Our guides
Every guide is a Wilderness First Responder. Two walk with every group.
Emi Kawabata
Lead guide, Kumano Kodo
Nine seasons on the Kii trails; lives in Hongu and knows every inn keeper by name. Japan National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter. Wilderness First Responder, NOLS Wilderness Medicine, recertified 2025.
Rob Hartley
Guide, Kiso Valley and the Alps
Grew up in Oregon, moved to Matsumoto in 2011. Japan Mountain Guide Association Mountain Guide. Wilderness First Responder, recertified 2024. Walks at the back, where the questions are.
Yuki Moriyama
Guide, Kyoto and Koyasan
Trained at a Koyasan temple before she guided. Knows which gate opens at 6 and which path is empty at 7. Licensed Guide Interpreter and Wilderness First Responder.
Marisol Vega
Trip planner, San Francisco
Answers every email before you go, books your inns and checks your forms. Walked the whole Kumano Kodo twice. Replies within one business day.
Safety, in writing
What we promise every walker, and what happened last year. The 2025 figures are a sample for this concept build.
- Two guides per groupOne at the front, one at the back, so nobody walks alone and nobody waits alone. The back guide carries the group first-aid kit.
- Wilderness First ResponderEvery guide holds the 80-hour WFR from NOLS Wilderness Medicine and renews it every three years. Certificates are on file and shown on request.
- A plan for every dayEach day has a written evacuation point: a road, a hut or a bus stop, and the time it takes to reach it. Guides carry a satellite messenger where phones drop out.
- Weather callsIf heavy rain or a typhoon warning closes a section, we take the bus and walk a safe stretch instead. The guide makes the call, and it isn't argued.
- Our record, in writingWe publish every evacuation and serious incident each year. In 2025: 412 walkers, 38 departures, two van pickups at Jizo-jaya, one sprained ankle, no hospital stays.
How we pay guides
Guides are paid a full day rate for every day on trip and every training day, plus health insurance in Japan. Tipping isn't part of Japanese custom and isn't part of our price. If you want to thank your guide, a note goes a long way.
Walk with Emi in April