Hello and welcome to my LIKETHEHIKE blog. I’m PJ and I write about the hikes I take, giving you insights, photos, commentary, tips and tools so you can enjoy hiking and embrace the experience.

I’m back from Japan and have LOTS to share with you. I thought I’d start at the beginning and cover off the hiking days, then delve a little more into things like ryokan accommodation, onsens and the like. SO MUCH to share!! Here we go…..

DAY ONE – TAKIJIRI TO CHIKATSUYU

TB and I arrived in Tokyo on the Thursday evening. We gave ourselves 24 hours to have a speedy look at the city, then used Saturday as our transit day to get down to our jump point, Kii-Tanabe on the western side of the Kii Peninsula. After a dodgy overnight at a ‘unique’ BnB in Tanabe (more on that later) and a google interpreter assisted briefing from our Kumano Travel contact, we woke on Sunday morning, sorted our packs out, picked up our bento box lunch and caught the local bus for Takijiri. What a bento box!! While we waited for the bus, I had a little peek inside – magnificent! Only downside, it weighed about 2kg and with the hike we had in store for us, that did make a difference…

Don’t worry about public transport and making your way around in Japan. Buses and trains are easy to identify and most also use English. Bus drivers and the public are incredibly helpful, just make sure you have cash for the local bus services as there is no capacity to pay by card. You don’t need exact change, buses have a neat little change maker you can use when you pay and disembark.

TIP

At the start of your holiday, get your hotel or a local bank to break down some of your larger yen notes. 10,000Y is a great note to carry around, but not for shop owners and bus drivers who can’t make change for a 200Y purchase. Coins are KING in Japan. I even bought a dinky little coin purse to make life easier 🙂

ARRIVING AT TAKIJIRI-OJI

We weren’t the only Kumano hikers on the bus from Tanabe to Takijiri-oji, so it was pretty easy to figure out where we were supposed to disembark. Also, the bus conveniently displays the next stop, and shows you exactly the fare you need to pay – all very organised. Oji is Japanese for shrine. Many of the Kumano locations have oji after the name, which indicates the presence of a shrine, usually Shinto. Shinto is one of two main Japanese religions, the other is Buddhism.

Shinto has shrines, Buddhism has temples.

Takiri-Oji is the spiritual entrance to the sacred Kumano mountains. TB and I were a little apprehensive when we arrived – we had planned this day for a long time – and it had finally arrived! We did a quick flyby of the Tourist Centre, did a high five, took some photos for posterity and started walking the trail.

FIRST LEG – TAKIJIRI-OJI TO TAKAHARA

And this is where the rubber hit the road. 4km up a hill. No, not a hill. A mountainside. A steep mountainside. Kumano is in the mountains. You will either be going up or traversing down. Maybe, if you’re lucky, there will be some gentle bits in between.

I spent the first couple of km sorting out my walking rhythm, looking at all the things, taking photos of things, tripping over things…you name it. There were a few hikers setting off at the same time as us, but only a few and they quickly pulled ahead. TB and I wanted to take our time and embrace the experience…so we had the trail to ourselves which was very special. Usually our hiking pace sits at an average of 4km an hour, but this dropped down to around 1.2km a hour as we picked our way up the side of the mountain.

We thought it was a 13km day from start to finish. Which is what the map advised. Yeah nah. It ended up being an 18km day.

CAUTION – WHEN IS A KM NOT A KM?

We did realise early into our hikes that there are different measurements on the trails. Some appear to be point to point distance, and some are walking, or trail distance. Kumano has trail markers ostensibly at 500m points, however some of these are up to 800m apart….Then there were the distance readings from py iPhone Fit App and Strava. So, always allow more hiking time than you think you will need.

LUNCHTIME AT TAKAHARA

After much huffing and puffing, we made it to Takahara. Perched up on the ridge, it’s a lovely place to stop and take in the views. There is also a Community Centre, vending machines and immaculate public conveniences. Everywhere we went in Japan, we were immensely impressed with the loos. Public toilets were clean as a whistle, fully stocked and open. Even on the trails, the remotest of toilet facilities were impressive. Definitely took the pressure off a nature wee….

We devoured our bento boxes which were delicious, filling, nutritious and we couldn’t’ ask for anything better after hiking up a mountain for 2 hours. We stamped our books at the shrine and headed off. What books you ask? Well…

As part of the Kumano Heritage Trail Series, each shrine has a unique stamp, which lives in it’s own little stamp house. You collect the stamps as you hike the trails. It’s a great way to evidence your progress and adds a definite ‘feel good’ factor.

SECOND LEG – TAKAHARA TO CHIKATSUYU

Chikatsuyu was our destination for day one, our ryokan awaited us there. But first, we had to tackle another 10km, according to the map. The elevation map book was proving to be incredibly handy as not only did it detail the ups and downs of the trail, but also the way points for us to track progress. The Kumano trails are incredibly easy to navigate. You will only be walking on one trail, in one direction. Very occasionally there may be a trail intersection, but signage is very clear, even where not to go.

The second leg was really where we started to appreciate the beauty and tranquillity of Kumano. To be walking along trails up to 1,000 years old was both inspirational and humbling. We walked past small village settlements, traveller shrines, redwood forests and all manner of historical sites with some great information.

Interestingly at this point in our day we had only passed maybe two groups of hikers. We were starting to realise that we basically had the trail to ourselves. We definitely felt very blessed and thankful.

The pinnacle of the second leg was the Uwadawa-Jaya Teahouse Remains. We knew this because the elevation map told us! From here we figured it was largely a downhill romp to our ryokan in Chikatsuyu. We spent the downhill section traversing a river as we made our way down the valley. The foliage changed from upper forest to a more forest floor feel with the river providing a damper, more enclosed environment. It also grew a little dimmer. By now, time was ticking and as all good hikers know,, daylight disappears an hour earlier in the forest. We knew we had to be clear of the trail by 4.30pm at the latest.

CAUTION – TIME TICKS FASTER IN THE FOREST

Watch your start and finish times when hiking unfamiliar trails. I always allow more time than I think I’ll need as something will delay you. It could be going up a steep section, or taking your time coming down a slippery slope. You don’t want to be hiking out of a forest at dusk – it’s stressful and adds complexity and risk that you just don’t need.

Happily, TB and I arrived on the outskirts of Chikatsuyu around 4pm. Whew. Not as early as we would have liked but not in the dark either.

Imagine our surprise to see a sign on the bridge (which I didn’t take a photo of to my ETERNAL regret) which said “BEWARE OF THE BEARS”. What???? I mean WTF???!!! Turns out the area is popular with Asiatic black bears – a cranky wee animal which thankfully still hibernates in March. I think. We walked just a little faster after seeing that sign, but I did realise, all I had to do was outrun TB and I would be fine… 🙂

OUR RYOKAN – MINSHUKU CHIKATSUYU

Our first rkykan and my oh my – what a fabulous place to finish on day one. We followed our very clear directions and landed on the doorstep about 4.30pm, tired but happy. Located on the banks of the Hiki-Gawa River, this ryokan has traditional tatami rooms in the main house, as well as a delicious hot spring onsen (bath). We saw the line-up of hiking books in the entranceway and realised we were among future friends.

TB and I booked tatami twin share for our holiday (cost effective and immersive) and upon arrival were were effusively greeted by our hosts, and shown to our room (above). Toilet and sink facilities were shared, but immaculate and more than enough. Happily, our luggage awaited us in the room. I can’t recommend highly enough the luggage transfer service. It was timely, stress free and 110% reliable.

Ahhhh – you have no idea how good the onsen was after our first day of hiking. I will go into much more detail about the ryokans in another blog – look out for “Ranking the Ryokans” soon. Once we overcame the initial “western white woman speed wobbles” about washing nude and communally, the onsens became a place we really looked forward to. We simply watched what the locals did, and then did the same. Easy peasy. I will give you all the gory details in a future blog about “Owning the Onsen” soon.

TB and I ‘onsened’ and then presented ourselves for the communal dinner at 6pm. WOW. And then WOW again.

We had the most fantastic dining experience provided by our outstanding ryokan hosts. TB and I quickly realised that our holiday may just be an equal balance of hiking and food photos…the quality and the service was faultless. We purchased a modestly priced and delicious sake from our hosts, and then enjoyed the company of fellow hikers for our meal – Miss Oregon, Mr Singapore and Mr, Mrs and Miss Melbourne.

TIP – TAKE THE TIME TO SAY HELLO

Whether its on the trail or in the dining room, take the time to say hello to fellow hikers. I’m a chatty person by nature, as is TB, so talking is our happy place. Even if you’re a little hesitant, remember you have a shared love of hiking – what a great place to start. No need for names, as you can see I remember people based on where they come from. PS – we crossed paths with Oregon, Singapore and the Melbourne clan over the following few days, and it was great to see them and compare notes.

OVERNIGHT

This was our second night in a traditional tatami room, but about 1000% better than our first night! The futon setup was perfect and as it was going to be quite cold overnight, we had additional blankets to snuggle into. If you saw my previous blog on packing for Japan, you’ll recall that I said I was taking a hiking mattress. Well, I got it out, pumped it up and slipped it under the futon – it worked a treat. It gave my tired old bones a little more padding than I currently provide, and I had a great nights sleep.

We decided to be on the road by 7am for day two, and hoped this would get us off the mountain before it started to get cold and dark….and give us time for more adventures!

Look our for my Day Two blog – coming your way soon

Happy hiking from Kumano,

PJ