The First Piper

26/12/2025

So… where do Dragon Fruit actually come from?! 🐉

New 'So Wheres it From?' episode out tomorrow (Saturday 27 Dec) 🙌

This is my last video of the year and it would mean THE WORLD if you watched and left a note!

Link in the comments below 👇

04/12/2025

Looks like we’re hosting a retreat! 🐑 🙌

27/11/2025

Bagpipes, Classrooms, and Mountain View’s ⛰️

It’s been a few years since I’ve done workshops in schools, and this year I’ve started them up again. It’s been a great reminder of how much I enjoy working with students and being in education (sort of!)

In Kazakhstan, I spent a morning at a school in Almaty and, aside from the students being awesome and giving great feedback in my series - the backdrop was INSAAAANE! A full on snow-capped mountain range behind the campus 🤯

A very belated rakhmet to for having me in! 🙏🏼

22/11/2025

The only things missing are two Highland cows… named Hamish & Grainne 😅

16/11/2025

Dragging a suitcase around Tokyo is not the kind of sightseeing anyone wants… 😂

Thankfully exists and it’s genius 🧠

It’s a global luggage storage network (in 4,000+ cities!) that lets you drop your bags and enjoy your last day of travel ✈️

Download the Bounce App and get 10% off with the code ROSSTRAVELSWITHBOUNCE 🧳✨

16/11/2025

Trad home Airbnbs on the Nakasendo ⛩️
#中山道

12/11/2025

Nagiso to Narai 🐿️

Great thing about the Nakasendo Trail is that if you don’t want to hike various sections, you can just hop on a train 🚊

With that in mind, we trained it from Nagiso to Yabuhara then hiked over the Torii pass. Back in the day, this was supposed to be the hardest section of the Nakasendo trail, but it honestly wasn’t too bad 🥾

Best part about this section was the forest trail, Autumn colours, chestnut groves and then the descent into Narai town. Uff so pretty! 🍂

Spent the night in an old government building and had what might just be the best instant ramen on earth 🍜

Also found out that the “squirrels with the giant balls” we kept seeing are a Japanese fairy tale creature called “Tanuki.” Their large huevos are a symbol of good luck and wealth! The MORE YOU KNOW 💫

12/11/2025

Magome to Nagiso 🇯🇵

Chestnut ice cream. Old tea houses. Persimmon sweets. And… Joanna Lumley!

Day two on the Nakasendo Trail (Magome to Nagiso). This was definitely the prettiest stretch so far. The weather was insaaaane!

Kicked off the day in Magome, grabbed coffee at a lovely wee café, and checked out a few cute shops before heading into the forest. 45 mins in we came to an old tea house, proudly showing off a photo of Joanna Lumley. LOL

A little more bamboo forest and cobbled trail later, we reached Tsumago and tried the most amazing persimmon sweets (huge thanks to the ladies who recommended them!).

Wrapped up the day with a sunset walk into Nagiso and checked into the coolest Airbnb. I'm gonna make a Short for that!

08/11/2025

First day on the Nakasendo ⛩️

In 2024 I stumbled across an article about Japan’s old hiking routes. The first photo in the article was of a misty mountain village with cobbled streets - I was totally sold!

A year later, we’re here, setting off along the Nakasendo Trail, the ancient route that once linked Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto.

A lot of it is now regular roads, but once you reach the mountains, it’s a lot of stone paths, cedar forests, and old “post towns.” Years ago, this was the highway for samurai, merchants, and feudal lords (how cool is that?!) 🇯🇵

We took the bullet train from Tokyo to Nagoya, then to Nakatsugawa, and began walking to Magome… only to realise later you’re meant to take a bus to the start, not skirt the highway. Whoops 😅

Accommodation in the old towns fills up fast, so we ended up in a very 90s family hotel which had a wee onsen and an awesome dinner setup 🍱

06/11/2025