Bear-viewing hikes in the Japan Alps

For most hikers, running into a bear while out in the woods is a bad thing—that’s why so many locals walk the trails with jingle bells attached to their gear. But for the participants on a special hiking tour in Nagano, finding a bear is the whole point.

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The "best walk in the world"

According to Walkopedia, the kora (pilgrimage) around Mount Kailash in Tibet is the best walk in the world.

I've wanted to go to Tibet since I was a teenager. Getting to Mount Kailash would be half the fun. This tour takes you in on foot from Nepal. The gradual climb up the Humla Valley is designed so that your body can acclimatize to the extremely high altitude (over 5000m) at the actual mountain. The only drawback I can see is that there don't appear to be many cafes in the area.

The Tokaido walk in numbers

Total distance walked: 496.1km
Number of days: 25 (including two rest days)
Average distance walked per day (excluding rest days): 21.5km
Longest day: 27.8km
Shortest day: 12.1km
Maximum altitude reached: 846m
Total money spent during walk (including two rest days, not including time in Kyoto and Tokyo): 252,564 yen
Daily budget: 10,000 yen
Actual average amount spent per day: 10,102 yen
Number of blisters: 1
Number of mosquito bites: 9
Number of confirmed mosquito kills: 2
Number of snakes seen: 3 (including 1 deceased)
Number of bears, monkeys, wild boar seen: 0