My favorite part of visiting Japan was spending time with Lake Shikaribetsu. It’s the highest altitude lake in Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. The lake is in the southern part of Daisetsuzan National Park. The sun rose very early in September, about 4:30 am. I could watch the whole dramatic sunrise over the lake from my room at Hotel Fusai.

My group kayaked the lake and hiked up the mountain above for excellent views. We also got in the water a few times for invigorating, slightly chilly swims. You can read about what to do at Lake Shikaribetsu in my USA Today Outdoors Wire story.

Japan for nondrinkers

It’s always interesting to navigate another part of the world sober. I found Japan an easy place to not drink. Most activities don’t all revolve around alcohol. You can read about visiting Japan as a nondrinker in this story I wrote for The Sober Curator. However, being a vegan was much harder! Thank goodness for our guides who helped arrange things like non-fishy food.

Adventure Travel World Summit

I was in Japan for my first Adventure Travel World Summit. The Adventure Travel Trade Association puts on this annual event. What a wonderful mix of people from around the world! I got to spend time with people from Costa Rica, Colombia, Finland, Pakistan, Chile, the Mariana Islands and many other places. I hope to go to more of ATTA’s events in the future.