Bari Sankō

Hata has worked for two years at a firm that repairs the exteriors of ageing buildings, after moving from an interior renovation company, and has kept away from office socialising. Invited by colleagues, he joins a hike on Mount Rokkō, and the informal group later becomes an official company hiking club. Then he learns that Mega, a veteran craftsman isolated at work as an eccentric, practises “bari” hiking, deliberately leaving the marked trails for difficult, dangerous routes. The novel sets mountain and working life side by side as Hata is drawn into these hikes.