GO ASIA TRAIL

Hello, this is Kenji from GO ASIA TRAIL.

Today we have a special announcement. It has been exactly 10 years since this blog started! At the time, we had no idea that this journey, which began in October 2015, would last this long. First of all, we would like to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for reading our blog so far.

I would like to take this opportunity to look back a bit and talk about our future management structure. We have some major changes coming up that will renew the foundation of the blog, so please bear with us until the end.

It all started with a trail event in Taiwan in October 2015.

🧋[Taiwan] I went trail running in Pingxi, Taiwan.

At the time, most overseas trail races were held in the United States and Europe. There was almost no information on trail races in Asia, and it was very difficult to find information on them. When I went to Taiwan, I was amazed at how close and attractive the trails were. I was surprised. Moreover, traveling to the U.S. or Europe is time-consuming and expensive. On the other hand, Asia is easily accessible, and it is easy to take on the challenge.

That is why I started a blog, "Let's introduce trail running in Asia to Japanese people. We started with simple reports at first, but gradually gathered information on Asian races and conveyed their charms.

And now, 10 years have passed. Trail running in Asia is growing faster than I had imagined. In addition to traditional hot spots like Hong Kong, not to mention Taiwan, full-scale races have sprung up one after another in Southeast Asian countries such as China, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. Even in areas that were once considered underdeveloped, high-quality events are now being held.

In recent years, the By UTMB (UTMB World Series) races have been held in various parts of Asia, and international attention has skyrocketed. I feel that Asia is being recognized around the world as the new frontier of trail running. I have been following these changes through my blog, and I am deeply moved by them.

Here is a big announcement. GO ASIA TRAIL-, which had been run by Kenji Tsutsumi personally until now, has transferred its ownership and management to a corporation owned by Tsutsumi. The procedure was recently completed. Although we have been writing articles on the Note platform, we will start using our own CMS (Contents Management System) from now on.

• Full use of technology: We can incorporate the company's advanced technology into our blog. We can also contract for a system that only a corporation can provide, and we plan to actively utilize this system in the future.
• Value as R&D: We would like to utilize GO ASIA TRAIL's content for the company's R&D. The current CMS is based on serverless technology and has a modern design that goes beyond the traditional WordPress. In the future, we also aim to integrate LLM (Large Language Models) and AI agents for innovative mechanisms.
• Ease of introducing advertisements: Moving to corporate management will improve the social credibility of the blog. Compared to a sole proprietorship, advertisers and sponsors will feel more comfortable placing advertisements, and contract negotiations are likely to proceed more smoothly. As a result, it will be easier to secure funding for higher quality content production, which will support the sustainable growth of your blog. In fact, many business blogs and affiliate sites have seen increased partnership opportunities as a result of incorporation.

This transfer will allow the blog to evolve in a more stable and efficient manner. As for advertisements, we do not intend to make it ad-ridden like other sites, but aim to integrate it nicely with a focus on readability for the reader.

In our original CMS, we have included new features that we hope will please everyone.

We have been providing information on trails in Asia mainly for Japanese people, but we will be strengthening our efforts in the opposite direction as well. We would like to deliver information on Japanese races in English to overseas trail runners living in Asia.

I have been concerned about the lack of English-language content despite the excellence of Japanese trail races. We plan to proceed in the form of translating Japanese articles into English, while increasing our own English-only content. We hope to serve as a bridge to make it easier for Asian runners to visit Japan.

Although you can search for races on the official iTRA and UTMB websites, I have compiled a list of Asian races carefully selected from my perspective. It is easy for beginners to find a race, and it is specially designed for Japanese users. In the future, we plan to add a "Japanese Trail Race Search" for overseas users. As a roadmap, we will keep expanding it.

These features should make the blog more useful and global. More details will be released on the new platform as they become available!

As we reach the 10-year milestone, we have once again reconfirmed the appeal of trail running. The joy of running through the mountains of Asia and international connections - we will continue to bring you the essence of the sport.

With the transfer of the corporation and the introduction of the new CMS, there are a few changes, but the one thing that will not change is our "love for the trails of Asia". Your feedback will help us develop this blog even better. We hope you will continue to support GO ASIA TRAIL.

Maybe next time we will bring you a detailed report on the new platform? See you on the trail!