How Japan sustainability practices lead the way

In a land where ancient traditions, time-honoured cultural practices and the spiritual beauty of nature are respected and celebrated, acting consciously is at the very heart of Japanese society.

Japan‘s sustainability practices are rooted in many aspects of its culture; evident in its appreciation of nature, with everything from mountains to trees to waterways viewed as objects of worship (kami); the belief that elements in nature are inhabited by deities and should therefore be respected and protected is a guiding principle of the Shinto religion. They are at the heart of the philosophy of wabi-sabi, which encourages finding beauty in the imperfect, impermanent and incomplete in nature and in life.

This means when it comes to adventures, plenty of earth-friendly options are readily available and offered with pride. Propel yourself through sacred islands and floating torii gates by paddle power, hike thousands of metres above sea level on dramatic mountainscapes, or get your hands dirty picking and planting.

Here are some to sample.

1. Learn pottery making in Arita

The tradition of ceramic making stretches back over 400 years in the town of Arita, located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu.

Visiting here not only allows you to learn the history of the craft, but you can also experience it first-hand by creating your own original piece as part of a local workshop.

pottery making in Arita, Japan sustainability — Create your own ceramic piece in Arita.

2. Stay at a Buddhist temple in Koyasan

The mountain settlement of Koyasan in Wakayama Prefecture is one of the spiritual homes of esoteric Buddhism in Japan, with over 100 temples scattered throughout its UNESCO World Heritage-listed temple complex.

The ultimate way to truly immerse yourself in the tranquillity of this exquisite location is with a temple stay; over 50 temples offer accommodation options to visitors which includes the chance to enjoy shojin ryori (traditional vegetarian Buddhist cuisine) and wake early to witness the morning prayer ritual of the resident monks through a thick, fragrant haze of incense smoke.

Koyasan, Japan — Stay at a Buddhist temple in Koyasan.

3. Walk with Japan’s indigenous peoples, the Ainu

Japan’s indigenous Ainu people have lived in harmony with nature for millennia, and still honour their ancient ways on the island of Hokkaido.

The settlement of Akanko Ainu Kotan, within Akan-Mashu National Park, is the perfect place to learn about the history and stories of these proud people, while taking part in an Asahikawa Hiking and Ainu Culture Tour offers the chance to experience the wonders of the natural landscape through their pure and respectful filter.

Akanko Ainu Kotan, Japan — Take a tour around the settlement of Akanko Ainu Kotan. (Image: Hajime Nakano)

4. Discover the art of indigo dyeing in Nagara River Basin

For centuries, indigo dyeing has been undertaken in the Nagara River Basin of Gifu Prefecture.

Visiting a traditional dye house in the town of Gujo Hachiman is a vivid way to indulge in this history, watching as artisans at Watanabe Somemono Dyehouse – who have had knowledge passed to them through a staggering 15 generations – practise aizome indigo dyeing techniques and share their skills to help you produce your own piece.

indigo dyeing in Nagara River Basin, Japan — Discover the art of indigo dyeing in Nagara River Basin.

5. Take the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage

The Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage, or Shikoku Henro, laces its way from the top of the island of Shikoku along a 1400-kilometre track, passing 88 sacred temples in the process.

Pilgrims have been undertaking this journey in silent reverence for some 1200 years, immersing themselves in the pristine natural landscape that surrounds them as they go.

The entire journey can take over a month to complete, depending on the pace you set, but it is possible to walk parts of it over a few days or a few weeks.

Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage route, Japan sustainability — Walk the ancient Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage route.

6. Become a kurabito (sake brewer) at Saku

The brewing of sake is another time-honoured practice in Japan, and the Saku area of Nagano Prefecture is famed for the quality of the clear, crisp beverage made there.

You can learn the ways of a kurabito (sake brewer) at Kitsukura Shuzo, a traditional sake brewery utilising sustainable, small-batch production methods for over 300 years. A three-day stay allows you to join master brewers to learn how sake is made, before retiring to accommodation in an on-site building where the brewers once lived.

Kitsukura Shuzo, Saku, Japan — Learn the ancient art of kurabito (sake brewer) at Kitsukura Shuzo.

7. Visit a historic tea house in Kanazawa

Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture is renowned for the traditional hospitality afforded by its geisha, also known as ‘geigi’.

At Kaikaro in the Higashi Chaya District, the town’s historic tea-house district, you can witness the performance of traditional dances and songs and gain an insight into the elegance of geisha culture, while enjoying refreshing Japanese tea and sweets.

Kanazawa, Japan sustainability — Visit a historic tea house in Kanazawa.

8. Bike ride Japan’s National Cycle Routes

Japan is the perfect place to saddle up and explore by bike. The National Cycle Routes are the ultimate reference point for planning a cycling adventure because they include a range of route lengths and difficulty levels.

For beginners, the 70-kilometre Shimanani Kaido stretches from Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture across the bridges and islands of the Seto Inland Sea to its official finish in Imabari on the island of Shikoku.

For more advanced long-distance riders, the 1400-kilometre Pacific Cycling Road passes through a total of six prefectures (Wakayama, Mie, Aichi, Shizuoka, Kanagawa and Chiba), as it tracks a join-the-dots journey from vibrant cities to charming villages to secluded beaches along ruggedly scenic coastal roads (and via a few ferry transfers).

There are a number of jaw-dropping attractions along the way, including Meoto-Iwa (Wedded Rocks), a pair of sacred rocks joined by rope (the larger one represents the husband, the smaller one the wife) sitting in the ocean off Ise City in Mie Prefecture.

Saddle up and explore Shimanani Kaido by bike.

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9. SUP board through a floating torii gate

For stand-up paddle boarding, things don’t get more magical than navigating yourself through the waters of the Seto Inland Sea towards Hiroshima’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed floating torii gate and onto the sacred island of Miyajima, home of the evocative Itsukushima Shrine.

island of Miyajima, adventure trips in Japan — Stand-up paddle board through the sacred island of Miyajima.

10. Raft down the Yoshino River

Propel yourself across Japan’s abundant aquatic and marine landscapes, with adventures ranging from leisurely kayaking tours to white-knuckle rafting expeditions.

Get your heart pumping on the 194-kilometre Yoshino River, which flows from Kochi Prefecture to Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. Known as Japan’s wildest river, it has some of the best rapids in the country.

If you’d rather your adventure at a leisurely pace, kayak the still waters of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture – Japan’s largest freshwater lake. Take in the shrines, temples and beaches that line it, as well as the delightful cherry blossoms that erupt during spring.

Stay relaxed while canoeing in Hokkaido’s Kushiro Shitsugen National Park wetlands, revered for stunning landscapes and abundant wildlife, from iconic red-crowned cranes to sweet-faced Ezo deer. In Niseko, Hokkaido, the melting of the winter snows that the area is famed for results in the Shiribetsu River rising by metres and creating the perfect seasonal rafting conditions.

rafting tokushima kochi oboke — Get the heart racing with white water rafting in Oboke Gorge on the Yoshino River.

11. Paraglide over Tottori Sand Dunes

Take to the skies for a drone-like survey of the landscape, powered only by the whim of the wind. Paragliding expeditions are available over the otherworldly sweep of the Tottori Sand Dunes, bordering the blue waters of the Sea of Japan and part of San’inkaigan National Park in Tottori Prefecture, and the vivid, green patchwork of Aso in Kyushu’s Kumamoto Prefecture.

Or try a tandem hang-gliding flight in Oshino, Yamanashi Prefecture, to wonder at jaw-dropping views of Mt Fuji in the distance as you float weightlessly through the sky.

Tottori Sand Dunes, Japan — Paraglide over the Tottori Sand Dunes.

After youth-led protests in 2025, this year Nepal elected a 35-year-old former rapper as Prime Minister. In a country where tourism is its biggest industry, what’s next for travellers?

In 1986, Nepal changed its clock. It had used India Standard Time since 1920 so, to differentiate, it wound its clock 15 minutes ahead of, not behind, its big-brother neighbour. Boss move. “Nepal is strongly opposed to the idea that our identity is connected to India,” says Community Homestay Network (CHN) guide Bikal Khanal.

Tharu dance is traditionally set to hand drums. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

Today, Nepal is the only independent country with a 45-minute deviation to universal time; an oddity that’s become a symbol of national pride. The quirk is nearly as endearing as Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport where carved varnished wood and shiny red bricks rule. One sign points to a ‘Travelator’ and another to a ‘Grievance Handling Desk’ while visas are noisily stamped at customs for US dollars, cash only. When am I?

Spot the endemic Nepal gray langur. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The 15 or 45 minute anomaly sees me tap out completely on timezone calculations. Why bend my brain calculating if it’s quarter to or quarter past elsewhere when I’m in the honking here and now of Kathmandu where the air is high-altitude crisp, the prayer flags flutter and the street dogs howl?

How tourism is changing in Nepal

Bardiya National Park is rich with wildlife. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

India is not the only association many Nepalis would like to shake. With eight of the world’s 10 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest and Annapurna, Nepal has long attracted mountaineers and trekkers, and expedition numbers are continuing to rise.

Tourism is one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign currency, so this growth is not negative, per se. But according to Ang Tshering Lama, who co-founded Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, being reduced to a mere trekking destination is limiting.

“Trekking is just one layer of our identity,” says Ang. “When it becomes the dominant narrative, it limits how we’re seen and how we see ourselves.” Nepal’s recent success, however, in diverting trekkers to less-trafficked areas such as Manaslu mofuntain, where visitor numbers rose by 117 per cent last year, offers hope that tourism can diversify even more radically.

Local men in Bhada village. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The founder of CHN, Shiva Dhakal, wants that change. “The whole idea of the Community Homestay Network is to promote experiences outside of trekking,” he says. “Community tourism changes lives and helps kids stay home instead of coming to the city or migrating to the Middle East.”

Ang grew up seeing people leave, “not because they wanted to but because there weren’t enough opportunities to stay”, he states. Yet from remote villages to living traditions; food, art, music and emerging subcultures, “there’s so much that’s not being seen.”

CHN is opening some of those doors. It doesn’t own, or fund, any homes. Rather, it promotes homestays to travellers on a single, slick platform, while fostering entrepreneurship in places where women, marginalised castes, Indigenous people and the youth stand to benefit the most.

A new generation demanding more

Dalla Town Hall, where volunteers discuss anti-poaching tactics. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The future prospects of next-gen Nepalis can no longer be ignored. On a Kathmandu tour with 33-year-old guide Monica K.C, we pass buildings torched in the September 2025 ‘Gen Z protests’, including the Supreme Court and Parliament House. Seventy-two people died. “They were anti-corruption protests,” says Monica. “Politicians’ children are living a lavish life but the airports are crowded with youngsters leaving to find work.”

We stop in ‘little Tibet’ at the wondrous sixth-century Boudha Stupa. “The wheel of life is Buddhism in a nutshell,” says Monica. “Things such as hate, ignorance and anger keep you rotating around the wheel, so you must follow the principles of Buddhism to detach. If you can’t, there’s no nirvana for you.”

Boudha Stupa's prayer wheels — Boudha Stupa’s prayer wheels are used to recite Buddhist prayers. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

In a sun-drenched twist to the usual temple visit, we ascend the stupa’s sloping plinth and roam its whitewashed dome. Tendrils of diaphanous prayer flags stream from a steeple-like structure where the Buddha’s unblinking eyes stare out. No nirvana for you…

bouda stupa prayer flags — Tibetan-style prayer flags embellish the whitewashed dome of Bouda Stupa, a Buddhist temple. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

The dome is delightfully free of guard rails or chiding from security. There is, however, a stern ‘No TikTok’ sign, perhaps in response to the youth’s newly flexed power. The booted-out Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was replaced in a resounding election victory in March by 35-year-old Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) – a former rapper and mayor of Kathmandu. The RSP’s manifesto indicates tourism is a priority, and that Nepal’s cultural identity in areas such as gastronomy will be strengthened.

Boudha Stupa vendors — Vibrant souvenir shops and cafes around Boudha Stupa. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

A more confronting stop awaits at Pashupatinath Temple. Today is Bala Chaturdashi, a Hindu festival where thousands of devotees gather to honour their dead ancestors. Vendors hauling foam mattresses do a lucrative trade as people set up for a night of vigil. This includes burning the bodies of recently deceased relatives on bamboo pyres in the Bagmati River, which flows into the sacred Ganges.

A woman at annual Hindu festival Bala Chaturdashi, in Kathmandu. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Wrapped in a shroud, the bodies are positioned with their heads facing north to the Himalayas where Lord Shiva resides. They’re covered with flowers and straw and set alight by male family members.

Hours later, the ashes are swept into the river where devotees will take a holy dip the next day. As much as Monica assures us it’s not voyeuristic to watch, I struggle to do so. “Here you see the reality of life because everyone ends up there,” she says, gesturing to the river.

Life unfiltered in the Terai region

tharu woman — Tharu woman and master weaver Parbati Chaudhary in Bhada Village. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The reality of life needs processing time, which the western Terai region delivers in spades. The Terai is largely separated from India by the Karnali River and Bardiya National Park, where elephants, rhinos and the elusive Bengal tiger roam.

Once a nomadic tribe, the Indigenous Tharu people are now the largest ethnic group here. “They didn’t know their daily life was interesting for international travellers but they’re starting to understand now,” says CHN founder Shiva.

Take a Jeep safari through Bardiya National Park. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

We fly Buddha Air to Dhangadhi airport and drive five hours to stay in Tharu homes. The journey to Bhada village is a blur of roadside fruit stalls, traffic-stopping sacred cows and fields sown with wheat, rice, mustard, spinach, cauliflower and potatoes. Nepal’s agriculture feeds only Nepal.

Marigolds are an important part of Hindu rituals. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

“The only thing we export is young people,” says our guide Bikal. As the light dims and we plunge evermore rural, mysterious mounds of compacted hay – some house-sized – loom like the creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Even our trusty driver gets flummoxed by a dirt road that abruptly ends and we find ourselves hurtling across a paddock.

On arrival, some are ferried to mud-walled cottages greened by gourd creepers, with thatched roofs and rustic-chic mosquito nets. Myself and two others are ushered to the home of corner store owner, mechanic and mushroom farmer Man Kumar Chilaruwa and his wife Rajkumari.

community homestay entrance — A warm welcome at a community homestay. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

They escort us to a bunker-esque back building with steel doors and a folding security gate, behind which is gleaming linoleum, dolphin-printed tiles and a shower cavity that must be gingerly stepped through to reach the toilet.

The ceiling lights emit a rainbow of colours (the bathroom light gets stuck in, frankly, a quite frightening red). We’re nevertheless touched that our hosts invested in all this bling when the average salary is around $275 a month.

In the coming days, we participate in Tharu traditions such as making moonshine, dancing, weaving straw handicrafts and gold-panning. We’re fed well with staples of rice, mustard greens, lentil pancakes, daal, curried chicken and tomato chutney served on antibacterial saal leaves.

food at community homestay — Dig in. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Sonara community homestay president Indradevi Tharu tells us river snails are often served, and the boiled and pickled flesh of rats hunted in the rice fields. “Perhaps next time?” we say and all have a laugh.

The power of community homestays

community homestay owners in Nepal — Barda community homestay owners Parbati Chaudhary and Ram Krishni Devi Chaudhary. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

Immersing Western visitors in foreign cultural practices is not new. But with the Tharu, I never get that uneasy sensation that I’m being performed for. Despite being the only tourists, there’s no ‘othering’; just warm, composed and ultra-dignified welcomes. Like we’ve always been here.

“I love to have travellers in my village so I can see the world,” says local woman Parbati Chaudhary. “Why would I travel the world when the world comes to me?”

The graceful acceptance the Tharu offer, as well as the slow pace, works miracles on my frazzled nervous system. One day I even take a nap on a vacant homestay bed.

Sonara community room — An authentic stay in the Sonara community. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Roosters strut and goats bray as we sit on the ground in al fresco kitchens, rolling rice flour into cylinders steamed to make dhikri (dumplings). When water is needed, we fetch it using a hand-operated pump as a family of ducks strolls by, side-eying us like curious neighbours.

Animal lovers will delight in Tharu villages. Kind and resourceful inventions are everywhere, such as snacking stations where two posts lean together, with leafy boughs dangling on rope for baby goats to forage from.

CHN’s CEO, Aayusha Prasain, nods knowingly when one in our group says she cried when she left her host, Shayam Chaudhary, in Bhada. Shayam’s 17-year-old son, Prashant, had translated, which deepened the connection.

“Community tourism turns travel into a relationship, not a transaction,” says Aayusha. “It places decision-making power in the hands of local communities, especially women and youth.” Since 2018, CHN has hosted more than 4000 travellers from 52 countries in 408 households, and estimates women’s participation has increased by 381 per cent.

In the Bardiya community, where vexing human-animal conflict has been a balancing act for decades due to elephants raiding crops, long-time homestay operator Salik Ram Chaudhary says young people keep the older ones on their toes.

“We can’t keep homestays stagnant,” he says. “We have to upgrade our service and redefine our product or young people won’t see it as an attractive business. If we can keep evolving with this travelling trend we’re confident the youths will stay and continue it.”

Back in Kathmandu, Monica explains that after the deaths of young protestors in September, a determination had spread to not let their sacrifice be in vain. “We want to keep holding the government accountable,” she says. “We don’t know what situation we’re facing, but we’re ready to face it.”

Interested in Nepal but prefer to experience it in total comfort? Read our guide to luxury travel in Nepal.

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