All Posts

I've been getting more and more inquiries from riders lately asking the same question: can you actually have a multi-day riding holiday in Japan? It's a fair thing to wonder — so let's get into it. Are Multi-Day Horse Riding Holidays Available in Japan? Yes — but true multi-day programs are still rare in Japan, and here's why. Japan has plenty of places where you can meet horses or enjoy a short guided trail ride. However, because of the landscape, the relatively small scale

Recently, I’ve been receiving many questions about where English speakers can take horseback riding lessons near Tokyo. While Japan’s equestrian industry is unfortunately not the most English-friendly, there are a few solid options if you know where to look. Below, I’ve selected four riding clubs near the Tokyo/Kanto area that can accommodate English speakers. I hope this list helps those who are interested in riding in Japan but unsure where to start. Please note: All the pl

In Japan, it is not easy to find an English-speaking friendly riding club. For many people who settle in Japan but long to have lessons or at least visits, below are five riding clubs that stand out for genuinely usable English information — some are visited by me personally, some are found relatively recently, so I will be honest that I have not tried them out by myself yet but I thought it would still be good to share. This is up to date till June 2026. Please treat this as

Japan's 8 Native Horse Breeds In yesterday's post I mentioned that Yabusame competition requires a Japanese native breed horse. That might surprise people — but Japan has a deep and ancient horse culture, and eight native breeds have survived to this day. Here they are. All eight — the Hokkaido (Dosanko), Kiso, Misaki, Noma, Taishu, Tokara, Miyako, and Yonaguni — aAll eight are believed to descend from small horses introduced from continental Asia via the Korean Peninsula bet

A samurai rider gallops down a straight track, raises a bow with both hands off the reins, and hits a wooden target with a single arrow — this is Yabusame. Yabusame Competition A Tradition Over 1,000 Years Old Yabusame's origins go back to ancient battlefields, where mounted archery was a core military skill. It was created as a competition for samurai to sharpen those skills — accuracy with a bow, and mastery of the horse. In competition, riders shoot three arrows in rapid s