Hillwalkers close to completing a round of Scotland’s munros have a chance to be big in Japan.
A television production company is looking for mountaineers aiming to tick off their last 3,000-footer this winter who would be willing to take part in a documentary to be screened in Japan.
Filming by the London- and Dubai-based Don Productions will take place in December and January and will be broadcast on Japanese public-service broadcaster NHK in February. The film crew wants to follow munroists’ winter exploits as they near their completion of the 283 mountains.
According to the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, which was contacted by the production company, the documentary’s emphasis will be on preparation and safety.
The subject is a contentious issue in Japan, where mountaineering is increasing in popularity but safety guidelines are lacking, as are any mountain rescue setup and mountaineering clubs.
The country has its own mountain round, the Hyakumeizan based on a list of 100 Famous Japanese Mountains complied by Kyūya Fukada in 1964.
Any munroists who would like to take part can contact Iain Mitchell at Don Productions on 0207 254 0044, or email him.
Tessa Carroll
26 November 2010Some odd statements about Japan here. No mountaineering clubs? A quick look online produces a list of hundreds with links to club sites - see http://www17.big.or.jp/~yuuko/climbing/club/index-e.html#chugoku
Mountain rescue is generally covered by the fire service or police. I can't comment on its efficiency or adequacy, but the idea that there is no mountain rescue setup is plain wrong. Here's the webpage for the Itsukaichi mountain rescue team based in the outskirts of Tokyo, for example - yes, it's all in Japanese, but the picture of the helicopter should convince. The table shows rescues carried out in 2009.
Although I don't know about specific safety guidelines, Japan generally is very safety-conscious and people take their hobbies and interests, e.g. hillwalking and climbing, seriously.
Is the criticism simply the same kind that we hear in the UK about ill-equipped/poorly trained walkers?
Tessa Carroll
27 November 2010Oops - forgot the link to the Itsukaichi MRT. Here it is:
http://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/9/itsukaichi/sangaku/sangaku.htm
nige
29 November 2010http://uk.babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp%2F9%2Fitsukaichi%2Fsangaku%2Fsangaku.htm&lp=ja_en&.intl=uk&fr=FP-tab-web-t340
nige
29 November 2010link to a literal translation
http://uk.babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp%2F9%2Fitsukaichi%2Fsangaku%2Fsangaku.htm&lp=ja_en&.intl=uk&fr=FP-tab-web-t340