With the rising demand and interest in self-guided tours, leading walking tour operator, Walk Japan launches a brand new Self-Guided Basho Wayfarer. Based on the classic poetic travelogue, Oku-no-hosomichi by famed haiku poet Matsuo Basho, this 6-day, 5-night tour takes you on the Narrow Road to the Deep North of Japan’s Tohuku region.

Providing an authentic experience of Japan and plentiful opportunities for self-discovery, the self-guided tour is a great option for those looking to embark on a journey resembling that of Julia Roberts’ in Eat, Pray, Love. It is also an entertaining way to discover Japan’s northern Tohoku region, offering distinctive culture and the chance to meet its friendly natives.

Starting in Sendai, which was once the stronghold of the Date Clan, a powerful samurai family, you will begin your journey moving across to a ruined fortress at Tagajo to Matsushima Bay. Discover beautiful temples including Entsuin and Zuiganji, which will simply take your breath away. Passing through beautiful forests with foliage in a myriad of shades, arrive at Hojin-no-le, a distinctive thatched building, known as the only remaining structure where Basho is known to have stayed. Enjoy a refreshing cup of green tea as you relive Basho’s footsteps before retiring to your comfortable accommodation, complete with riverside onsen baths and delicious meals cooked by your host.

The Self-Guided Basho Wayfarer includes easy-to-follow, detailed instructions. Daily walking distances are between 5-14km and elevation gain averages between 100-400m. Options are provided to lengthen or shorten each day’s itinerary according to your energy levels. While walking is generally comfortable, it does include some steeper sections, including the remote Natagiri-toge pass. Your efforts to reach the top will be rewarded when you are repaid with sprawling views of the countryside below.

From the coast to forests and remote countryside, this self-guided tour available from mid-May to early November, provides travellers the joy of independent travelling and the comfort in having support available 24 hours a day.

As Basho once wisely said, “Seek not to follow in the footsteps of wise men of old, but seek what they sought”

To read more about this off-the-beaten track experience, please visit: www.walkjapan.com/tour/self-guided-basho-wayfarer