Haiku Walking in Japan
following the poet’s path
Most people travelling to Japan would surely be aware of haiku poetry, but would they ever think of going on a haiku walk? Called a ginko and often held at the change of seasons, participants are invited to walk together in nature and jot down observations. At the end, they share their notes and spend time writing and workshopping their three line poems.
We followed this principle on a daily basis over ten days on our first haiku walking tour in 2016 where we traced the footsteps of the founder of haiku, Matsuo Basho, along the route described in his haibun notebook, Oku no Hosumichi (The Narrow Road to the Deep North). Walking with day packs for part of each day and catching trains, buses and ferries where needed, we stayed at ryokans (traditional inns), soaked in onsens (hot springs) and enjoyed exquisite local cuisine. Our travels were decidedly more comfortable than Basho’s, but just as enlightening, as each day we observed, jotted, sketched, photographed and thrilled over tiny haiku moments. See pics and read poems from this tour by Sydney poet Jacqueline Buswell and US poet David Oates.
We followed up in 2018 with a seven day ginko on the Nakasendo Way, the ancient highway that ran from Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo) linking the old post towns. This was another route travelled by Basho and other poets, merchants, feudal lords, samurai warriors, and was immortalised by the woodblock artist Hiroshige in his famous series 69 Stations of Nakasendo. See/read more about our Nakasendo tour here.
In 2019 we took on the challenge to walk parts of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail (pics here). Paying our respects at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, we followed the footsteps of priests, emperors, pilgrims and poets who in the earliest days of Buddhism in Japan (794–1180) came to take part in nature rituals and purifications. On the last day Typhoon Hagibis was approaching so we hightailed it back to Osaka, before the heavy weather set in. Lynn Berry writes about the beginning of our tour here.
In March, 2024, we will go again, this time to explore the Kunisaki Peninsular over six days. Our guided tour in conjunction with our partner Walk Japan provides an introduction to one of Japan’s most beautiful yet least known areas, and nearby Yufuin, one of Japan’s elegant onsen thermal hot spring resorts. Our route follows in the footsteps of monks who have walked the mountains of the peninsula for over 1,200 years. Any reasonably fit person (7kms per day) will thoroughly enjoy the ancient trails, which provide excellent walking through sleepy hamlets and verdant forests, along craggy ridges towering over the myriad surrounding valleys. En route we pass many stone Buddha statues, large and small, and sometimes caves where monks once found shelter and meditated.
We will visit Usa Jingu, one of the greatest but least known of Japan’s grand shrines; walk through Tashibu, a lovely village in a bucolic setting; make a short but steep climb to two ancient Buddha relief carvings on the face of a towering cliff. We also climb to Itsutsuji-Fudo, the inner sanctum and one of the few structures to remain of a once important and powerful temple. As we climb, great views open up of the surrounding mountains and valleys and on a clear day we can see the Seto Inland Sea, the route by which Buddhism first arrived in Kunisaki from China, and Japan’s main island, Honshu.
Morning workshops will introduce participants to haiku, haibun, haiga forms and encourage a playful approach to using the senses for collecting and recording their haiku observations. Prompts and exercises will be given for the trail and evening readings/sharings will give an opportunity to reflect on the day’s ‘aha’ moments.
Experienced and novice poets/writers/artists/ walkers are welcome. There’s no pressure to come up with a perfect haiku, rather the emphasis is on developing a more ‘haiku way’ of looking at life.
At the end of the tour participants are invited to publish their work in our online magazine. Read more work from past haiku walkers on our Medium publication, Summer Grass.
If you would like more info or have any Q’s please leave a message in the comments or get in touch via my website here.
We have just opened bookings and places are limited so if you are keen to join do get in touch asap.
Photos above (except for hikers) and Kunisaki text, courtesy of our partner Walk Japan.
©Jan Cornall, May 2023.
Jan Cornall leads international writer’s workshops, retreats and journeys with her company Writer’s Journey.
Coming up in 2023!
Sensing Italy June 3 -10, 2023.
Story Hunters, India, Nov 4–19, 2023.
Moroccan Caravan, Feb 23 — Mar 8 , 2024.
Haiku Writing In Japan, March 27 — April 1 2024.
