn the real meaning of words

Matsuo Basho and The Power of Haiku

How to capture nature in the written word

The Badass Fudomyo’o: Your new Favourite Buddhist Deity

You’ll find him near waterfalls all over Japan.

Autumn’s Peak Ritual 2024

Joining a Yamabushi Initiation Ritual

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.

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

Introducing the mountains in the Shonai Region of Yamagata

person standing in pathway
One with the Mountains

In your element, in the elements

This Yamabushi Brought Me To Tears

A story from yamabushi training

coffee beans
A Coffee Lover’s Guide to Sakata

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

Atomic Habits highlights something the Japanese have known for millennia

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

MOUNTAINS OF YAMAGATA

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

The Heavenly Hideaway of Daizumori-yama

The best effort / reward ratio in Yamagata. Bar none.

Yura in Tsuruoka city seen from Mt. Arakura
The Sakura of Arakura-yama

Mountains of Sakura Cherry Blossoms and the serene Arakura Jinja await.

Mt. Chokai
The best Fuji alternative: Chokai-san

Dewa Fuji, The Fuji of The North, Chokai-san, Mt. Chokai: Tallest peak entirely in Tohoku often said to resemble Mt. Fuji, leading to the name Dewa Fuji (after the former province of Dewa).

Venerable Old Man Mountain — The Mist and Mystery of Okina-san (Mt. Okina)

 Legends and landscapes on an epic hike along the Ou Mountains

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

Panoramas and picnics under the Sakura: Kita-yama (Mt. Kitayama)

Former ski field turned into a Sakura-lover’s paradise on the outskirts of Murayama City

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.

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.

Exploring The Yamabushi Trails of Kinbo-zan (Mt. Kinbo)

Kinbo-zan is a dynamic little peak with a deep history of Shugendo.

I found an abandoned ski field in Japan

Short and quick hike with views of Chokai-zan and near the Mogami River, Shiraito Falls, and Genso no mori, the Forest of Illusions.

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. Ubagatake in autumn
The Widow’s Peak: Ubaga-take (Mt. Ubagatake) of North Japan

Must-see autumn alpine dreamland between the two tallest Dewa Sanzan peaks with a twisted backstory

This mountain is EVERYWHERE in Japan: Ha-yama

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

How NOT to climb a mountain in winter

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

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

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

Yamabushi

Here are some blog posts about yamabushi.

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi
stone with japanese calligraphy
YAMABUSHI

Random Posts

clear hour glass on frame
charming child sweeping concrete pavement with broomstick

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