TIM BUNTING

KIWI YAMABUSHI

山伏

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi on Mt. Gassan

キウイ

DAILY YAMABUSHI


Contradiction is key

August 3, 2025

It helps you make the decision

Minimalsit-inspired optimization

August 2, 2025

For clothing OR your smartphone.

What you’ve got

August 1, 2025

Always better than nothing

Interesting and interested

July 31, 2025

Let the world show you the way

Inspiration or otherwise

July 30, 2025

Something to work off

Build something

July 29, 2025

Build anything

Build the Basics

July 28, 2025

Your first (only) port of call

FEATURE ARTICLES

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

Chokai-zan
Japan’s Rothschilds and The Port City of Sakata

Why do I live in Yamagata? Why don’t I live in Tokyo or Osaka with the rest of them?

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi
Why do yamabushi do yamabushi training?

Yamabushi gotta yamabushi.

Dragons and how they protect my house in Japan

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

Mt. Chokai above the sea of Japan
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.

Why are greengrocers called the ‘800 store’ in Japan?

Ask the wives of court nobles of the 14th century...

Why do SHOGUN deserve their own shrine?

The warlord to end all warlords

photo of peeled banana on yellow plate and background
The MONSTROSITY that is Tokyo Banana

‘It’s a piece of crap, but I hope you like it’ - Japan.

a giant eel with a cleaner shrimp
It’s eel day. Don’t mow your lawn.

And the Japanese Colonel Sanders’ golden idea

sushi on brown wooden board
The Best Sushi in Japan

And the red man who lead us to it

The Badass Fudomyo’o: Your new Favourite Buddhist Deity

You’ll find him near waterfalls all over Japan.

The Uniquely Japanese Superpower

Do this and you can officially call yourself Japanese

body of water during golden hour
The Land of The Rising Moon-Sun

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

The Curse of Yamagata’s Mountains

Watch the view. Or maybe don't.

The Town of Dual Dragons

And the legends they created.

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

Introducing the mountains in the Shonai Region of Yamagata

MOUNTAINS OF YAMAGATA

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

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

How NOT to climb a mountain in winter

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

This mountain is EVERYWHERE in Japan: Ha-yama

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

THIS. IS. YAMAGARTA: Japan’s 300 Moment. 

How this tiny peak turned feudal Japan’s biggest battle on its head

The Heavenly Hideaway of Daizumori-yama

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

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 Pyramids of… Japan? — Yakushi-san and The OG Japan content creator (Mt. Yakushi)

Small pyramidal peak in the northern Yamagata town of Kaneyama

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. Haguro's Five Story Pagoda
Why This Tiny Mountain MUST be on Your Japan Itinerary: Haguro-san

Home to Haguro Shugendo and the Dewa Sanzan Yamabushi mountain monks

Tokami-yama and The Castle of Mist

And its role in north Japan's fiercest war

The Autumn Leaves of Mount Taizo
The Epitome of Autumn Leaves in North Japan: Taizo-san (Mt. Taizo)

Mount Taizo all but single-handedly confirms why autumn is by far the best season for hiking in Japan.

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

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

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

Bananas and Cokes, Leaches and Pit Vipers

How a group of elderly Japanese men saved our arses

Kurosawa Akira, Abe Shinzo, The Kami of War, and a flock of geese?

Mountain that marks the entrance to the Kamuro Alps

Yamabushi

Here are some blog posts about yamabushi.

man in white t shirt and black pants in a running position
uketamo
uketamo
YAMABUSHI

Random Posts

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The-paths-up-Mt.-Takadake-in-Tsuruoka

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