A former regional press reporter has completed a 16-month trek from one end of Japan to the other.

Mary King, (41), who now works as a journalist in Tokyo, embarked on the challenge with her friend Etsuko Shimabukuro.

Mary previously worked for regional papers in the Midlands and in the Home Counties and as a photojournalist for the national press before leaving the UK to live and work in a number of other countries.

And she has been making full use of her talents by writing and recording the trip for articles in the Japanese press throughout the trek.

The pair began their walk in May last year at Cape Soya, Japan’s northernmost point, and finished on the southern island of Yonaguni, covering 7,494km.

Dubbed Japan on Foot, the walk raised money for the HELP charity, a Tokyo refuge for women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Throughout the trip, Mary and Etsuko’s adventures were updated on the website japanonfoot.tripod.co.jp, and they also wrote articles for various international media.

Along the way the pair came face to face with grizzly bears, braved typhoons and joined in a fire walking festival.

Mary said: “It has been a really wild trip. Certainly more ups than downs.

“The first three weeks were the toughest, with the weight of our bags and terrible blisters.”

She said there were many reasons for doing the walk, but after working as a travel writer for several years she wanted to fully experience the country she has made her home.

She said: “Travel by plane and shinkansen [railway] is fun, but it’s not my true idea of experiencing a country.

“I’ve lived in Japan since 1988, and I wanted to truly experience the country step by step.”

Mary trained as a reporter and press photographer in Britain and began her journalism career as a reporter on the Dudley Herald in the West Midlands.

She later worked as a photographer at the Wokingham, Bracknell and Ascot Times in Berkshire, and then moved to London to work for the London Newspaper Group.

Since leaving Britain in the early 1980s, Mary has worked in Jerusalem, Cairo and Sudan, before settling in Japan in 1988.

Mary is now hoping to draw up plans for a similar walk through Britain.

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