Where I'm heading next

October 2026 · Late in the month

Mie and Wakayama — the Kumano Kodō and Ise Jingū

The hills are just starting to turn. Kumano is wet country — when mist settles into the cedars, the stone paving gets slippery. Autumn colour comes down from the top, so the trailhead and the pass can feel a season apart on the same day.

• The Kumano Kodō is twinned with the Camino de Santiago — walk both and you're recognised as a Dual Pilgrim
• At Ise Jingū's inner shrine you walk fifteen minutes through forest before you reach the sanctuary. The approach is the point
• The mountains rise straight out of the sea here, so one day gives you both the open water and the cedar forest

Earlier this month I'm on the Spanish pilgrim route; at the end of it I'll be on the Kumano Kodō. Both halves of the pairing inside one month doesn't happen often.

November 2026 · Mid to late month

France — mostly Paris

In Paris the light is gone soon after five. The dark is what makes the lights worth it, and by the end of the month the Christmas decorations start going up.

• The third Thursday of November is when the new Beaujolais is released — a small festival in itself
• Museums without the summer queues. Get in when the doors open and you see the paintings, not the backs of heads
• Oysters and game at the markets — the things that only come into their own once it turns cold

• モンサンミッシェルを最高に楽しむ｜ドイツ・スイス・パリ8日間 (in Japanese)
• ロマンチック街道＆パリ完全ガイド｜7泊8日の旅のコツ (in Japanese)

March 2027 · Early in the month

A cruise through Asian waters

Six days on a large ship, calling at several ports. I'll add the ports here once I write them up.

• On a ship you unpack once. A different port every morning, the same room every night

• エーゲ海クルーズ完全ガイド｜添乗員が教えるリアルな旅のコツ (in Japanese)
• エーゲ海クルーズの楽しみ方完全ガイド｜現地のリアルな情報 (in Japanese)

March 2027 · Late in the month

Okinawa

Spring reaches Okinawa more than a month before the main islands. The beaches open around now — too early to swim, but the water is already summer-coloured.

• While the mainland is under cherry blossom, here it's the edge of early summer — some days climb close to 25°C

April 2027 · Late in the month

Portugal, a second time

Spring is the easiest time of year to be on foot in Portugal. Mornings and evenings still want a jacket, but the midday sun brings people out into the squares, and it's still light at dinner.

• The same country I walked in autumn, six months on. The light alone makes it a different place
• Late April brings the anniversary of the Carnation Revolution — a public holiday, and flowers out on the streets
• Too early for the sardines. What comes out instead is shellfish, and cold white wine

• ポルトガル・スペイン7日間｜おすすめ5都市のモデルコース (in Japanese)
• ポルトガル旅行で使えるフレーズ30｜現地で本当に使う順に (in Japanese)

May 2027 · Mid to late month

Four Nordic countries — Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland

In May the Nordic day stretches out absurdly — the sky is still light past ten at night, and one day feels like two. It's also when the mountain snow is running off, so the fjord waterfalls carry more water than at any other time of year.

• The Sognefjord, a World Heritage site. Sail into the narrows and the rock walls rise a thousand metres on either side
• The Flåm Railway and the Bergen Line — routes where the train itself becomes the destination
• You cross the borders by ship. Both Oslo and Helsinki arrive while you're asleep
• Gamla Stan in Stockholm: lanes too narrow for anything but walking