Bio
Yukari Hoshino was born in 1985 in Asakusa, Tokyo, and moved to Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture after getting married. She and her husband run Ametsuchi, a guiding service and outdoor shop. As an active trail runner herself, she participates in various domestic and international races, including an overseas expedition every year. She also works to promote trail running in the Nikko area, running trail running races in Nikko, organizing training sessions, and holding trail running classes for children. She has attempted consecutive ascents of Mt. Nantai, one of Japan’s 100 most famous mountains, multiple times. In 2017 she completed 7 round-trip ascents in a 24 hour period, and in 2018 she achieved an all-time record of 8 round trips in 24 hours.
Message
Trail running is not an easy activity, and there are even times when it is difficult and painful. Nevertheless, overcoming such hardships and reaching the destination with one's own legs gives one a sense of excitement and accomplishment that is hard to beat. Even within a limited amount of time, you will go farther to see the scenery you want to see. I believe that trail running is the best means of transportation through nature, and I hope to teach people to use their bodies to the fullest in order to feel a pleasant sense of fatigue and accomplishment, as well as the grandeur of nature.
Guide Q&A
Q: What is your most memorable experience in nature?
As a personal challenge in 2020, I undertook the Nikko National Park Traverse Challenge from Fukushima Prefecture through the Nasu Mountain Range, the Takahara Mountains, and the Oku Nikko Mountains. On the morning of the third day, after running more than 200 km with almost no sleep since the start, I vividly recall how the morning glow and the magnificent silhouette of Mt. Nantai from the mountains on the southern shore of Lake Chuzenji gave my exhausted body tremendous energy and excitement.
Q: What does nature represent to you?
It is something that is very familiar to me, but also causes a variety of emotions in me, such as fun, excitement, harshness, fear, and pain. I can only be grateful for the many experiences I have had that can only be had in nature.
Q: What has nature taught you?
That nature is what makes us who we are.
Q: What do you hope that people will get out of experiences with you as a guide?
Through running in nature, I would like people to confront their inner selves, such as their physical strength and feelings that arise from time to time, which are difficult to experience in daily life. I also want people to experience the exhilaration of moving their bodies with all their might in the grandeur of nature.
