2016 Japan's Kumano Kodo Ancient Trail Hike - Day 7

Day 7

2016-04-18 Monday

Kii-Katsuura / Kyoto

Last night I learned that the city of Katsura has a small fish market where the local fishing fleet brings their catches to market. A colleague from our hiking group and I decided to go and we agreed to meet at 6:30 in the morning  to catch the ferry to the city.

The fish market is really small, a fraction of the size of Tokyo’s huge market, but since I was not able to watch the auction process there, I was glad I came to this one, even though I had no idea what was going on, for a while there was nothing happening, just people milling around and inspecting the fish, the fish seemed to be grouped by type and size/quality. Most of the fish were tuna. All of a sudden (to my untrained eye) the auctioneer started his spiel, I could not identify any kind of signals or response being given and a few minutes later it was all done and the buyers slapped stickers to the fish or started to cart them off. The auctioneer moved to the next group of fish and the process was repeated. The whole thing did not last half and hour.

View of the auction floor from the mezzanine area:

Inspecting before buying:

Waiting for auction:

Auction:

Packing purchased fish:

Tools of the trade:

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel and took the ferry into town and walked to the train station, stopping on the way to buy box lunches for or trip to  Kyoto by train.We arrived back at our hotel in Kyoto by mid-afternoon.

TOnight our group had our farewell dinner, before the dinner some of us got together at the hotel bar for drinks. We went to a nice traditional Japanese food restaurant specializing in grilled food. We had a grand time, it was a great cap on our adventure together.

Some final thoughts on this Kumano Kodo hiking adventure. Am I glad I came? Absolutely yes! Would I recommend it to friends? Yes! Best surprise on the trip? I have to mention two: the evening at the Organic Hotel Kiri-no-sato and the view and arrival at the magnificent Nachi Grand Shrine after the strenuous hike to get there. It was quite different from the other hike I just completed, the 88 Temple Shikoku Pilgrimage. It does not have as many pilgrims as in Shikoku, the Shinto temples are quite ornate in contrast to the simplicity of most Buddhist temples, and I did not see any of the chanting of groups of pilgrims, that I saw in Shikoku. In terms of scenery of the surrounding area and beautifulness of the trail, they are equivalent, in my opinion.

2016 Japan's Kumano Kodo Ancient Trail Hike - Day 6

Day 6

2016-04-17 Sunday

Kii-Katsuura, Wakayama Prefecture

We awoke to encounter heavy rain and strong gusty winds. We met for breakfast at 8:00 and nobody wanted to go out on today's programmed walk along the coast. We agreed to meet at 1200 and go out for lunch at the village across the bay. The forecast calls for the rain to abate by then.

Most of us went to the onsen to relax as there is nothing else to do in this hotel. At noon we all met at the lobby and took the ferry to the village. Some of us wanted to go to a fish restaurant, others wanted to go to a cafe for sandwiches and Delio, a couple of others and I wanted to go to a meat restaurant. We all split out into three groups and went on our separate ways.

The meat restaurant was tiny, just a small square counter with the cook in the middle, preparing the food in front of you on a flat cooktop surface. The menu had several options for steaks, starting at $80USD, we all went with the hamburgers, at $24USD.

The burgers were excellent burgers, served with no buns, just the patty topped with a dab of butter and lots of sliced fried garlic on top, accompanied by  potatoes, onions, green beans and mushrooms, all grilled on the flattop. That was a great lunch, after several weeks in Japan we missed beef.

The rain stopped by the time we finished lunch, and later in the afternoon we went for a walk around the hotel's private island.

2016 Japan's Kumano Kodo Ancient Trail Hike - Day 5

Day 5

Kumano Kodo Hike

2016-04-16 Saturday

Yunomine Onsen /  Kii-Katsuura

Walk from Koguchi to Nachi Grand Shrine:

We had an early breakfast, at 6:45, since we needed an early start to face the steepest and toughest segment of the trail. We, again, had a typical Japanese breakfast. But this time skipped the usual grilled fish, as none of us could not face it this early in the morning. Two or our fellow hikers are skipping today's hike, they will take a combination of  public transportation, bus, train and bus to meet us at our destination, the Nachi Grand Shrine We’ll meet them there and take a bus together to our new hotel.

At 7:30 we boarded taxis that took us to the trailhead, packing lunch provided by the inn, and started walking at 8:20. We immediately started going up and up, straight up to cross a pass at a net elevation of 850m. It took us 2.5 hours to walk the 5 Km to the pass. The path had many stairways made with irregular stones forming uneven steps, some low, others quite high. Some of the stairs had  water trickling over them with the stones were covered in moss, making the path quite slippery and treacherous.

The staircase:

One of our many breaks:

At the pass there is a plaque with the comment of a famous Japanese poet, Fujiwara Teika, that was composed about this segment of the trail when he made the pilgrimage in 1201:

"This route is very rough and difficult; it's impossible to describe how tough it is. " My feelings exactly!

The next 10Km were up and down hills until the last 2 Km, when we had to descend about 800 meters  on another rough stone stairway. At one point we stopped for lunch at a shelter where the trail intersects a road. There we met a pilgrim who had just finished walking the entire Shikoku 88 Temple circuit in Shikoku and was now walking the entire length of the Kumano Kodo trail.

The ubiquitous Jizo statue, for the god that guides stillborns to heavens. He also helps travelers find their way.

View from one of the mountain peaks:

We finally reached the Grand Shrine complex, I could not hike a mile further. It is beautiful, located in a grove of tall and ancient trees and next to the second highest waterfall in Japan.

After touring the Grand Shrine we met up with our two colleagues and took a public bus to the coastal town Kii-Katsura where we took a ferry to the hotel on a private island, where we’ll spend tonight and tomorrow night.. The hotel is in a large modern building but it's a traditional Japanese hotel, catering to Japanese clients. We were the only westerners around.

Hotel:

Hotel ferry:

Our room:

As soon as we checked into our room, an ancient looking Japanese woman, barely 4 feet tall, came in to pour us hot green tea. She gave us a double take and returned with larger yukatas for me and Delio, who got the largest available.

Before dinner we hit the onsen for a hot bath.  Dinner was fantastic, one of the top five we had so far in Japan.

2016 Japan's Kumano Kodo Ancient Trail Hike - Day 4

Day 4

2016-04-15 Friday

Yunomine Onsen

No hiking today, we are taking it easy before the hardest day of hiking tomorrow. After breakfast we took a local bus to a neighboring town where we boarded 8-person boats for a 90 minute boat ride down the Kumano river. We are in a deep valley, surrounded by high,  steep mountains.  In 2011 this valley was devastated by a powerful typhoon (hurricane) and we can still see signs where the water crested 50 to 70 meters above normal and marking the devastation.

We ended the ride at the town of Shingu where we visited the second of the three Grand Shrines. Afterwards we were taken to a restaurant where we ate a delicious bento box lunch.

We had to take two busses to get back to our hotel. I was surprised at the quality of the bus service in Japan,  Buses arrive right on schedule, you board and get a ticket from a machine with the stop number printed on it. In the front of the bus there is a panel that lists the cost to the next few stops and when you arrive you present the ticket to the driver and deposit the appropriate amount of coins or money in the collection machine. The driver can provide change.

Back to the hotel we went to the onsen to clean up and relax before dinner. The food was again delicious, I tried for the first time baby squid sashimi. Quite good.

Walking to the boats, Kumano river:

Ready for the adventure:

 At the Grand Shrine of Shingu:

Temple's sake barrel:

 The rope around the tree indicates that the tree is a sacred place, home to a deity:

Our bento box lunch:

2016 Japan's Kumano Kodo Ancient Trail Hike - Day 3

Day 3
2016-04-14 Thursday
Chikatsuyu / Yunomine Onsen
To everyone’s delight, breakfast was "western". There were rolls, yogurt and fruit! Today we walked two segments of the Kumano Kodo Ancient Trail, the first was quite hilly and difficult and about 5 Km Then we took a bus to another village on top of a mountain, so that we would hike a mostly downhill 7 Km segment to the Grand Shrine at Hongu.

Both segments were beautiful. After we arrived and visited the Grand Shrine at Hongu we took a local bus for about 20 minutes to go to the Yunomine Onsen, a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn), famous for its hot baths. Our room, Japanese style, was quite nice and had a great view of the mountains. We were reunited with our luggage, allowing us to change outfits for tomorrow’s hike. At the hotel all guest use yukatas, the day-to-day cotton robe.

Delio and I quickly checked in, donned our yukatas and went to wash our clothes on the self-service washing machines. There was one little problem: the instructions were only in Japanese! We were trying to figure out which buttons to press to select the wash style and turn the thing on when an elderly Japanese woman, guest of the hotel, took pity of us and assumed control of the situation. We gave her repeated deep bows of appreciation and went to the onsen.

After cleaning ourselves up and immersing in the indoor pools we decided to try the outdoor onsen of the hotel. It’s on top of a hill behind the hotel and there is a self-service small tram that takes you up and down the hill. To reach the onsen we had to walk through a lounge area. Our saviour was resting the at one of the lounges and, upon seeing us she rushed to us and, using gestures made us understand that the lounge was a no slipper area. We were walking in the slippers given to us at check in to wear in the public areas, we failed to notice that the lounge area had tatamis… We slipped the sandals off, walked to the outside patio, put the slippers back on and the old lady came back running to point us to a shelf where you put your “inside” slippers and pick up on of the available pairs of “outside” sleepers. We bowed again in thanks, apologizing profusely for our “faux pas.”

The self-service tram was another adventure, all instructions were only in Japanese. This time we were rescued by a young Japanese couple, honeymooners also heading out to the onsen. The outdoor onsen was nice with great views, but it was rather chilly outside, so we retreated to the indoor one. By then the washing cycle was over and our Japanese friend, still hanging out at the lounge, followed us to the machines to help us with the dryer. Very kind indeed.

Dinner was at 1800, traditional Japanese, with the twist that the dishes were prepared with the mineral hot spring water, claimed to be medicinal. Quite good.

Morning in Chikatsuyu:

Steps leading to a torii gate:

Beautiful rhododendron:

Farmers shooting the breeze by the front door:

Flowering tree:

Steps and torii gate leading to a small mountain shrine:

Woman foraging by the side of the road:

Walk in the woods:

Small landholding, tea bushes in the foreground:

The overcast day started to clear up:

We finally arrived at the Grand Shrine at Hongu, one of the three grand shrines of the Ancient Kumano Kodo Trail:

Erico and Delio at the front gate:

Our room at the ryokan:

Our delicious dinner:

2016 Japan's Kumano Kodo Ancient Trail Hike - Day 2

Day 2

2016-04-13 Wednesday

Takahara / Chikatsuyu

Breakfast was scheduled for 0800, but we were up early and went to the lobby to access the Internet, the only place we can.. Jean was already up and offered us freshly brewed coffee, organic Brazilian coffee that he buys green and roasts himself - another surprise - excellent coffee in the mountains of Japan.

Erico and Jean:

View of the valley, clouded in the early mist:

 Breakfast was typical Japanese breakfast, cooked veggies, rice, pickles, sweet omelette, smoked fish, miso soup. Everything was tasty.

The forecast is for rain, and the guide said that there is a steep climb that’s quite slippery when wet, It had rained overnight.  Departure was scheduled for 9:30, but I made a motion to depart at 9:00 and walk a bit more slowly on account of the slippery trail, today is a short segment and the check in at the new inn is only at 1500 That 's why the plan was to depart only at 0930, but everybody supported my motion.

We left under cloudy skies. Just before we departed Jean gave Mellissa a bottle of red wine for her to celebrate her birthday:

Group photo in front of the inn:

It was a nice walk, up and down mountains, and the incline was not too steep. The rain only started when we stopped for lunch at 1230 at a little food store that had some tables. They allowed us to use the tables as long as we ordered food or drinks.  We had brought lunch boxes from the inn.

Melissa and her birthday balloon:

Forest Shinto Shrine:

Going down to the valley:

Ant and the flower:

We arrived at the destination at 2PM, since we had to kill some time and the guide said the small family inn did not have a bar, we all went to a grocery store to buy beer and wine to celebrate Melissa's birthday. We checked into the inn, a small place on the side of a river that runs along the valley floor. There are only 6 rooms, but it has an onsen in a separate building, so soon Delio and I were at the onsen. The water was the hottest we have enjoyed had so far.

Dinner was early, at 6 PM. There was good Japanese food; they had the usual: pickles, cooked veggies, including an amazing cold cooked small eggplants, sashimi and the two specialties of this village. One is a pot of veggies and bacon cooked on a pot in the table using the hot spring mineral water. It had cabbage, bacon, portobello mushrooms, small thin mushrooms, noodles and lots of fresh tofu. The tofu turned the water milky. It was quite good. The other rice was from this village, instead of plain white rice, cooked with veggies  in an iron pot.It is served with the burned bits and splashed with a little soy sauce. Excellent!! Oh, and a little fried fish that you were supposed to eat whole, from head to tail.

Liz, Melissa's best friend and travel companion on this hike, had ordered a western style birthday cake before the trip started and it arrived from a city more than 100 miles away! It was brought to the dining room after our  dinner and was a complete surprise to the birthday girl.

2016 Japan's Kumano Kodo Ancient Trail Hike - Day 1

Day 1
2016-04-12 Tuesday
Kyoto / Takahara

We are in Kyoto to meet a tour group for a 7-day hike on the Kumano Kodo Ancient Trail, a trail that links several ancient Shinto shrines in the Kii peninsula on Japan's main island. Shinto is the native Japanese religion. Worshipers revere nature gods and the religion still underlies all aspects of Japanese culture and society., Kumano Kodo is a "sister" trail of the Camino de Santiago. If you get a pilgrims “passport” and stamp it at the shrines along the way you get an certification of accomplishment. This, together with a “Compostela” allows you to get a special dual-pilgrimage certificate.

Last night we met our group for introductions and dinner. There are ten of us and one Japanese guide.We are seven Australians, one American and two Brazilians. There’s only one couple, the rest are singletons. Several are married, but partners didn’t come., There are only three women. Our ages vary from mid-20s to mid--70s. We went for dinner in private dining room at a traditional Kyoto restaurant known for it’s multi-course traditional Kyoto cuisine. We introduced ourselves and got to know each other over the many courses of delicious and exquisitely arranged morsels.

Kyoto was just the meeting place. First thing this morning after breakfast in the hotel we took the train to go to Takahara, in the Kii Peninsula to start our hike. Our bags were dispatched to a hotel to be retrieved on Day 3., We must carry everything we need for the next 3 hiking days in our backpack, on our backs. We spent three comfortable hours on the train and forty minutes on the bus to get to the trailhead.Before heading out on the trail we stopped at a covered rest area/convenience store for a bento box lunch.

After lunch we started our hike, stopping to take pictures at the Torii Gate marking the trailhead:

The trail turned out quite steep, today we are hiking only two hours, but it was quite strenuous.

Trail marker:

Walking through the woods:

Shinto Shrine on one of the mountain  peaks:

Rice  paddy on a mountain terrace:

After some huffing and puffing we reached today’s destination, the Organic Hotel Kiri-no-sato. It  is very small, just 10 rooms, but each room overlooks a valley with beautiful mountains on the other side. It has an onsen, so we immediately we hit the baths to soothe our sore legs.

View of the valley and mountains:

Sunset:

After onsen Delio and I went to the bar for pre dinner drinks . We found the innkeeper behind the bar. A very friendly guy,  we quickly discovered he spoke  flawless British accented English and an excellent Spanish. From then on he insisted on addressing Delio and me in Spanish only! He went to school in London and spent several years in Spain.

While we drank and chatted, the innkeeper fired up an outdoor wood pizza oven and said that although our dinner would be family style Japanese dinner, he would serve pizza as one of the courses as he was very proud of his pizza making abilities. Helping to serve the food was a 22-yr old French woman, spending 3 months in Japan working on organic farms and food establishments for room and board. She was part of a government-sponsored program to foster organic farming in Japan and to introduce Japanese culture to young men and women. This inn serves locally grown organic food.

Our other trail-mates started to trickle in, and Jean, the innkeeper’s chosen name, learned that tomorrow will be our companion Melissa's 50th birthday.  He opened a bottle of a local fizzy plum wine, that he claims you can only drink in a few places this area and in a Michelin 2-star restaurant in Tokyo, because the production is tinyl and artisanal. It was delicious.

The dinner was fantastic, a simple presentation but very tasty. The high marks were a toro sashimi (tuna belly) so buttery that it melted in my mouth and a dish prepared on the table in an iron pot over fire In it were  layers of cabbage and thin slices of marbled beef on top ina broth almost covered the cabbage. An iron lid covered the pot tightly and there was a small hole in its top. We were told that when vapor started to come out of the hole the food was ready and should be eaten immediately,  dipping the food in a mixture of vinegar and soy sauce provided in a little pot. The cabbage was cooked "al dente" with the edges slightly burned and caramelized where it touched the hot iron pot. The beef on was cooked just right, no pink, but not overdone either, it melted in your mouth.

The pizza was excellent, Jean is justified in his pride of his pizza making skills. Dessert was raspberry sorbet.  After dinner everybody retreated to their rooms, but Delio and I stayed in the bar-restaurant area for after dinner drinks, as it was not yet even 9 PM. I peered into the kitchen and saw the cook, an old Japanese woman, back hunched with the weight of years and hard work and asked Jean if she would be willing to have a picture taken with me I wanted a memento of this delicious dinner, she agreed.

Jean offered us a very nice aged apple brandy and we exchanged life stories while sipping the delicious Calvados. We spent quite some time chatting with the innkeeper sipping the luscious liquor from Normandy. That’s how we learned that Jean had a passion for acoustic guitar playing, especially Flamenco music. He developed this passion and skills when he lived in Spain. He offered to play, we said off course! That’s when the magic began!

He went to the office and picked up his acoustic guitar and started playing flamenco songs one after the other. He is an excellent guitar player. The French helper, Orione, is finishing her 2-week work stint at the inn today and tomorrow she is going away. So Jean invited her to rest a bit from cleaning the dining room before starting to wash the dishes and join us for some wine. The Calvados was by now a fond memory. She is also fluent in English and Spanish and said she knows German as well, has a German boyfriend, is from the North of France and is studying business in college.

Jean continued playing Flamenco on the guitar. Delio asked Orione if she knew how to sing, and she said she would sing a few folk songs Jean did not know any of the songs she sung acapella, and proceeded to perform several French and Spanish folk songs with a beautiful and clear voice. She finished her performance with an amazing rendition of Stand by Me. After that nothing more could be said or done, it was a fantastic cap to a great evening. We went to our room to sleep in our traditional Japanese rooms, on futons spread over tatami floors.

This was truly a Travel Magic Moment. When you travel to new places and are open to the unexpected, you sometimes find surprising things or encounter interesting people. These are truly that memorable, unforgettable moments. So who knew that deep in the mountain range of the Kii peninsula, we would find a Japanese innkeeper fluent in English and with an excellent command of the Spanish language? That he is an excellent flamenco guitar player? That after dinner we would spend wonderful moments listening to him playing flamenco songs while sipping an excellent Calvados? Who knew we would be joined by an young French college student finishing her 2-weeks stint helping in this organic inn in exchange for room and board, who is also fluent in Spanish and English? And that she has a beautiful clear singing voice and would sing folk songs in French and Spanish? Travel is finding the unexpected.