Kai no kuni Long Trail PASaPASA HIRAGA JUN CUP 2022
Ten years ago, the “Kai no kuni Long Trail Concept” was born, led by mountain photographer Hiraga Jun, with the aim of connecting the mountains and cities of Yamanashi Prefecture and promoting the charms of the prefecture.
The concept evolved after a series of symposiums and other events held around the country, but many of the members became too busy and the project seemed to stagnate.
In 2020, the world was hit by the coronavirus, making it difficult to travel from where you live. At that time, Yamamoto Kenichi, who lives in Yamanashi, thought of his hometown and revived his plans for the Kai no kuni Long Trail, completing the first lap around Yamanashi in four days, covering a distance of 336 km. The following year, he completed the 475 km of the Yamanashi prefectural border in eight days. Hiraga Jun accompanied him throughout the entire journey, recording it on camera. However, in May of the following year, photographer Hiraga slipped into a crevasse in Alaska and was killed in the accident.
The remaining Kai no kuni Long Trail project has been restarted as the “HIRAGA JUN CUP”.
Last year on November 8, 2022, the first “Kai no kuni Long Trail PASaPASA HIRAGA JUN CUP” was held, with unique athletes from all over the country participating and enjoying Kai no kuni.
We would like you to see the results.
We hope that many people will visit these wonderful mountains of Yamanashi Prefecture.
This is the wish of Hiraga Jun, and of us.
Video director: Hodaka Shimadzu
Navigator: Kenichi Yamamoto
