After I was told I was going to be granted a generous week off of work from teaching for summer break I phoned my mom and my sister and said, “You guys have to visit me!” Not long after they united with my proposition and booked a flight from the Los Angeles International Airport to the Incheon International Airport which is the largest airport in South Korea. We decided that they would spend a week sightseeing Seoul and the surrounding area prior to my time off work and the following week the three of us would catch a flight someplace new to explore nearby. After weeks of meditating on different travel destinations my mom called me up one morning and suggested, “Let’s hike the Kumano Kodo in Japan!” She was recommended by some family friends that it was worthy of a bucket list. I had never heard of the Kumano Kodo foregoing her proposal but after a little bit of my own research I confirmed that there was no other way I’d rather spend our time together than walking through the pinnacles of Japan.
On Saturday, July 27th, 2019, my mom, sister and I awoke around 4:30 am in my apartment in Seoul to the sound of a starless sky churning. Thunder was growling in the distance. After many late nights and tedious hours spent booking flights, accommodations and inquiring into all the trains, buses, taxis, sidewalks and hiking trails we would have to navigate throughout our journey I had a pretty tidy travel plan prepared. There was nothing left to do other than venture into the relative unknown. We were facing some potential trials…a typhoon had descended on the mountains of Wakayama (south of Kyoto) and the surrounding area about a week before our scheduled arrival and from the looks of the weather forecast it didn’t show any signs of letting up. However, we weren’t going to let any latent obstacles deflect us from our odyssey.
Our backpacks were stuffed with loose T’s, hiking socks, pants and shorts, sweat bands, gators, water bottles and bladders, bug spray, sunscreen, and handfuls of snacks. We were heading to thru-hike the Nakaheci route of the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage trail network. The Kumano Kodo is comprised of seven trails that snake through the Kii Mountain Range in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture. The area is about 100 km south of Osaka. I chose the Nakaheci route not only because it is the most popular route on the Kumano Kodo but it fit our time frame perfectly. Our itinerary had us booked for a total of six nights and seven days on the Kumano Kodo and had us winding up our trip in Kyoto, Japan.
The morning of our departure our leisure time in the Incheon Airport was negated because we were late to our airport shuttle bus. By virtue of kind airport staff and a few priority passes we managed to board our flight to the Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan just in the nick of time. When we landed in Osaka rain was falling from the sky in buckets. Neither one of us said anything which is exactly how I know we were all thinking, “Oh shit.” By this time it was 9:40 am which sounds early but considering everything we had already done the rest of the day seemed like a marathon. As soon as we retrieved our packs from baggage claim and gone through customs we made our way over to a travel agency kiosk directly out of our gate. It had an 8-day data SIM card waiting for us with our name on it. We knew one of us would need cell data for navigation and in case of an emergency. From there we walked to the train station.
“Three train tickets for Kii-Tanabe, please”, we requested. The train ride was 2 hours which sanctioned time for a podcast and a nap. The train carried us away from the teeming city of Osaka and deep into the heart of Japans countryside. As I watched multistory apartment complexes fade into towering trees, subways blur into cars and a sea of people become washed out by a sea of royal blue I felt my breathing begin to soften.
Once we arrived in Tanabe the three of us split up to divide and conquer. My mom went to the nearby outdoor supply store. She purchased ponchos and some rain covers for our backpacks and as well as two bear bells (just in case). My sister went to get us sandwiches’. I spent my time talking through our itinerary with an older Japanese lady who worked in the Tanabe Tourist Information Center. She stood with me and looked over my printed plans and confirmed the locations of our accommodations, our daily hiking distances, the entry and exit points on and off the trail and provided me with a bus schedule. She was very friendly and helpful, giving me the confidence that everything was doable. I wish I got to see more of Tanabe because I was immediately captivated by its narrow roads and tangled telephone wires (I’ll be back someday.).
We left Tanabe on a bus and traveled for another 40 minutes deeper into the mountains towards Takijiri-oji. The bus stop was situated on a bridge over the Kumano-gawa river which is the dominate landmark in the Kumano region running from North to South down the center of the Kii Peninsula. The river served as a vital transportation link for the communities in the mountains and pilgrims past. Like a spine, it felt like it held the whole world together.
The consecrated entryway onto the trail emanated mystical energy. It was 3 o’clock by the time we began to hike and the rain began to let up. It did not storm for our remaining seven days on the trail. The leaves on the trees were still dripping and there was a layer of fog that hadn’t lifted yet. Thankfully the lady at the tourist information center cautioned us that we were heading onto the steepest section of the trail. So, when we were pulling at obtrusive roots, rocks and branches to hoist us upwards with each step we weren’t surprised. Immediately we started sweating and we never stopped. The earth was pulpy and the rocks were slippery so our attention was on our footing, our breath and our hearts. We hiked up and over a pass and then came to an overlook of the valley of the tiny village of Takahara. Takahara was quiet yet pulsating with life force. The hike from Takiljiri to Takahara was roughly 3.9 km and took us about two and a half hours to get from point-to-point. A paved road led us to our guest house, Tenku-no-Satoyama, that was tucked within rice paddies, fish pools and fecund gardens.An older husband and wife with faces creased from sun and softened by the natural world came out to meet us. The matron of the house said, “I will show you to your guesthouse”. Tenku-no-Satoyama was heaven to us. It was this beautiful Japanese styled home fashioned together with wooden floors and thick ceiling beams. It was furnished with a “chabudai” which is a short-legged table used in traditional Japanese homes, floor pillows, and a small coffee table between two chairs by a window. There were lofty sliding doors looking onto the verdant valley below. In the back of the house were two bedrooms, one was western style with three raised twin beds side by side and the other was a traditional Japanese style room with floor mats to sleep on. The kitchen was very modern and had everything from a microwave to an electric tea kettle and a cabinet filled with mismatched mugs, plates, bowls and utensils. The shower room had a deep lime green tub and a little window looking out onto grass and wildflowers.
It was a little before 6 o’clock when we lumbered in and it was noted in our reservation that if we made it to the guesthouse before 7 pm that we could be driven to the nearby grocery store to buy dinner. So Taylor and I hopped into the gentlemen’s KIA which smelled of dirt and cigarettes and he drove us about 10 minutes back through the hills we had just come from to a tiny store nested next to the Gawa River. He spoke enough English for us to exchange the necessary sentences to get to know each other a little bit. He enjoyed pointing out all the cashew trees that we past. When we got to the store he got out of the car too and followed us around giving us suggestions on everything to purchase in the deli section. We took all of his recommendations from inari sushi, soba noodles, and fish dumplings to the Asahi beer and the dark chocolate he said was, “The best!”.
On Sunday, July 28th, 2019 I was up before the sun since we were planning to check-out and start hiking by 9 am. I wanted to saturate up the space as much as possible. I sipped on black coffee while watching the birds dive bomb for their morning breakfasts. My mom and Taylor rolled out of bed not long after me and the three of us stretched our limbs and wrote in our journals to set intention for the hiking day ahead. By 8:30 am our packs were chock-full. We ensured the inside of the house was cleaner than before we had come and then we walked up to our hosts house to say “thank you”. We exchanged hugs and they pointed to a short cut for us to take to get up to the trail.
From Takahara we hiked 11.8 km to Tsuigizakura-oji in a region known as Nonaka. Our day started out flawless and continued just the same. We hiked from the guesthouse through the village of Takahara just as neighborhood folk were beginning to rise. Little old ladies sat on their front porches and watched us curiously as we walked by. A gardener with a leaf blower over his shoulder caught up to us as we were passing the sign for the trail and offered to take our picture. We crossed paths with a pony enjoying hay in his paddock and admired scummy ponds illuminated by jazzy coy fish.
The Kumano Kodo has been considered a sacred site associated with nature worship since prehistoric times. When Buddhism arrived in Japan in the 6th century the area became a site of ascetic training. So, all along the trail there are shrines and historical plaques in the place of where teahouses use to stand and ancient villages once existed. We stopped frequently to read them. At the shrines we rang bells to call fourth blessings and prayer and we admired the many Buddha’s and religious figures. By noon we made it to Chikatsuyu-oji which is where we were recommended to take a midday rest. Chikatsuyu-oji is situated right on the river. There weren’t many dining options in the town but we found a great spot to purchase coffee and some lunch bites. We ordered fried rice, curry and a salad and three iced coffees. Our boots, socks and gators were off as soon as we sat down to let our feet air out.
Further down the road towards the trail head we stopped at a little cabin serving coffee (with ice cream) and decided to indulge in a treat. It was occupied by a group of 5 or 6 Japanese women all whom were seemingly friends and family of the owners of the shop. From the looks of us—our packs, hiking boots, and ratty hair—they recommended we sit outside and they set up a little table near a bench under some shade.
The remainder of the hike was on a paved road and snaked around the hills on an incline to the top of the village. We ended up hiking a little past our accommodation for the night and had to back track about twenty-five minutes to the split in the road that we missed. By 4:30 pm we had arrived at the Minshuku 3rd Place Kumano Kodo. The guesthouse was situated on an overlook of the Nonaka valley. Our host heard us drop our packs and begin to clamor around from his side of the house so he came out eagerly to greet us and show us where we would be staying for the night. He gave us a tour of the guesthouse and said, “Dinner is at 6! I will bring it over.”
The Minshuku 3rd Place Kumano Kodo was an impressive Japanese style home that had a living area, TV area, and kitchen. It had a sleeping area with floor mats and a rocking chair and a beautiful cedar bathroom with a deep hallow tub. It was more modern that I had expected. We took the evening to ourselves, each unwinding at our own pace. Taylor and I played outside on the hills catching the last sun rays of the day. Right around 5:30 pm a bell sounded throughout the village that we later found out was an indication of dinner time and “letting the children know it is time to make their way home.” At exactly 6 o’clock our host hurriedly walked past us carrying a big pot into the back door of our house. He smiled excitedly and said, “I will set it up and let you know when it is ready.” He came to get us a few moments later and we were invited to sit at the table that was set beautifully. He pulled our chairs out for us and sat us down and proceeded to educate and entertain us for the next half an hour or so discussing each of the dishes lain out before us. He told us how they were made and what crops he used grown in the area. He discussed the different plate and utensil arrangements that are traditionally set in Japanese culture depending on region and religion. He led us in giving thanks and poured us each a glass of sake that was fermented by his friends who lived in the vicinity. He gave us his blessing and left us to enjoy our meal.
We were up and at em’ by 6:50 am the next morning so that our host could drive us down the road to where we ate breakfast. It was a quaint cafe run by two sisters. They made us a perfect “hikers” breakfast which consisted of a salad, toast, an egg, a sausage and some fruit. We were mesmerized while watching them prepare us siphoned coffee.
As he drove us back to the guesthouse to grab our packs and carry on he told us all about the monkeys in the area. He said that they are a problem because they eat up all the vegetation. We hadn’t known there were monkeys in the area before he said something and we hadn’t seen any either. Only moments after he told us we saw a group of three monkey a mother with her baby clinging to her back and a third wheel cross the street quickly and disappear into the trees.
On Monday, July 29th we hiked from Nonaka to Kumano Hongu Taisha. We covered a total of 22.1 km on severe incline, decline and on uneven ground. We past waterfalls, streams and were overwhelmed by trees the size of sky scrapers. We crossed paths with Japanese tree frogs, forest crabs, snakes and countless spiders. We hiked upon a section of stream that was very deep so we stripped down and plunged in. The joys of the day were intersected with stress and exhaustion. It was by far our toughest day of the 7 days. The challenge began when we realized we were crunched for time. We had to make it to Kumano Hongu Tiasha by the latest 5:30 pm in order to catch a bus that would transport us to our new guesthouse. Yunomine Onsen was the nearby village that we needed to get too. As soon as we began to pick up speed to catch our bus, thunder began to taunt us from afar.
The following day, Tuesday, July 30th, was our “rest” day. No hiking! We were in the tiny mountainous village known as the Yunomine Onsen which is one of the most popular places to enjoy the Japanese hot springs known as “Onsens” on the Kumano Kodo. Our accommodation was called Minshuku Yunotaniso. We had a simple Japanese styled double room in a dormitory style guesthouse that sat beside a creek. When we got to Minshuku Yunotaniso we were beat. Our legs were covered in heat rash, our backs were sore from carrying 50lb packs and our muscles were shaky from hiking. Our host was an older Japanese lady and she showed us to our room and told us dinner was at 6:30 pm. It was just after 5 by the time we arrived and so we settled in slowly. On the first floor there were two onsens, one was outside and the other was inside. The water in the Onesn is directly filtered into the tubs from the hot springs and so it is scalding hot. When we first dipped our toes in we were sure there was no way we were going to be getting all the way in but we later found out that there are cool water hoses situated beside the tubs and you are suppose to dilute the hot water with to get the temperature to your liking. We left the hose running while we made our way to dinner.
The food at Minshuku Yunotaniso was the highest quality that we ate while on the trail. Our reservation included two breakfasts and two dinners. She led us into the dining room where there were tables set for three dinner parties. It was clear that she was the chef and had spent much of her day preparing the banquet for her guests. We sat cross-legged on satin blue pillows around a traditional Japanese spread made with garden-fresh ingredients. There were tons of varying shaped and colored bowls filled with bite-size portions of vegetable, fish, tofu and meat dishes. The three of us had our own BBQ cooking over a small flame at each of our settings and raw sushi garnished with scented herbs. We ate flawlessly cooked white rice and sipped on miso soup paired with a pot of green tea. The food not only tasted luscious but felt far more nourishing and healing than any meal I’ve ever had before (no exaggeration). We were craving a beer too after our long day of hiking so using my moms translator app we asked if there was anywhere in the area we could get some. After some nodding and a few hand gestures she left and when she returned she brought forth an ice cold bottle of Asahi. On the first night she brought out kiwi and grapes for dessert and for the second night we each got a fresh slice of watermelon.
Wednesday, July 31st, we woke slothfully. Other than breakfast at 8 am we didn’t have any time commitments. I made my way down to the Onsen just before 6:30 am, I started the hose and while I waited for the water to cool I listened to the bugs and the birds stir. My mom joined me moments later and then so did Taylor. We soaked and splashed and let the medicinal water soothe are tender bodies.
Breakfast was just as fresh and delicious as dinner. The onsens are famous for cooking hard-boiled eggs in and so it was during our first breakfast at Minshuku Yunotaniso that we ate an “onsen egg”. It was the best hard-boiled egg I’ve ever had. The sulfur and the minerals permeate the eggs and give them a salty taste and ideal texture. The meal was high in protein and potassium and left us feeling fueled for the day ahead.
By mid-morning we decided to explore the village a little more and see if there was anywhere we could enjoy a coffee. We made our way down the hill to the center of town where the one and only bus stop and convenience store was. We found a coffee shop located just off the creek and sat outside and delighted in milk coffees and little biscuits. We mulled over how we wanted to spend the rest of our day and realizing the night before that we needed to hit an ATM before continuing on the following day we made a plan to catch the bus and head back to Hongu Taisha which was where the closest ATM was located. My mom stayed back and enjoyed the Onsen, still feeling a little fatigued from the demands of the day before and my sister and I made the journey together.
While we were in Hongu Taisha we stopped at a market to resupply with protein bars, mixed nuts, fruit and some candy for our hike the next day. We grabbed a six pack of beer too and stuffed it into our backpack and then crossed the street to pick up some wrapped lunch with a plan to head to the river to swim afterwards. We got back on the bus and circled around through the mountains and got off at what seemed to be the most popular section of the river to splash, float and tread around in. We spent most of our time hip deep, splayed out on the river bottom soaking up the sunshine. The water was crystal clear and glistening from reflections of the polychromatic rocks and stones blanketing the bottom of it. We played at the river for the rest of the evening and ended our time in an onsen right on the bank~it was paradise. Around 5:30 pm we got the bus back to Yunomine Onsen, just in time to clean off before dinner.
Thursday, August 1st, we woke up early in the morning so we had enough time to revel in the onsen one last time and to belly another curative breakfast. We had to catch the earliest bus departing to Ukegawa which was scheduled to arrive around 7 am so after sincerely thanking our warm and boosterish host we said goodbye and buckled our packs onto our backs yet again. The bus from Yunomine Onsen to Ukegawa was about 25 minutes. The ride was serene—sun rays wafted through the thin curtains on the bus and the handful of other people commuting sat quietly with us. It was a poignant ride as a degree of nostalgia began to already loiter for the mystical experience that we were leaving behind. Even as I’m writing this, which is only a few weeks in the wake of our trip I find myself questioning if it was all real, “Did it all happen? Were we really there?”
From the Ukegawa bus stop we took a wrong right turn leaving us a momentarily lost but a friendly neighborhood fellow kindly yelled from his yard, “Kumano Kodo?!” noticing our dubiety. He lovingly pointed us in the right direction. We married with the trail and began the steady incline upwards and onwards. From Ukegawa to Koguchi we a hiked a total of 12.6 km. It was a fairly easy day in comparison to the hiking days we had previously completed. We arrived in Koguchi around 1 pm. It was exceptionally hot that day. Since we had arrived about two hours before we could check-in to our guesthouse we found an inviting spot to set up camp along the river we had hiked upon to kill time.
Koguchi was a little river town with a big personality. It had a grocery store and a post office but other than that it was mostly inhabited by small shacks and houses and a few guesthouses for Kumano Kodo hikers. The town was built overlooking the river that was noticeably the source of life for the people of Koguchi. The venue where local men go to meditate with their fishing poles, farmers retire to rinse of their days work and women now and then clean dirty clothes in. It is the hot spot for kids to swim frivolously and swing from ropes. Taylor and I took drinks and watermelon down to the rocky beach which was occupied by a handful of fellow Kumano Kodo hikers. We waded in the water, stacked rocks and reflected on our journey that was nearing its end. I remember the temperature being perfect, after a fiercely sunny day the sun was now covered by some evening clouds and golden hour had begun to set in. About 25 feet over the river was a bridge and so I walked barefoot up a flight of stairs overgrown with weeds and wildflowers to the road, climbed over the railing on the bridge and pencil jumped in to the translucent water filled with itty-bitty fish and green algae. There is something about being in water that always makes me feel like a kid again. Maybe it’s the weightlessness. Maybe its the memories I have from my childhood during which I spent most of my time in a pool or at the beach, on a lake or in a river.
That evening we enjoyed our final traditional Japanese meal on the trail prepared by our sweet hosts. We were set to have breakfast at 8 am the next morning but that night after we had packed up our bags and retreated to the covers, I realized that we were setting ourselves up for too late a start. Taylor and I talked it over and then met with my mom down the hall and we discussed how an earlier start would be better given the expectations of the following day. So we set our alarm for 4:30 am and said our final goodnight on the Kumano Kodo.
Thursday, August 1st we hiked from Koguchi to Nachisan. According to all of the guidebooks and notes from former hikers it was said to be the toughest segment on the Nakaheci route. In the first 4.6 km we would gain 800 m of elevation. We stuck to our stratagem and were on the trail by 5:30 am after downing left over banana bread and yogurts without spoons. The morning haze fostered a dream-like sensation as we anticipated the sun to fully illuminate the world around us. Our host, who was by far the most tender and honeyed woman we had the pleasure of staying with waved us goodbye. Once we got to the trailhead we glanced down one last time onto the sleeping village of Koguchi and caught a blurry glimpse of her still waving from her doorstep. The image is unshakable.
The ascent began as soon as we stepped foot for our final time on the uneven, dirty, rocky, and rooted pilgrimage route that had been home to us for seven days and through 62.2 km of Japan’s holy backcountry. The guidebooks and former hikers weren’t kidding, the section from Koguchi to Nichisan was undeniably the most demanding and yet my mom, sister and I we were overcome with a sense of grace. Our breathing consumed us and our focus remained on our footing as we each carried ourselves at our own paces and took steps surging with self-assurance. The fire we were building within embodied the stillness of the forest and together gave rise to a sense of harmony and balance that left us feeling weightless, unbounded and peaceful.
We did it. We completed the Kumano Kodo. We each held hands once we hit the paved road that was the indicator that we had come to the end. Tears rolled from our eyes as we embraced with love and gratitude for completing a journey of such magnitude. We cruised around Nachisan and gazed upon the waterfall that is the image that everyone looks forward too once they’ve completed the pilgrimage. It was stunning.
From Nachisan we hopped on a bus that took us to the tiny seaside town of Kii-Katsuura. We stayed in a charming dainty hotel called Hotel Charmant. It had mustard yellow tones and tattered awnings that had characteristics similar to what a Wes Anderson film shot in Japan might portray. We picked Hotel Charmant because it was located right next to the train station and we were going to be headed to Kyoto early the next morning. Taylor and I got a room on the third floor with two twin beds and my mom took the room with the double bed on the first floor. It was late-afternoon by the time we checked in so we showered off and then went looking for an ATM and a place to get some drinks to celebrate our feat. Taylor found the one and only bar that was cited on Google and we walked about 15 minutes to the out skirt of town and found what looked like a little whole in the wall on the outside and when we walked in we felt like we were transported to a
The next morning we woke up at the crack of dawn, a little tattered from our big night out and my mom and I walked to the fishing docks to watch the sunrise. There was a public foot bath right on the water so we slipped off our shoes and let our feet soak before we had to head to the train station. The three of us were a little overwhelmed being back in a major city after having just spent 7 days in such solitude with nature but Kyoto was staggering. I booked us an Airbnb right next to the Nishiki Market located in downtown Kyoto. It was on a road one block north and parallel to Shijō Street and west of Teramachi Street, an area very rich with history and tradition. For only having two nights in Kyoto it ended up being the perfect spot. We were in the middle of all the action and were able to walk pretty much everywhere. On Saturday, August 3rd, we took the subway to the Fushimi Inari Shrine then walked to Sanjūsangen-dō, a temple built by the famous warlord Taira no Kiyomori for Emperor Go-Shirakawa in 1164. It is primarily famous for its 1,001 statues of the Goddess of Compassion Kannon in her thousand-armed incarnation. We settled for lunch at a burger joint craving something a little heartier than all the fish we had been eating. Afterwards we caught a cab and made our way to Iwatayama Monkey Park. It had caught our interest when we were researching things to do in Kyoto. The park is on Mt Arashiyama, across the Ōi River. It is inhabited by a troop of over 170 Japanese macaque monkeys. The animals are wild but we were reminded not to look them in the eye, crouch down or draw any sudden attention to ourselves. They were friendly. There was a feeding zone where you could purchase apples and bananas inside and hand them food through a fence for natural precaution. It was a blast.
That night we found a pizzeria nearby and ordered two pizzas, two glasses of red wine and a beer for my mom. We weren’t long for the night because we had to get up early the next morning to train from Kyoto to Osaka to catch our flight to Seoul. When we arrived back in Seoul, I waved goodbye to my mom and sister as they walked towards transfers and I made my way to baggage claim.
Lindsay Luckenbach 