I often meet photographers in the field who claim they are scouting for a future Japan photo tour, and sometimes I hear about these mavericks from friends who claim, it will only take them a week or two to scout a region or country they have never been to.  My first thought is “WoW!” My second thought is GodSpeed, my third and final thought is “WoW, this photography workshop leader has a Donner party in the making!”  I am in my 50’s, and I am an experienced professional explorer with a long resume, that can not be penned in one book or magazine, but it’s a life’s work of volumes in progress.  As an amateur historian, I have always been fascinated by Samurai lore, and one place that I often heard mentioned was Akiyamago with the word ronin.  Ronin simply means a masterless Samurai, in most cases after a lost battle samurai from the losing side had three choices. One die with honor, seppuku.  Two join the enemy, traitor.  Three run to the backcountry with your family in tow, where nobody will hunt for you, “Freedom!”  Akiyamago is such a place where Samurai choose number three, and after The Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, and other Samurai battles, Akiyamago, a village inside a gorge that straddles Nagano and Niigata, became a safe haven for ronin.  On my first trip into this region I was dumbstruck that more people did not visit, as the autumn colors and landscapes are breathtaking, something right out of a storybook.  But then I started studying the region’s weather patterns, topography, and this region in winter is in the top ten snowiest places on earth, and the roads are narrow, steep, and winding, and I have been on a few roads that did not have guard rails in the mountain passes, and the drop is several hundred meters.  These roads are ones I will try never to take workshops participants on.  Also, there are several roads in the region, that get hit hard by the spring thaw, and roads get washed out every spring, and that is why some roads do not have guard rails. And the upkeep for a hotel in this region would be costly to say the least.   But if you have a good team, or you’re an experienced adventurer, with a pro driver the region is worth exploring.  This year I am fully booked, and my team and I are so exciting about getting back into the field with a group of international photographers.  2023 is already half full, and Akiyamago is just one gorge of dozens we visit, and I use a similar route  on my annual cherry blossom cross country photography expedition.