Tag: 88 shrines

Three Bags, One Mission – Light, Light, LIGHT!

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Packing for Shikoku has become a challenge within the adventure. Before we’ve climbed a mountain, followed a trail or found our first onsen, I have three things to conquer:

  • the backpack
  • The carry on case
  • the cross body bag (and my shoe for perspective as these are SMALL!)

Each has a job. Each has limited space. And none of them needs to contain enough supplies to support a small expedition.

This is where experience has really changed the way I pack. After our Kumano Kodo trip, I know how many “just in case” items can travel thousands of miles without ever seeing daylight.

This time, everyhthing has to earn its place. I’m going light, light, LIGHT!

Challenge One – The Backpack

My 20L backpack is for the things I need while hiking. Keeping it small is quite deliberate, give me more space and I’ll find something to fill it.

And every unnecessary thing I put in it becomes something I have to carry uphill. Personally. With my legs. Here’s what’s coming on the trail.

Gloves and Ear Warmers – Small, light and worth having for chilly mountain mornings. I’d much rather tuck these into a pocket than spend the first hour trying to convince my fingers to function, and I HATE having cold ears.

Raincoat – Hopefully it spends most of the trip neatly folded inside my pack. But our last hiking trip taught me to respect changing weather, so its coming regardless of the forecast.

Emergency Blanket – Otherwise known as my “Crunchie Wrapper”. Tiny, light and hopefully never needed, but always in my backpack. ALWAYS. There’s packing light, and then there’s leaving behind something you might really need. This little pack stays.

Medical Kit and Hikers Wool – If you know about hiker’s wool, you know. it helps me deal with those little hotspots before they become something more annoying and takes up next to no room. It’s sometimes as simple as walking a little differently than the day before and creating a wee hotspot. All part of the journey. The medical kit is similarly modest. Pain relief, anti-inflammatories, antihistamines, band-aids, strapping tape, and blister supplies. I’ve never had a hiking blister, but I’m not about to announce that to the universe without having a backup plan!

Paper Maps – yes, we have phones, apps and GPS. But batteries go flat, phones get dropped, and e-sims occasionally choose the worst possible moment to have a meltdown. A paper map doesn’t need charging. Call me old fashioned but I like that.

Trusty Thermos – I’m taking the insulated bottle I bought on my last trip to Japan. It only holds 500ml, but its beautifully made and keeps liquid cold (or hot) for hours. I love drinking coconut water on a long hike so its a no brainer.

Room for Snacks – There needs to be room in the backpack for Japanese 7-Eleven snacks, which are next-level IMPRESSIVE. Bento boxes, onigiri, little sandwiches, sweet treats….choosing provisions could take longer than packing the bag. These aren’t emergency rations. They’re a highlight of the day, with a bit of walking inbetween snack stops.

I’m leaving space deliberately. Going light is sensible. Leaving no room for snacks would be madness.

Challenge Two – The Carry On

This is where the rest of my little travelling wardrobe lives. Looking at everything laid out on the floor, it seems quite reasonable. Looking at the case, it becomes a spatial reasoning exercise. The clothing selection is deliberately small. Hiking trousers, tops that can be layered, underwear, bras, hiking socks and a cap. Pieces I can wear repeatedly, mix together and wash along the way if needed.

There is no separate outfit for every possible mood, temperature of photo opportunity. The forests of Shikoku will have to cope with seeing me in the same trousers day after day.

The carry-on also holds my toiletries (trimmed down), chargers and adaptor, with footwear taking up a rather noticeable share of available space. Shoes have absolutely no respect for a minimalist packing philosophy. The aim is to take what I’ll use, in sensible quantities. Toiletries for the trip and no more, rather than a portable bathroom. The charging gear I need, rather than a bag of cables and charger packs that I haven’t used…well…ever.

And fewer clothes means fewer decisions every morning. When the choice is between two tops, I can get on with more important decisions, what bento box to buy???!

Challenge Three – The Cross Body Bag

This is my little travel bag of things I want close at hand when I’m in transit. Passport, phone, money, cards, travel details, lip salve and reading glasses. The essentials I don’t want to excavate from a backpack or a suitcase every time someone asks for something.

It’s also useful for heading out for dinner or a wander when I don’t want a whole hiking pack.

And yes, the reading glasses are absolutely coming. No discussion. At some point, I’ll need to read a menu, a map or check a booking to work out where we are off to. Despite my ongoing attempts to convince myself otherwise, I can’t read shit without them.

There’s no point in travelling light if I accidentally order dinner for four when all I’m trying to do is feed one hungry hiker, with absolutely no idea what she’s just ordered! The challenge with this bag is keeping it small. It’s remarkably easy for “just the essentials” to turn into receipts, tissues, loose coins and an assortment of objects that apparently moved in while I wasn’t looking.

This time, I’m keeping an eye on the tenants. And my rental space is pretty tight.

What’s Staying at Home

Probably about half the things I packed for the Kumano Kodo. The extra clothes I never wore. The backup gadgets. The things that came along because I could imagine one wildly specific situation in which they might be useful.

I’ve learnt that “it might come in handy” is a dangerous sentence when you’re packing for a hiking trip. Every unnecessary kilogram asks a little more of you – on the climb, on the stairs, through a station, or at the end of a long day when all you want is a shower and something delicious to eat (drink). I’d rather save that energy for the actual adventure.

So when I pick something up and think, “Maybe I’ll need this”, my next question is: “Enough to carry it all the way there?”

That tends to clarify things.

Why I’m going light, light, LIGHT!

I want to move comfortably, find things easily and spend less time managing my belongings. I want my backpack to feel manageable when the trail gets steep. I want my case to close without me sitting on it and negotiating with the zip. And I want to find my passport without tipping the contents of a bag onto an airport floor.

There are still a few non-negotiables. Safety essentials stay. Comfortable feet matter. And my sentimental water bottle gets a small exemption from the ruthless weight review. But everything else needs a good reason to come.

The point of this trip is to enjoy the forests, villages, temples, and mountains of Shikoku with TAB, leaving enough energy for an onsen and some very important 7-Eleven snack research afterwards. Three bags. A much smaller pile of belongings.

And hopefully, two very grateful feet.

See you out on the trails! (Shikoku style)

Why We Chose Shikoku – Our Next Japanese Adventure

On By LikeTheHikeBlogIn Shikoku, UncategorizedLeave a comment

“You’re going back to Japan….AGAIN??” We’ve heard it more than once since booking our next hiking adventure. The answer is simple. Yes. Happily. And if someone offered us free business flights tomorrow, we’d probably already be packing.

Because sometimes you don’t go back to a place because you’ve run out of new destinations. You go back because it gave you something you can’t quite find anywhere else.

It All Started with the Kumano Kodo

Back in 2023, TB and I spent nine incredible days walking sections of the Kumano Kodo on a self-guided hike. To say it exceeded our expectations would be an understatement. The ancient forests, tiny mountain villages, peaceful shrines, steaming onsens, incredible food and the genuine kindness of our hosts combined to create one of the most memorable travel experiences either of us has ever had.

It wasn’t just a holiday, it genuinely changed the way I looked at hiking.

I’d always enjoyed getting outdoors, but Kumano Kodo showed me that walking wasn’t simply about getting from A to B, it was about slowing down, noticing things, embracing discomfort, connecting with history and finding joy in the simple rhythm of putting one foot in front of the other.

By the time we flew home, we knew one thing for certain. We’d be back.

The Search Began…

Finding our next adventure wasn’t as simple as booking another Kumano Kodo trip. We wanted something new. Naturally, we started researching.

The Nakasendo Way

Nakasendo was probably our first serious contender. It links Tokyo and Kyoto through historic post towns, beautiful villages and centuries of history. It looked spectacular. But the more we researched, the more we realised it wasn’t quite the experience we were chasing. Many sections pass through open farmland and sweeping plains. Beautiful? Absolutely. But after experiencing the dense cedar forests, misty mountain paths and secluded villages of Kumano Kodo, we realised we were craving another immersive forest experience.

We wanted towering trees, we wanted moss-covered trails (not the stones tho -they were slippery suckers!). We wanted to finish the day soaking in an onsen after disappearing into the mountains.

Nakasendo is firmly on our list, but not this time.

Michinoku Coastal Trail

Next came the Michinoku Coastal Trail. Again, it looked incredible. Rugged coastlines, fishing villages, and dramatic ocean views. But then we both laughed. We live on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. As stunning as the Japanese coastline is, we realised that if we were travelling overseas to hike, we wanted something completely different from what we see every day. The coast wasn’t calling us, the mountains were.

Nikko National Park

Nikko was another possibility. Beautiful forests, World Heritage temples, mountain scenery. It ticked a lot of boxes. The only problem? It’s really a two to three-day hiking experience. For us, travelling internationally is a significant investment, so we wanted something we could immerse ourselves in for longer. If we were making the trip to Japan again, we wanted a proper multi-day adventure.

Then We Discovered Shikoku

And suddenly everything clicked.

Shikoku is famous for its 88 Temple Pilgrimage, a remarkable circular route of around 1,200km connecting 88 Buddhist temples across the island. Pilgrims have been walking it for over 1,000 years. Some complete the entire circuit in 6-8 weeks. Some travel by bike. Some by bus. Some over multiple years. And many, like us, simply choose a section or three.

And that’s what appealed to us – we didn’t have to commit to the entire pilgrimage to experience its magic. The trail naturally lends itself to shorter adventures, allowing walkers to select sections that suit their time, fitness and interests while still experiencing the culture and spirit of the pilgrimage.

For TB and me, that flexibility made Shikoku the perfect choice.

Why Japan Again?

People often ask why we didn’t choose somewhere completely different – the Cotswold Way, Camino…or Canada??

The answer is simple. Because we both loved Japan. The hiking is exceptional. The food is amazing. The history is fascinating, and the culture is welcoming, respectful and endlessly interesting.

There’s something incredibly comforting about finishing a long day on the trail with a hot meal, a soak in an onsen and a quiet evening at a traditional ryokan. Japan also makes sense practically. From Australia, it’s a relatively easy international trip of around 10 hours, with minimal time zone changes, so we can enjoy an incredible hiking holiday without taking long blocks of leave or being jetlagged for a week. With around 10 days available, it strikes the perfect balance between adventure and reality.

And guess what? We have other adventures in England, Spain and the Dolomites lined up for future visits!

Our Shikoku Adventure Awaits

So, in a few short months, TB and I will spend 9 days walking selected sections of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. There’ll be forests, mountain climbs, temple visits, tiny villages, and probably some sore legs. Hopefully plenty of onsens. Almost certainly far too much delicious Japanese food.

Most importantly, we’re looking forward to slowing down again. Because that’s what hiking in Japan seems to do so well. It reminds you that sometimes the best journeys aren’t about seeing as much as possible, they’re about seeing a little more deeply.

And honestly, we can’t wait to see where the Shikoku trail takes us.

PJ 🙂