KOBUCHIZAWA

Japan

As we alighted from the train in a chocolate-box village two hours from Tokyo, we were curious and excited about the days in the saddle ahead. We rode through magnificent forests, past weekender homes, long ascents to mountain tops and constant views of snow-capped mountains. Kobuchizawa was a rider’s paradise. We emerged one afternoon from a forest in front of a quaint equestrian centre. We duly dismounted and watched the skilled riders going through their paces. A particularly special morning was stopping in a small field, flowers in abundance, for a tea ceremony with our tea master guide. Our horses, untethered, reflected our contentment as they munched quietly on grass.