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Japan Exploration Hiking – TRIP_03 Episode 1: Kamikawa → Tomioka
Moonlight Gear Equipment – Japan Exploration Hiking
Every journey begins where the last one ended.
This time, we leave the quiet mountain inn of Shinsen and set our course toward Tomioka and, beyond it, Karuizawa.
Following forgotten roads and winding trails, we walk through the landscapes of Gunma—where history, mountains, and everyday life meet.
Along the way, we step into Tomioka Silk Mill, a place where Japan’s modern story was woven into the world. Every destination has its own history, and every step reveals another chapter.
As daylight fades, the journey transforms.
Headlamps replace the sun, familiar paths become unknown, and the silence of the mountains grows deeper. In the darkness, every footstep sharpens the senses, reminding us that adventure doesn’t end at sunset.
Look beyond the trail.
The endless mountain ridges, the glow of dusk, the quiet beauty of Gunma’s countryside—these are landscapes that can only be discovered by moving through them, one step at a time.
There is no right way to travel.
Read the map. Trust your instincts. Embrace the land.Japan Exploration Hiking – TRIP_03
Episode 1: Kamikawa → Tomioka
日本開拓ハイキング TRIP_03 (神川 - 軽井沢編) 第1話 神川 - 冨岡
Moonlight Gear Equipment『日本開拓ハイキング』
旅の続きは、前回たどり着いた丹荘駅から始まる。
今回の舞台は、丹荘駅から富岡、そして軽井沢へ。
朝焼けの神川をあとに、群馬の里山や街並みを歩きながら目指すのは、日本の近代化を支えた世界遺産・富岡製糸場。歴史ある建物を巡り、その土地の文化や空気に触れることも、この旅の大切な楽しみです。
陽が傾けば、旅は新しい表情を見せ始める。
静まり返った山へ足を踏み入れ、ヘッドライトの灯りだけを頼りに進むナイトハイク。昼とはまったく違う景色、音、匂いに包まれながら、一歩ずつ前へ進んでいく。
そして目を向けてほしいのは、群馬ならではの美しい風景。
どこまでも続く山並み、夕暮れに染まる空、夜へと移り変わる景色。その土地を歩くからこそ出会える瞬間が、この旅には詰まっています。
正解のない旅だから面白い。
地図を読み、道を探し、人と出会い、その土地を知る。
Moonlight Gear Equipmentが送る「日本開拓ハイキング」シリーズ TRIP_03。
神川 - 軽井沢編 第1話「神川 - 富岡」
歩くことでしか見つからない景色を探しに、新たな開拓の旅へ。
Japan Frontier Hiking – TRIP_02 (Chichibu–Kamikawa) Episode 3: Fujioka–Kamikawa
Japan Frontier Hiking – TRIP_02 (Chichibu–Kamikawa) Episode 2: Kamikawa–Fujioka
Japan Frontier Hiking – TRIP_02 (Chichibu–Kamikawa) Episode 1: Chichibu–Jomine
Moonlight Gear Equipment “Japan Frontier Hiking”
The journey resumes where the last one ended.
Starting from Chichibu Station, we set our sights on Jinsen, a small inn nestled in the winter cherry blossom country of Kamikawa.
First, we fill our bottles at the mountain spring known as Amakoi no Mizu, then begin the climb toward Mt. Jōmine. Waiting for us is a relentless ascent—far steeper than expected. Breath by breath, step by step, we gain elevation until reaching the ridgeline, where the next challenge begins: navigating through untrodden terrain with only a map and our instincts.
Searching for traces of passage, reading the contours of the land, and at times pushing through brush, we continue onward.
Eventually the mountains release us onto the road. From there, we hop on our Trip Cruisers and descend, carried by gravity and wind toward Jinsen, resting quietly beside Lake Kamikawa.
A journey without a prescribed route is what makes it worth taking.
Read the map. Find the way. Step into the landscape.
This is the second chapter of Japan Frontier Hiking, presented by Moonlight Gear Equipment.
From Chichibu to Kamikawa, a new stretch of the journey begins.
Japan Frontier Hiking – TRIP_01 (Takasaka–Chichibu) Episode 3: Tokigawa–Chichibu
Japan Frontier Hiking – TRIP_01 (Takasaka–Chichibu) Episode 2: Ogawa–Tokigawa
Japan Frontier Hiking – TRIP_01 (Takasaka–Chichibu) Episode 1: Takasaka–Ogawa
Moonlight Gear Equipment presents a new series:
“Japan Frontier Hiking”
This is not your typical hike that simply follows marked trails.
We read maps, feel the terrain, and choose our own routes—guided by instinct.
From satoyama landscapes to mountains and city streets,
we move freely across boundaries, uncovering the hidden joys and untapped charm of each place.
Sometimes we stop by local shops,
gather real, on-the-ground information, and shift our destination.
Embracing that kind of “margin” and unpredictability is part of the journey.
In this series, we also put Moonlight Gear Equipment’s in-development gear to the test.
Sharing not only real-world performance in the field, but also the stories behind each product.
“Play” should be more free.
We hope this film inspires you
to unlock your own spirit of exploration.
Exploring New Ways to Play trip in CANADA
Moonlight Gear Equipment headed for the deep, snow filled lands of Canada.
This journey is not just about snow surfing.
“What does it mean to play?”
“What is the purpose of equipment?”
It was a journey to confirm those sensations on the snow.
What Moonlight Gear Equipment values
is not a perfected style.
But how we respond through our bodies and equipment to nature.
At that place, at that time.
Reading the map, trusting the sensations you get from the snow and your surroundings.
Letting your worn down gear become one with your body.
Riding the Yuki-ita as a form of play is an honest pursuit.
Snow quality, terrain, and conditions.
Only when everything aligns can you move forward.
That’s why your attitude towards facing nature
manifests in your riding.
On this journey, there were companions who breath in my same rhythm.
Without words,
the timing to step forward or the judgement to step back fell into sync.
Chilly nights and the quiet light of morning.
Limited gear, deep snow.
All of it,
“What to carry? What to leave behind?”
It brings the philosophy of Moonlight Gear Equipment to the surface.
This journey does not provide answers.
It merely etched onto the snow,
a will to continue to play.
Play is expansive, profound, and shared.
That’s the type of journey Moonlight Gear Equipment envisions.
Exploring New Ways to Play trip in California USA
The Moonlight Gear Equipment team set out for the lands of California.
Rather than following a set path, we sought out places we could enjoy on own terms — a journey to
define the meaning of “play” and to reconnect with own instincts.
There was another purpose to this trip:
to meet companions who share the same rhythm — people whose vibes align.
A glance or movement can speak volumes, and even silence becomes conversation around a
campfire.
The weight of the backpack, the chill of the night, the morning light — all of it goes beyond how
gear is used, becoming questions that shape the journey.
What to carry, what to leave behind, how to stand in nature — each choice deepens a shared
“philosophy of play” with companions.
This trip wasn’t about finding answers. It was simply about opening the door to the “possibilities of
play” and encountering the smiles of like-minded companions.
As we moved, the scenery changed, and nature greeted the team in countless ways. Play is vast,
deep, and shareable — and perhaps that is the true meaning of a journey.
Rice Planting: “Mu no Kai,” Aizu, June 2025.
Around this summer, a new project to develop recreational activities centered on the themes of “water” and “food” will get underway.
In June, as the first installment of this initiative, we visited the rice paddies and fields of “The Mu-no-Kai”—a group of rice producers and partners in this project who cultivate naturally farmed rice in Aizu-Misato,
Fukushima Prefecture—to participate in rice planting and soybean sowing.
How will this activity take shape and develop from here? It’s still too early to reveal the full picture, but I’m confident it will lead to fascinating developments.
That’s exactly why I hope you’ll follow along and look forward to what’s to come.
Exploring New Ways to Play in San’in 2025
In May, when the fresh greenery is at its most beautiful, we traveled through Yamaguchi,
Shimane, and Tottori. It was a journey driven by the desire to encounter the landscapes
created by nature, the local charm, and the once-in-a-lifetime moments with the waves—
pure energy of the Earth—found only in that time, season, and place.
Play connects us to nature and to ourselves on a deeper level.
This journey was captured in a short movie.
Exploring New Ways to Play in Izu-Oshima 2025
In March 2025, we took a trip to Izu Oshima for a product shoot, capturing the journey on film.
Izu Oshima is a compact island, easily circled by car in less than an hour.
With its tropical winds, unique vegetation, and the symbolic Mount Mihara, the island is a vast volcanic expanse that stretches outward in all directions.
We brought our Trip Cruisers to this island.
What awaited us was a smooth, meticulously maintained network of roads.
As we ventured deeper into the island, the traffic thinned, and we found plenty of wide paved roads perfect for downhill rides, with breathtaking cruising spots by the sea and banks and walls scattered along the way.
We explored the island with our Trip Cruisers, though we can’t yet say we’ve fully explored it.
The potential of Izu Oshima is still unknown, so we will definitely return.
Barefoot Climbing on one of the small islands in Japan
During the journey, as we were drawn closer to the rocky shadows along the coastline seen through the car window, we arrived at a beautiful boulder, bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
Without a mat, chalk, or even climbing shoes, we simply stood barefoot, relying on the
feel of the rock beneath our fingers and feet, instinctively tracing the line that seemed climbable.
No gear, no rules—just rock. In this simple form of climbing, which feels like a return to the origin, we experience a true sense of freedom.