Traveling with purpose. Writing from the heart. Marie Journals is a personal travel blog about slow travel, hiking, and intentional journeys—mostly around Japan. Here, I share honest travel stories, detailed guides, reflections from the trail, and practical tips from my own experiences hiking and walking pilgrimages like the Camino de Santiago.
Oopps I did It Again.. Someone told me that Nantai is easier than Shirane so I thought, “oh maybe it’s not gonna be so bad.” I got this. WRONG. Hikemaster rated this hike 3/5 but for me it’s more like 10/5. Haha! I was dying on the trail.. for real. I think it’s the hardest…
I think Tsukuba just became my newest favorite city in the Kanto region. They have parks, museums, adventure spots, onsen, and hiking areas — so many things to do there. We even passed by a road lined with ginkgo trees, and the autumn foliage was absolutely beautiful! For this trip, we decided to hike Mt….
Alright Demon Slayer fans… You definitely know this mountain we hiked last week because it’s where Tanjiro Kamado and his family used to live. If you’ve seen the first episode of Kimetsu no Yaiba, you know which mountain I’m talking about. Episode 1 and this anime already got me crying my eyeballs out. I recently…
Nikko / 日光 / ニッコウ is known for its natural beauty, World Heritage Sites, and relaxing atmosphere. While most people would go to Lake Chuzenji, Toshogu Shrine, Rinnoji Temple, and the Shinkyo Bridge or Kegon Falls.. my crazy friends and I decided to climb Mt. Nikko-Shirane / 日光白根山 / ニッコウシラネ which is located on the border…