22/03/2018 – 26/03/2018 Kumano Kodo Trail
Nakahechi Imperial Route, Kansai Region, Honshu, JAPAN
Distance: 96km Total Ascent: 8,880m Total Descent: 8,710m Time: 28 hours
Participants: Bethany Davies, Stephen Davies (Photos), Sue Davies (Report)
The Kumano Kodo is a pilgrimage route that has been used for over 1,000 years by people from all levels of society including retired emperors and aristocrats. The Nakahechi route has a rich history and is characterised by Oji shrines along its length. The route has been used since the beginning of the 10th century and it is considered an isolated sacred site of healing and salvation.
This walk is located in the isolated Kii peninsula known for its steep lush mountains. The sacred sites and pilgrimage routes were world heritage listed in 2007. From Kyoto or Tokyo the train can be taken to Kii Tanabe and then a local bus takes 40mins to reach the start of the walk.It is important to know which stop to alight the bus though! Bus and train transport is available at the end of the walk.
Day 1: Thursday 22/03/2018 Takijiri – Takahara
From Kyoto we took two trains and a bus to the start of the walk. After a brief look at the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage centre we were on our way. The weather was quite fresh but there was no rain which made for quite pleasant walking conditions. The climb started soon after starting through lovely forest. There were many small shrines along the way featuring fresh flowers and semi clothed statues.
We reached a lookout after climbing some steep stairs. It was a glimpse of what was to come in the next few days.
We stopped at the impressive Takahara Kumano-Jinnah shrine (one of the oldest along this route) surrounded by large camphor trees aged 800 to 1,000 years old.
After initial confusion trying to find our accommodation with our small map we found our wonderful “organic hotel” with views from our rooms out to the Hatenashi mountain range to the north. Instead of showers we had a shared Japanese hot bath again with views. We were a little confused by the array of footwear provided, outdoor shoes, indoor shoes, toilet shoes and no shoes on the tatami mats. It’s hard not to get mixed up and accidentally leave the toilet slippers on!
Shrine near Minpaku Akatsuki
Dinner at night was an amazing array of local produce. The organic hotel set a very high standard for the nights to come!
Day 2: Friday 23/03/2018 Takahara – Irorian Minshuku
Beth and I snuck another hot bath in before breakfast. We then enjoyed an incredible array of foods that we wouldn’t normally eat for breakfast including dried fish, miso soup and rice.
We set off before 9, it was wonderful to see the clear skies considering this area gets up to 4 metres of rain per year! We walked through gorgeous forests of pine and cedar trees towering above us with bubbling streams flowing through the gullies.
There were many shrines, statues and historic markers along the way, with stories of pilgrims from the year 1,000.
We were making good progress along the way and it didn’t seem long until we reached our accommodation for the night, Irorian Minshuku. As usual we were welcomed with tea and a chat with our host, Kenji. We settled in and soon after we were driven to the local free hot baths wearing our traditional Japanese robes. What a wonderful experience this all is! Irorian Minshuku has only two rooms so it is an intimate place to stay with dinner served around the open hearth. A wonderful authentic Japanese experience.
Day 3: Saturday 24/03/2018 Irorian Minshuku – Kumano Hongu Taisha
Max elevation: 671 m
Total climbing: 2456 m
Total descent: -2852 m
Average speed: 4.72 km/h
Total time: 08:28:49
We knew we had a long day so we started earlier at 8:00am. It was a clear fresh spring morning, perfect walking conditions! There was some walking on quiet roads and through serene forests past many small shrines or ojis. Today we would climb three passes before lunch so we really earned our Japanese snack pack.
Soon after lunch we commenced the Hosshinmon-oji to Kumano Hongu Taisha, the latter was our destination for the day. Hosshinmon-oji is known as the “gate of awakening of the aspiration to enlightenment” and marks the outermost entrance to Kumano Hongu Taisha’s sacred precincts. This path has been walked by pilgrims for more than 1,000 years who were in search of cleansing and spiritual enlightenment. The peace and serenity of the paths was evident.
We were lucky to reach our destination under clear spring skies with cherry blossoms in bloom.
Cherry blossoms approaching Hongu Taisha
A highlight was the enormous Torii gate, the largest in the world standing at 34metres high. It is a protector of women. A festival will occur in a few weeks to mark the 2050 anniversary of this site.
We decided to catch the bus to our accommodation in Yunomine Olsen as the last short section involved a steep climb. Dinner and a hot bath were welcome after a long day.
Day 4: Sunday 25/03/2018 Ukegawa – Koguchi
We knew we had an easier day today which was welcome after the long day yesterday. The Kumono Kodo trail ended at Kumano Hongu Taisha, where we caught the bus yesterday. The trailhead for the start of today’s walk was a short bus ride away at the small town of Ukegawa. We bought some lunch supplies (untoasted white bread jaffles) at the local store before commencing our walk.
Today’s walk was almost exclusively through tall cypress and cedar forest and we had been unaware there was so much of this vegetation in Japan. The cherry blossoms were a welcome sight and looked stunning against the clear blue spring skies.
We climbed up and along some lovely narrow ridges until we reached the Kogumotorigoe Pass with views to the surrounding mountain ranges. It was then a gradual descent to the small village of Koguchi, which is situated at the confluence of several rivers with cherry trees helping to provide scenic views.
Kowase Kumano Kodo
We soon found our small minshuku where we would spend the night. Using the two rooms, we booked out the whole place! We were welcomed with friendly greeting from our host and hot green tea of course. We decided we would have one of our bags transported to our next accommodation as we knew we had a massive climb out of this village tomorrow.
Once settled we went for a walk around the village which didn’t take very long at all! We relaxed in the afternoon and enjoyed yet another fantastic and ample Japanese meal prepared by our host.
Day 5: Monday 26/03/2018 Koguchi – Nachi-san
We planned to try to head off early for our final hike today. We would need to climb over 1,200m vertical metres and about 800m in the first five kilometres. We had an early Japanese breakfast, but no coffee and headed off to the trailhead. This section is described as the toughest part of the Nakahechi route and the mossy stairs started straight away and pretty much continued to the top of the first section. The temperate rainforest was lovely with tall cedar and cypress pines providing shade for our walk. There were ancient stone walls of past terraced rice paddies. Despite the cool temperatures we were warm but it was perfect walking conditions as it has been for the entire hike. One would imagine that in the wet the moss covered rocks would be very slippery so we were thankful for the fine weather.
Departing Minshuku Momofuko
We reached the Echizen-toge pass in about two hours so we were making good progress. We were due to climb another pass but a landslide had closed the track and were were sent on a detour route. There were no signs on this route so were were relieved when we rejoined the main track. There was some road walking and more climbing before we reached a rest area with good views over the coast. It was a bit smoggy so the views were not optimal but it was a good spot to have lunch.
We then commenced the long downhill to Nachisan. It wasn’t too steep and was rather pleasant to enjoy the last few kilometres of the Kumano Kodo. Before long we were down and with other tourists (although surprisingly not that many) enjoying the fantastic views of the three tiered pagoda shrine with the Nach-no-Otaki waterfall in the background. It was a fitting reward for us after four and a half days of walking.
For us the Kumano Kodo was a wonderful experience which combined walking through beautiful forest paths, scenic views, incredible history and an immersion in Japanese culture and cuisine.
Some tips if you are considering walking this route:
* You can book you accommodation through Kumano travel at the following website
There are commercial providers who offer a self guided package but they are very expensive and with Kumano travel you are booking with a local community based organisation.
* Order lunches from your accommodation each day as there are minimal services available for food and drinks along the trail
* The accomodation provides traditional comfortable clothes to wear after your bath and shower (you can wear them to dinner as well) which reduces the amount of clothes you need to carry.
* Luggage transfer is available but it is expensive. We used it just for the last day to carry one of our bags to reduce the weight and that made the last day easier.
* Be open to trying and enjoying different foods, tastes and textures
* Be prepared to get naked with others in the Japanese baths
* Relax and enjoy the experience
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