Last April I (Charlie, Marketing at Outsiders Store) had the privilege of being sent to Japan as Outsiders' envoy, primarily to meet the guys from Yamatomichi, an ultralight backpacking brand that we are introducing to Europe here at OS. From an ultralight garage-brand fest in “deepest Japan” to a hike through the mountains of Kanagawa, here’s a small writeup of my trip, along with some photos that I took along the way on phone, digital camera and 35mm film.

Anyone’s first trip to Japan will be memorable, it’s just one of those places, and when you’re there on your own, the experience is intensified, I could write for ages about every detail but I’ll try and stick to the key areas… 

Day one. Straight off the looong plane and onto the train into Tokyo, a wrong turn at the station found me ejected straight into Shibuya scramble. You’ve seen it, the crazy crosswalk, Tokyo’s most notorious hotspot of organised chaos. Dragging my case through the crowds, with my face full of neon, I orientated myself, got a gyudon at Matsuya and got my head down, tomorrow I’d catch the train to Kamakura for my first meeting. 

Day two. The next morning, I arrived in Kamakura, a historic coastal town in Kanagawa near Tokyo, and the home of Yamatomichi. I met Junki, Jens and Moss from the brand, loaded my stuff into Junki’s Subaru Forester and was driven over to their flagship store. 

After a tour of the store and products we headed to Yama HQ, a nifty converted scooter garage wedged into a cheese-shaped gap at the side of the road. Inside I was struck by the clever space-saving architecture and design features. The building houses offices, meeting spaces, repair and design facilities and even a staffed kitchen, all for a team of 30 in a space of 200sqm!

After meeting the founders, Akira and Yumiko and the rest of the team, I headed out for the evening. Japan’s biggest 13th century bronze Buddha is just down the road…

Day three. I started my day with a dip in the Pacific (my first time in that sea) and was the only one in the warm water that morning in Kamakura. After breakfast Jens picked me up in his beautiful vintage Suzuki Jimny and we rattled off on the two-hour ride to Machida where this year’s Off the Grid fair was taking place. Off the Grid is an ultralight brand showcase in a park in the middle of the city. Think easy-ups and lots of queues. Mostly filled with small DIY garage brands, there are some exceptions, Yamatomichi had an impressive set-up, with talks and events going on throughout the day as did Blue Lug, everyone’s favourite bike shop (anyone who knows me can imagine how pleased I was to see that particular stall). Off the Grid was cool, seeing all the small DIY brands was encouraging and it was great to see so much enthusiasm for ultralight stuff and get a taste of the scene in Japan. 

Machida was an interesting city, not many tourists here and a good central area that was a bit like Shibuya-lite, with lots of gaming shops and karaoke halls. Later in the trip when I told a local that I’d been there, I was met with raised eyebrows and told that I’d been in “deep Japan” – I got the impression that it was like if a Japanese person went to Wigan or something. 

Day four. I knocked about in Machida for a bit, stocking up on camera film at a sensory overload store called Yodabashi Camera, before heading over to a rainy Chigasaki in preparation for a hike-camp in the mountains with Yamatomichi the next day. This was the hometown of one of my hosts, Junki, a well-known hiking YouTuber in Japan and at the time, employee of the brand. We met in the evening along with Donald - owner of Mori Mori Store in Hong Kong and stockist of Yamatomichi - for dinner with friends and some hike-supply shopping at the local supermarket. I received an education in how to maximise on snacks for minimum weight – it became apparent that whiskey was a wise purchase. Maximum effect for minimal weight – "for relaxing times, make it Suntory time…" 

Day five. Eary start for a gyudon breakfast at Yoshinoya with Donald before heading over to Junki’s apartment for coffee and hike-prep. The final member of our party, Oji turned up and we weighed our packs (I lost by some margin), loaded the car and headed off. Motoring our way up the Yabitsu pass we wound up at the trail head and began our ascent. 

Steps upon steps upon steps, climbing up and then via-ferrata style chain descent down. Copy and paste that formula a few times and you’ll get an idea of what hiking this terrain is like. This is of course, Japan, an erratic landscape in the Ring of Fire tectonic belt, forged by earthquakes and volcanoes. It was literally and figuratively as far away from the Yorkshire Dales as I could have got. 

After some distance and many peaks we reached the highest point on our hike, the summit of Mt. Tonodake which to my surprise, featured a mountain-top tea shop. I was pretty cream crackered by this point, my legs were cooked and I was sweatier than I’d ever been thanks to a steep ascent in the high humidity. I mainlined a bottle of coke and reluctantly got up to continue, thinking that the next section of the walk might be punishing. It was then, like some divine gift, that the clouds lifted and we were met with an astonishing view of Mt. Fuji in the haze. It was my first time seeing the sacred mountain and seeing it under these circumstances was energising and cathartic. I ate an onigiri and trekked on with a new-found vigour. 

At the campsite I was pointed at by the owner and called a Japense word which my companions told me meant “pale”, although I'm fairly certain I heard "handsome".

It was a pretty regular campsite for these guys, but for me it was an eye-opener. Snow Peak kit for hire, free WiFi, laundry services, hi-tech Japanese toilets (iykyk) – A famer's field in Cumbria it was most certainly not.

We sorted our sleeping set-ups, for three of us, tents, and for Junki, a sheet on the ground under a tarp. Oji got a fire going and from his pack, Donald produced a Dyneema sack full of alcohol, snacks and cigarettes and offered it out – a one stop shop for all your post-hike needs. We named it Donald-Mart. 

We feasted on Yakitori seasoned with something called “Crazy Salt” from Junki's titanium mini-grill, and drank 'til the early hours. Oji taught us a clever tip, if you drink a whole carton of Shochu, you can then use the empty vessel as your pillow – Ultralight! 

Day six. In the morning I got a lesson in how to pack an ultralight backpack, and we set off on the homeward straight – Junki had a novel way of drying his tarp.

We passed a chatty old lady tending to her garden who immediately told us she’d seen loads of UFO’s in the area – cosmic! 

On the bus, another old lady struck up a conversation. It turned out she was a retired lawyer and in her prime, had been an accomplished mountaineer who had led expeditions on most continents – The Karakoram, Himalaya, American and Canadian peaks as well as European Alps. She left us and got off the bus, repeating her favourite English phrase as she went - “always look on the bright side of life”.

Back in town after a few plates of Gyoza dipped in vinegar and black pepper(!) we finished our trek in the traditional manner by bathing at the local Onsen – an experience indeed for a guy from Lancashire.

Thank you for having me.

Get tickets to the upcoming Yamatomichi events here. from 22nd - 26th April 2026.