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Climbing in Japan 13-Nov-2004 At 6:22:16 PM wombats

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I'm terribley sorry Gregorius, it seems I have led you somewhat astray.
As much as I rate Nagano as the worst place to live of the list you gave, it is right near Ogawayama - supposedly the best climbing area of Japan.

http://www.ogawayama.com

Although I still believe there's not a lot of GREAT climbing in Japan, all is not lost...

Ogawayama Summary

Granite - slab/crack
Mostly single pitch
Guides available (though don't trust the bolting info, in fact, in most cases - don't trust the bolts)
American grading system
over-crowded
wear a helmet

There are also areas around Tokyo (so your aichi option is pretty close) and Okinawa but, IMHO, none of the afore mentioned cities are great to live in. There are some amazing places in Japan with great lifestyle, beautiful scenery and death-defying skiing and snowboarding. I know a few people that loved Nagano, and a lot that didn't - I was there during the winter olympics so maybe I'm not the best judge.

Nagano = Ogawayama = climbing

Hope that helps too..