Life After the Quake: Guiding, Cycling & the Essence of Japan

Outland Japan

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In Episode 07 of Snow Country Stories Japan, I speak with Kevin Kato, a guide and writer based in Matsumoto, Nagano. Kevin guides extended cycling and walking tours in Japan and in the first half of the interview we discuss the pleasure we both find in guiding, the need to convey of sense of place to guests and the growing popularity of cycling, including cycling tours and new routes in Japan. The Japan Alps Cycling Road is one such route that we touch upon briefly during the interview – a 700km / 435 loop circuit that takes in many of the highlights of Nagano.

In the second half of the interview, we delve into Kevin's story and how he came to be living in Nagano following the Great Tohoku Earthquake'that occurred on March 11th 2011 - an event that triggered the tsunami that devastated vast areas of Japan's coast and resulted in multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Resident in the Fukushima at the time of the quake, Kevin wrote a book – titled ‘For Now, After the Quake: A Father’s Journey’ - about that experience and his family's ordeal of getting to safety; a journey that eventually led them to settle in Nagano, since which time he has been guiding and pursuing his love of cycling, running and the outdoors.
Cycling Japan Tours: http://cyclingjapan.jp/
Japan Alps Cycling Road: https://japanalpscycling.jp/en
Outland Japan is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Peter Carnell - a freelance tour guide based in northern Nagano – that transports you to rural, regional and the wilds of Japan in pursuit of stories that lie outside the neon hum of Tokyo and golden trimmings of Kyoto. Stories of travel, life and culture beyond the big cities. Follow the show on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Please note, prior to October 2024, Outland Japan was named Snow Country Stories Japan.