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When I have business trips to Tokyo I regularly run around the neighborhoods where I'm staying and that often involves running up or down steep slopes, steps and poky passages that may or may not dead end. I'm fairly good at predicting which ones will dead end but usually each run I do in a new area will result in a couple of unanticipated backtracks. Heck even runs in areas I know fairly well can lead to dead ends if I try to do different streets. I generally don't regret the failures.

Out here in inaka Japan the fun bit about hills is how many of them once had a fort or castle on the top (and/or side). Doing a search on google maps, yamap or your mapping tool of choice for 山城 or 山城跡 (or 要害山) in an area will find many but not all of them. Often you can hike up them and see traces of the fortifications even though most (all) of the buildings have been erased.

For example I did a quick search around Onomichi and found several nearby. I very much doubt that is all though.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/%E5%B1%B1%E5%9F%8E/@34.4458807,133.1239639,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!5m1!1e4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

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That's a good point about rural hills. I actually didn't know about a few of these castle ruins around Onomichi. I will check one out soon!

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I have been waiting a while for a post on this.. and it didn’t disappoint! Very interesting to think of slopes in a relational sense, liminal rather than peripheral. Will need to read a little more of Yoshimi. Thanks

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Thank you for this Sam. The relationship between people and the land they walk and settle on has fascinated me since childhood. Reading this has been thoroughly refreshing for me, a new insight into that relationship. I now live in NZ, which has the same landforms but diametrically opposite depth of urban culture. I'm stimulated and challenged to look at Auckland in a whole new light.

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Thank you Tim. Even with all the redevelopment, Japan is still blessed with some of the most interesting urban forms. I'm glad the essay stimulated thoughts on your own urban environment too.

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An interesting topic you address here. I experience similar feelings, thoughts walking the more elevated and sloping areas of Seoul.

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Thank you. I've enjoyed walks in the hills of Seoul. I think it would be great to create connections to hillside communities elsewhere in Asia as well.

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I've been part of many communities so far, but the idea of joining an 'Asia hillside community' sounds terrific. The name in itself, wow. Count me in if it ever comes to something like this. Anyway, keep doing what you do!

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I found the little streets near some of the hillier sections of the Seoul walls to be fascinating. If (when) I go back to Seoul I'm going to try and complete the wall circuit and will definitely be allowing myself to be sidetracked into interesting alleys when I do

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