One day, I was running in Nara, Japan and decided I should head out into the mountains instead of running on pavement as I usually would. Besides, the trails were only a few minutes away from where I was staying at.

As a road runner, I hated running uphill—mostly because of the thought of my average pace dropping on Strava. However, when I finally reached the trails, I was met with lush greens, the sound of birds, waterfalls, ancient shrines, and cute bowing deers. Right away, I realized that that was something that I wanted to do again—and again, and again.

Since then, I've been out on the trails as often as I can, mostly on weekends or on days when I'm off from my day job. It has become a normal part of my life—a way of life, if you will. My travels now revolve around exploring new trails wherever I go, and I want to try to capture those experiences through pictures and a few words.