I recently purchased about 500 square meters of property in central Gunma Prefecture. The area is called Kanra (甘楽) and only a short north-east drive to Takasaki, the main city center in Gunma. The property is sloped and borders a creek with fresh spring water and sits at about 640 meters altitude. When I became serious about purchasing the property and started bringing it up with my real-estate savvy wife, she wasn’t entirely dismissive then supported the idea, knowing that it would keep me busy and out of the bars. The more I looked at the property, certain short-comings were popping up, such as parking limitations, the chore of terracing and landscaping to make it inhabitable, building a structure to store tools, building decks for tents … then the final blow – no public transportation within 13 km.

I took a hard look. And still went for it. Running spring water on property! That is what you need for a good mountain climbing and hiking base camp. Yes, it’s a hike to get there, but when you get there it feels like you’ve stepped into another world. The property is stepped, so clearing out a couple of overgrown shrubs and trimming back some trees was worth the start.

After a couple late summer months of cutting back bushes, leaving the good ones, inhabiting the property, and building a shelter, I can now focus on why I did this in the first place – to hike the mountains and take great nature pictures! Enjoy!