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.

DAY SIX & DAY SEVEN – KOGUCHI TO UKEGAWA, TAKIO TO TOTSUKAWA

After three days on the trails and a rest day, we were ready for our next adventure. However, the rain gods had other ideas. Overnight the heavens opened and we woke to this.

It was forecast to rain for 24-36 hours solid. And it wasn’t a drizzle here or there, it was rain with regular thunderstorms just to spice it up.

TB and I did a hike maybe three years ago in the Gold Coast hinterland called the Warrie Circuit. It’s a 14km loop – 7km down into the forest floor, past some majestic waterfalls and then 7km back up. Usually it’s a lovely hike. Except if its raining. Then it becomes 8 hours of unpleasant, gluggy, muddy hot mess. The enjoyment of the hike disappeared as the day became an injury prevention exercise…

So, hiking the Koguchi to Ukegawa leg in steady rain on an unknown trail, steep terrain and slippery stones didn’t appeal to either of us.

TIP – KNOW YOUR LIMITS

Everyone has a fair idea of what their body and mind can do on a hike. Pushing beyond those limits can be done when you’re in a safe space and for a short period, however, everyone has a tip point where they feel unsafe or out of control. Knowing when to stop, or not start at all isn’t failing, it’s understanding what you can safely achieve and importantly, what you can enjoy. I prefer to live to fight another day than take unnecessary risks and make life miserable.

Day six turned into a tourist day in Shingu and Kii-Katsuura, ducking the rain and exploring. PS – I was very happy with the waterproof performance of my Kathmandu rain jacket 🙂

Day seven we awoke to pretty much the same conditions as the day before – rain. It was supposed to clear late morning, but that meant we would need to start on the Yakio to Totsugawa leg in the train and after 36 hours worth of rain had fallen on the trail. The terrain map told quite a scary story……

So, rather than tackle the above, we decided to hike the Hongu to Fushiogami-oji trail up and back. Less risky but still meaningful. Life is nothing without compromise.

Kumano Hongu Taisha to Fushiogami-oji and back

As we discovered, tourists take a bus up from Hongu to the shrine at Hosshinmon and then walk back down the mountainside, about 7km. This meant as we walked up, we encountered a number of tourists wandering back down. We got some odd looks, I’m guessing we were the only ones heading up the hill, and the only ones in hiking gear. Good news – the rain had stopped and the skies cleared pretty quickly to a nice day.

We started the hike by climbing the stairs up to the Hongu shrine precinct. I didn’t do a count, but it was a good way to loosen up leg muscles.

The grounds of the shrine precinct remind me of a bustling little village, with something always happening. There are shops, pilgrims, tour groups, a working post box and then the three main shrine areas. TB and I actually got to pray at the shrine, I was terrified I would get the order of “clap and bow” wrong – but it all worked out OK. Whew.

The trail picks up on the street at the ‘back’ of the shrine precinct. It’s easy to find, just walk ‘upstream’ through the tourists! A stone staircase takes you up to the start of the forest, past a lovely little shrine and a small, peaceful cemetery with beautiful traditional headstones.

The rain had stopped, but the trail heading up the mountain was still pretty soggy with the wide steps forming little swimming pools. Not sure how the tourists in sneakers were managing coming down, I’m guessing there were some wet feet!

About 1.5km up the trail, there was a loop deviation up to a viewing area where we decided to have a coffee. It gave us a majestic view of the Oyunohara O-torii, the largest torii shrine gate in the world at 34m tall and 42m wide. We had seen it up close earlier in the week – pretty impressive.

TB and I had a bit of fun on the hike taking lots of photos. We passed a rest pavilion adjacent to the Sangen-jaya Teahouse Remains and crossed a cute bridge to get over the road. So many things to look at – and we got to see them going up and coming back down!

We arrived at our destination around 1pm, and we had our bento box from our ryokan so it seemed only logical to sit, look at the view and eat.

The teahouse was shut so no ‘forest juice’ to be purchased, but we could still sit and relax. The seating area overlooked a small tea plantation, and it was during lunch that we noticed that the bushes were ‘moving’, as if there was a wind blowing, but it was a still day.

It was then that we saw them. MONKEYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About the size of a golden retriever, and brown in colour. Once you saw one, you started to see them everywhere. There was a troop of about 30 monkeys in the plantation and in the surrounding trees. What a treat!

After a very entertaining lunch break, we retraced our steps back down the mountain to Hongu.

It certainly wasn’t a long hike compared to what we had achieved overall on Kumano Kodo, but it certainly was an enjoyable one. There and back was about 10km and well worth it.

This was our last hike on the Kumano, as we were heading further into the mountains to stay at Koyasan and explore for a couple of days, and then back to Tokyo and Australia.

MY THOUGHTS ON KUMANO KODO

Taking time out from my life to hike in a forest wasn’t a lifelong goal, but as you get older, priorities shift and hiking in Japan became something that TB and I wanted to do together.

With families and jobs, going away for 10 days would be a challenge, and there is never a good time – but we found a slot that worked and went for it. And I’m so pleased we did.

This experience was one in a million. It allowed me to relax and breathe. It allowed me to think just of myself and my needs. It allowed me to smile and laugh. A lot. It allowed me to embrace physical challenges and see what I could really do. It allowed me to dip into a different culture and experience some amazing hospitality.

And finally, after over 30 years it allowed me to travel and holiday with my sister. For the first time.

Pretty special huh… 🙂

I got to walk along paths that are over one thousand years old, through remote villages that housed people six hundred years ago. I got to touch shrines that have been touched by generations and generations of pilgrims. I got to smell the forests, feel the rain and see some amazing things.

I returned home refreshed and energised, looking forward to my next hiking adventure. What better accolade could there be than wanting to do it all again ?!

Thanks Kumano Kodo for an incredible experience.

See you out on the trails.

PJ