Blog - Tim Bunting

山伏

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi on Mt. Gassan

キウイ

DAILY YAMABUSHI

Start with the meat

February 16, 2026

Don’t start at the start

Don’t make it perfect.

February 15, 2026

Just make it.

Not just sometimes

February 14, 2026

There’s not much else you can do but accept

The Real Investment

February 13, 2026

Prioritise time

Hard to put off

February 12, 2026

Get them out of the way

Leave Some for ‘Ron

February 11, 2026

Leave Some for Later

After the Fact

February 10, 2026

Though.

FEATURE ARTICLES

Here are a few samples of what you find in The Kiwi Yamabushi Newsletter.

Emperor on a Boat Day

Or 'Marine Day'. If you really want.

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

The perennial question for us followers of Shugendo

Living in a Dying Japanese City

Whether by man or by nature, these buildings are disappearing. And they are disappearing fast.

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.

The Creepy Legend of the Yokai of Chokai-san (Mt. Chokai)

The creepy legend of how Chokai-san (Mt. Chokai) got its distinct shape, and how Yamagata Prefecture's only inhabited island was formed.

The mystical mountain men of Japan

Featuring The Legend of how Japan's most famous mountain man couldn't quite handle it

The Land of The Rising Moon-Sun

How Japan switched from a Lunisolar to a Gregorian Calendar. Or tried to, at least.

I spent a week in the Japanese mountains training as an ascetic.

Here's what I learned.

The Town of Dual Dragons

And the legends they created.

What does The Last Samurai have to with Japan’s Silk Industry?

Quite a lot, actually.

A Jizo statue at the top of Mt. Kyogakura in Sakata

Uketamo: the philosophy to live by

Uketamo has a long, long history.

Why do SHOGUN deserve their own shrine?

The warlord to end all warlords

Mongols, Kamikaze, and a mountain in northern Japan

The Legend of Haguro-san's Bell Tower

The Deep Meaning Behind Tea Ceremony’s Most Famous Concept

Ichigo Ichie - One moment, one meeting. One chance in a lifetime.

Matsuo Basho and The Power of Haiku

How to capture nature in the written word

MOUNTAINS OF YAMAGATA

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

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.

Why This Tiny Mountain MUST be on Your Japan Itinerary: Haguro-san

Home to Haguro Shugendo and the Dewa Sanzan Yamabushi mountain monks

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

Mt. Atsumi in Atsumi Onsen, a quaint Onsen Hot Spring town in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture

Reaching Peak Tranquility: Atsumi-dake (Mt. Atsumi)

The hidden Onsen (Hot Spring) town of Atsumi's own hidden gem

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.

Mt. Yudono Shrine Gates during the autumn

The Dewa Sanzan’s Mountain of Rebirth: Yudono-san (Mt. Yudono)

Yudono-san is the final Dewa Sanzan peak in the middle of Yamagata Prefecture that has been a central destination for millions over the centuries

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).