Japan requires the giteki mark. For a short trip, rent a digital simple radio (RadiGo from ¥4,000 for 2 days; the renter does not register), or buy two 10 mW specified low-power radios locally (about ¥5,000–10,000 each). Korea requires a KC-certified digital personal radio (424/448 MHz, 0.5 W), about 4,400 won a day to rent; analog units stop being legal after 2026. For SOS: bring your inReach to both; a PLB may not be activated on land in Japan and is not permitted in Korea; iPhone satellite SOS works in Japan but not in Korea.
Read a finger crack by how deep your fingers go: only to the first knuckle is tips, to the second knuckle or the base of the fingers is a good finger crack, and in but wobbling is rattly fingers. For the good size, go thumb down: fingers in to the base, palm and forearm flat on the rock, rotate the elbow down until the forearm lines up with the crack, and pull down, not out. Too thin, flip to pinkie down; rattly, rely on torque and push your thumb on the edge; any wider is off-fingers. Knuckles locked above a constriction cost the least effort, and pin scars are ready-made constrictions, though they are hard to protect and hard on your toes. Feet go on face holds first, then toe jams or front-on smears on the crack edges. If the jam won't stick, the edge is good to grip and the wall isn't steep, layback. A millimeter changes everything, so measure cracks with your own fingers.
In a hand crack a foot jam takes four steps: drop the knee outward so the foot turns to its thinnest side (little toe down), slide the toes in, then bring the knee back in line with the crack so the foot twists tight. The most common mistake is getting only the tips of the toes in. Sources disagree on depth; Pete Whittaker's sweet spot puts the crack edge half to a full toe's length past the webbing of your toes. As you weight it, let the heel sit lower than the toes: pressure moves off the toe knuckles and the jam gets more secure. Foot pain usually means over-twisting or shoes that are too tight. To get out, reverse it: knee out, ankle relaxed. Finger cracks take only the toe; fist cracks take the whole foot straight in.
Before you climb a crack, work out how wide it is: tips, fingers, off-fingers, hands, fists, offwidth, squeeze or chimney. Each size has its own jams. But you measure the size with your own hand. Pete Whittaker's comparison: cam sizes 0.75 and 1 are perfect hand jams for small hands and thin, strenuous jams for big ones; a #4 is a fist jam for big hands and a butterfly stack for small ones. So 'this one's easy' from a friend may not apply to you, and you have to climb every size for the difficulty to even out. The series starts with hand cracks, the easiest to learn, and works outward toward narrower (fingers) and wider (fists, offwidths), with 2020-or-later videos from many crags and climbers in every post.
A hand jam's strength comes from the thumb, not the fingers: relax and flatten the hand, slide it in to the wrist, then tuck the thumb into the palm and push it toward the little finger so the muscle at its base presses on the rock. The fingers only help. The most common mistakes are not going deep enough, grabbing the crack edge with your fingers, and jamming at chest height. Thumbs up to move up, thumbs down to rest or place gear; cross hands in straight cracks, shuffle in leaning cracks and corners. A crack that's perfect for big hands may be cupped hands for small ones, so find your own 'hand number' first.
Arigasayama is a steep rhyolite sport destination in Gunma. Choose east/west sectors, confirm the road and adjust for condensation; keep forestry-road barriers clear.
Ena Kasagiyama is a large hard-tuff bouldering destination in Gifu, with some roped climbing, distinct from Kyoto’s Kasagi. Obtain the right sector topo, register and contribute at the entrance, then follow designated roads to your chosen area.
Fukube is a hard-tuff bouldering destination around Kataji Valley and Fukubegatake in Mino, Gifu. Register and contribute at the entrance, then choose an upper, middle or lower cluster before planning parking and pads.
Gozen Iwa offers intermediate-to-hard limestone sport climbing. Entry requires reliable outdoor 5.11 leading, first-visit registration for everyone and a log on every visit.
Miyazaki’s Hieizan offers granite-family big walls, multipitch and cracks, plus shorter lines below Peak II and around Peak III’s water point. Choose the peak and descent first, arrange road transport from Nobeoka, and distinguish the viewpoint walk from a climbing approach.
Hiwasa in Tokushima offers overhanging sea-cliff and cave climbing. CLIMBING-net records voluntary avoidance from after Golden Week through July for bird breeding.
Horai is a large tuff climbing area in Shinshiro, Aichi, ranging from Ganko-iwa's 5.10–5.11 routes to the steep hard climbing around Oni-iwa and Haikara-iwa. For the Chi-iwa Gorge approach, follow the city's instructions: park at Yuya Onsen, transfer to JR or a shuttle on its specified operating dates, and walk in.
Kawamata is a limestone sport crag near Naguri. Avoid the areas affected by JFA’s Hebi-iwa collapse and overhead-tree notices pending confirmed resolution; follow the local parking agreement.
Kofu Makuiwa offers woodland tuff sport climbing, mainly spring/autumn. Komorigawa Road is closed at km 6–8; check the prefecture’s Kashiyama or Kannon-toge/Ohnoyama alternatives.
Koshizawa Buttress is an Okutama multipitch training cliff. Modest grades still require trad, rope-management and retreat skills; confirm the current approach after historical typhoon damage.
Mikuradake is a granite destination around three rocky summits in Otake, Hiroshima, with cracks, slabs and multipitch lines. Submit the park entry form at the rest house, then choose a wall for your gear-placement and descent skills.
Mitsutoge is a mountain multipitch cliff, generally April–October, for teams with trad and multipitch skills. Include the walk, insulation, protection assessment and descent in the day.
Nabari is a welded-tuff crack-climbing destination in Mie Prefecture, with routes from Crack Baby and Nabari Nyumon to difficult finger cracks; bring gear-placement and jamming skills. For a first visit, obtain the local topo, assess the river crossing, and bring a vehicle marker, a yellow flag and appropriate crossing equipment.
Nodake in Nagasaki offers vertical and gently overhanging sport climbing. Older climbing descriptions mention access coordination by local mountaineering groups.
Ojigatake in Okayama offers granite bouldering above the seto inland sea. Ojigatake is in Setonaikai National Park, and the city notes permission requirements for structures and work on trees.
Shirotaebashi offers limestone sport climbing by the Nippara River. Confirm permitted sectors and parking with the Okutama centre before committing: the publisher still carries a historical self-restraint notice.
Tachiokayama combines Koyama Rock sport climbing and the multipitch left ridge. Prepare them separately; use designated parking and favour a booked ride over the limited, late-arriving bus.
Washizuyama in Shizuoka offers tuff face and crack climbing. The [JFA’s 2025 warning](https://freeclimb.jp/access/10123/) reports roughly 30 kg of rock falling near Dome Crack on January 4, with discontinuities above.
Japan's strength shows in the data: 14 men's and 8 women's World Cup overall titles, and in one 2023 lead final seven of the eight finalists were Japanese. At home the Japan Cup doubles as national-team selection, and the federation runs a youth development project. But 'why' is still only explained by commentators, such as former IFSC vice-president Toru Kobinata, who says Japanese gyms pack their walls with holds and so offer more movement variety. No academic study has examined the question directly.
To apply for IFMGA training you submit 55 routes you led yourself, spread over at least 3 years. Taiwan can cover sport climbing, trad systems and basic snow skills; skiing, glaciers, WI4 ice, avalanche courses and 800 m D+ alpine routes all mean going abroad. Japan and Korea fill in winter ice, and only the Alps and New Zealand have glaciers. Starting as a rock climber who has never been on snow, a rough estimate is 5–8 years.
Asia has only three IFMGA members, Japan, Nepal and Kyrgyzstan, plus Georgia on the Europe–Asia border. Japan takes at least about 7 years, runs entirely in Japanese, and is not taking new international-guide candidates in 2026. Nepal is a No Ski association that was allowed to take Asian students from 2020. Georgia trains guides through a state vocational diploma taught in Georgian. Kyrgyzstan takes about 3 years, teaches in Russian and English, and charged US$3,300 in total for the 2016–2019 intakes.
A chert crag in Shimukappu village, central Hokkaido. ROCKTOPO lists 113 lines in total (101 face routes, 11 boulder problems), with an unusually deep 5.12–5.13 range, and the walls sit right beside Prefectural Road 136. Season is May–October; winter snow reaches about 1 m. The nearest station is Shimukappu on the JR Sekisho Line, but no official bus serves the crag, so in practice you drive.
A sandstone sport crag in Joban-Yumoto, Iwaki City, Fukushima. ROCKTOPO lists 100 lines (85 sport, 15 boulders); most routes are only 5–6 m and the 5.10–5.11 range dominates. Both crag databases give a September–May season, with sunny winters as the main draw. The nearest station is JR Yumoto, but this is a driving crag with about 13 parking spaces below the walls.
A cluster of twenty-plus limestone crags around Takahashi, Okayama. ROCKTOPO lists 347 routes, almost all bolted sport lines, concentrated in the 5.11–5.12 range. Something is climbable year-round: shady valleys in summer, south-facing walls in winter. The base at Yuze hut is about 30 minutes by bus from JR Bitchu-Takahashi Station.
A tuff sport crag in the Ura-Rokko area of Kita Ward, Kobe, Hyogo. CLIMBING-net lists 70+ routes and ROCKTOPO 94 (only 5 at 5.12 or harder); both list it as climbable year-round. It is a 15-minute walk from JR Dojo Station on the Fukuchiyama Line. Many bolts are old, the rock is not great, and parking is about five roadside spots.
A limestone sport crag in Ogano, Saitama, with walls at 90–135 degrees. CLIMBING-net lists 160 routes and ROCKTOPO 220, concentrated in the 5.11 and 5.12 range. CLIMBING-net calls it a year-round crag but notes seepage in the rainy season and summer. By transit it takes two buses from Seibu-Chichibu Station to Sakamoto plus a hike up to Matatoge; most climbers drive up the forest road.
Tonai-kabe (藤内壁), the granite crag on the north face of Mt. Gozaisho in Komono, Mie, is known for long multi-pitch lines on Maeone and Nakaone. ROCKTOPO lists 124 routes (79 face, 36 crack, 9 multi-pitch), and both Japanese sites give April–November as the season. Take the Kintetsu line to Yunoyama-Onsen Station, a bus to the Gozaisho Ropeway stop, then about an hour up the Ura-michi trail past Tonai Hut.
A limestone sport crag on Usa Beach in Kunigami, at the northern tip of Okinawa's main island. ROCKTOPO lists 42 routes (5.7–5.13d), mostly in the 5.11 range; ROCKTOPO's season is November–March, and theCrag warns June–October is wet and windy typhoon season. By bus it's route 67 from Nago to Hentona, then the Kunigami village bus with two scheduled runs each way per day; climbing sites all say to rent a car.
An andesite sport crag in the Hyugami gorge, Yabe, Yame City, Fukuoka: ROCKTOPO lists 239 routes, about 70% of them in the 5.10s and 5.11s. CLIMBING-net calls it a year-round crag; skip the rainy season and pick shaded sectors in summer. By public transport, take the Horikawa Bus from JR Hainuzuka Station, change at Kurogi, and get off at Damu-iriguchi — only 5 buses a day run toward the crag.
Jogasaki is a lava sea cliff in Ito, Shizuoka: andesite, mostly trad crack climbing plus sport routes and bouldering. ROCKTOPO lists 494 routes (255 cracks). Best from December to April, reached on foot from Futo, Jogasaki-Kaigan or Izu-Kogen stations on the Izukyu line. Seaside needs a rappel in and a climb back out, and the crag is not officially sanctioned, so a run of accidents could get it closed.
A tuff crag in Izunokuni, Shizuoka. ROCKTOPO lists 362 routes (334 single-pitch, 28 multi-pitch) and CLIMBING-net says about 300, most of them 5.10–5.11. ROCKTOPO gives the season as November–March, CLIMBING-net as late September to early June; the trailhead is about a 25-minute walk from Ohito Station on the Izuhakone Railway.
Granite bouldering on the Kizu riverbed in Kasagi, Kyoto: 109 problems on ROCKTOPO (about 100 per CLIMBING-net), mostly 4-kyu to 1-kyu. Both sites list it as year-round, with CLIMBING-net warning that midwinter is harsh. It is a 5–10 minute walk from JR Kasagi Station on the Kansai Line; the boulders are free, but drivers park at the paid Kasagi Campground downstream.
A granite bouldering area in Nishinomiya, Hyogo. ROCKTOPO lists 126 problems (10-kyu to 3-dan, most in the 4-kyu band); CLIMBING-net says about 50. Season: year-round, poor in midsummer. CLIMBING-net puts it 15 minutes on foot from Hankyu Koyoen Station; drivers use the paid lot at Kitayama Botanical Garden.
A chert crag in Ohara, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto: CLIMBING-net says about 70 routes, ROCKTOPO lists 49, most at 5.10 or below, and the walls link into a north-ridge multi-pitch. Neither site gives month-by-month reasons; CLIMBING-net lists it as year-round. Take the Kyoto Bus to Hanajiribashi or Todera and walk about 20 minutes to Ebumi Shrine — never park at the shrine.
A bouldering area on the Tama River banks in Ome, Tokyo. The rock is mostly chert, ROCKTOPO lists 271 problems from 10-kyu to 4-dan, and ROCKTOPO's season runs October to May because summer is hot and humid. Walk to the river from JR Mitake Station on the Ome Line.
A granite crag in Hokuto, Yamanashi: ROCKTOPO lists 733 routes (371 cracks, 128 multi-pitch) plus 539 problems at Mizugakiyama Boulder. Season is April–November and the forest road closes in winter. The seasonal bus from JR Nirasaki Station does not reach the Mizugakiyama Nature Park where climbers park.
Odo Kaigan is a granite sea-cliff crag at Shikoku’s southwest tip, mostly for trad crack climbing; easy grades still require anchor and retreat skills. Prioritize November to March and access by car, then check your sector’s tides, road access, and way back to the clifftop.
Granite crags around Mawarime-daira in Kawakami, Nagano. ROCKTOPO lists 1,055 routes (sport, crack, multi-pitch) plus 611 boulder problems. ROCKTOPO gives April–November, CLIMBING-net May–October; the campground sits around 1,600 m and gets cold in spring and autumn. The nearest station is Shinano-Kawakami on the JR Koumi Line, then a village bus to Kawahake.
A coastal granite crag in Kita-Samuraihama, Kuji City, Iwate. ROCKTOPO lists 95 lines (52 boulder problems, 39 face routes, 4 cracks), and CLIMBING-net gives a season of late March to late November. Sources only describe driving access: about 15 minutes north of central Kuji on Route 45. Most bolts are old and corroded by the sea, and CLIMBING-net suggests top-roping if in doubt.
A chert sport crag in Akiruno, Tokyo: 46 routes on CLIMBING-net, 52 on ROCKTOPO (including 6 boulder problems), most of them 5.10–5.11. Both sites list it as a year-round crag; it faces northwest, so winter is cold. Take the bus bound for Kami-Yozawa from JR Musashi-Itsukaichi Station to Sorigo-bashi; the trout-fishing lot across the road has been closed to climbers since October 2019.
Toyota is the collective name for a dozen-plus granite boulder areas in the hills east of Toyota City, Aichi, centred on the Otaki Gorge. ROCKTOPO lists 941 boulder problems and 76 face routes; its season is Feb–May and Oct–Dec, CLIMBING-net says autumn to spring. Night climbing is banned everywhere and roadside parking has drawn strong complaints, so first-timers should use the Utaishi lot.
A crag inside Makuyama Park in Yugawara, Kanagawa. ROCKTOPO lists 365 lines (295 face, 58 boulders), mostly 5.10s; sources disagree on whether the rock is tuff or andesite. Sunny and warm in winter — ROCKTOPO marks December to March — and about 15 minutes by bus from JR Yugawara Station to the Makuyama Koen stop.
A granite crag in Tateyama, Toyama, with 51 routes on ROCKTOPO (46 face, 5 crack), mostly 5.10s. CLIMBING-net gives the season as early April to late November, but the Shomyo Road gate at Katsuradai officially opens only from late April to late November, and only in daytime. The nearest station is Tateyama on the Toyama Chiho Railway; the bus timetable lists no stop near the crag.
One guide per crag, 57 so far, from Shimukappu in Hokkaido to Cape Hedo in Okinawa. In winter (December–March) go to the south-facing walls of Izu and Yugawara or to Okinawa; in summer head for Ogawayama and Mizugakiyama at around 1,600 m, or Hokkaido. Look up routes and rules on ROCKTOPO and CLIMBING-net; find partners through Meetup, Facebook groups, and Jimoty.
Japan has no official supermarket ranking, but stores fall into three tiers by positioning: Kinokuniya and Seijo Ishii for gifts and imported food; Life, AEON, and Seiyu for everyday groceries; OK, Gyomu Super, and Lopia for bulk and low prices. At checkout, food is taxed at 8% and alcohol at 10%.
The 1.5% overseas card fee is 1% network + 0.5% issuer, and dual-currency cards pay it too. Bank of Taiwan quotes KRW only as cash with a 15.7% round-trip spread, versus 2.45% for JPY spot — so a JPY account is worth it, a KRW one isn't (and mostly can't be opened).