A Japanese walker has hiked 80 per cent of Te Araroa Trail wearing traditional huarachi sandals.

Tomoya Takahashi, clad also in a traditional straw hat and yukata wrap, began the trail in October last year and finished this February. Along the way, his outfit caught the attention of other hikers.

“I wanted to pay my own respects to the culture and history of Japan, particularly during the Edo period, so I decided to wear the traditional clothing to honour where I am from,” he said. 

He said the sandals were more comfortable than normal shoes for him, although he did wear hiking boots during particularly muddy sections or when there were river crossings. 

Takahashi is from Miyagi, a prefecture seven hours north of Tokyo, and said the TA was his first hiking trip. A Japanese friend had recommended the epic 3000km journey to him.

“I’ve learned a lot of things from the TA. One thing that I think is really important is to live in the moment and be grateful to be outside in amazing nature,” he said. “Making friends doing challenging things has made me appreciate that all I need is a simple life. We have all we need because we are alive.”

His favourite scenery was along the Whanganui River, and his most challenging section was the Richmond Range. “Each day had really big elevation gains, and we had long days to avoid any bad weather,” he said. “But the views from the tops were amazing. It was so steep that I felt scared; it took me a long time to make it.”