Japan

6 weeks in Japan: itinerary & costs

Itinerary:

Tokyo: 5 days
Noboribetsu (Hokkaido): 2 days
Hakodate (Hokkaido): 2 days
Nikko: 4 days
Kamakura: 4 days
Kawaguchiko (Mount Fuji): 3 days
Hiroshima: 1 day
Yakushima: 4 days
Osaka: 2 days
Koyasan: 4 days
Tanabe and Yunomine (Kumano Kodo trail): 6 days
Kyoto: 4 days

My trip didn’t exactly follow this sequence from north to south, mostly because I had a 21 days JP Rail Pass, so I use it to make the longest trips (like Hokkaido and Yakushima, stopping in a few places along the way), leaving the Kansai region (Osaka, Koyasan, Kumano Kodo and Kyoto) for the end of the trip where the bus trips are more frequent and sometimes are the only option.

The weekends and especially the holidays also influence the trip plan, pushing me sometimes to temporary skip some places because the budget accommodations were fully booked, choosing a less crowded destination, and go there after the busy days. It happened in Nikko and Kamakura, which are a popular destination on the weekends as they are to Tokyo.

I always try to stay more than one night in each place… there was one exception, Hiroshima, that intended to be a break in a long trip between Mount Fuji and Yakushima.

Costs:

48 €/day

including:

food: 13 €/day (choosing options without meat or fish products)
accommodation: 23 €/day
transports: 21 €/day

This transport average includes the JP Rail pass that I bought in advance on-line and it cost 518€ for 21 days, as also the local bus and metro tickets, the private railway lines (Kawaguchiko, Koyasan) and the Yakushima ferry and Kumano Kodo buses; it doesn’t include the flights.

It’s included a SIM card and internet for all days.

In terms of accommodation, I stay always in dorms. In Japan the standard is high and all the places where I stay offer very comfortable conditions, some with bunk beds other more like a capsule hotel.

In terms of food, I usually made one meal a day with food from the supermarket; I’m not meaning instants soups and so on, but proper fresh meals that have a good quality in Japan.

In touristic activities, I spent around 4€ a day, and that include lots of temples and a few museums but mostly onsen, the Japanese style hot springs of which I became completely addicted and made up more than half of my expenses in this category.

In hygiene, there’s not much to spend as all the hostels provide shampoo, shower gel, conditioner and toilet paper.

Laundry costs around 100¥ (less than one euro) but in some places is free.

Kyoto… enough of crowds!

I didn’t visit much of the Kyoto sightseeing during the four days that I spent there… maybe because it was the last stop od a 40 days trip in Japan, and felt that there will not be many surprises… maybe because I spent the previous nine days in nature, hiking in Koyasan and in Kumano Kodo made harder the transitions to the city lifestyle … or maybe because I found Kyoto crowded!!!

And in fact, most of the tourist attractions are overcrowded, with the streets that lead to the principal attractions being flooded with people and endless souvenirs shops.

But I must surrender to that fact that the Gion area, where the city climbs gently the hill ending at the majestic Buddhist temple Kiyomizu-dera, with its narrow streets flanked by wooden houses, the machiya, that preserve the simple and elegant traditional architecture of Kyoto townhouses.

Wandering along the city of Kyoto is possible to see many temples and shrines, sometimes discreetly hidden in busy commercial streets where most of the people pass by without even notice. These hidden places maybe don’t have the historical significance or an astonishing architecture that attracts crowds of visitors, but the quietness and the simplicity that you can find in small temples and shrines offer a peaceful atmosphere that you can’t find in the crowded temples.

In the same area, there are two other to check that don’t stand up in the architectural or historical importance but that is very popular among the Japanese visitors. The Yasaka Koshindo is a Buddhist temple that is being slowly absorbed by small colorful toys made in a colorful fabric that represents the Kukurizaru monkey with bound feet and hands that people hand all around the temple.

It’s common in Japanese Buddhist temples to buy small wooden plaques – ema – where people write their prayers or wishes and hang them in a specific place in the temple or shrine, to be taken by the kami, spirits or gods that according to the tradition are believed to receive them. At Yasaka Koshindo the ema is almost a phenomenon covering almost all the small shrine and spreading quickly to the main temple. The women play this ritual (I don’t know why there were just young women there) in great excitement, dressing rented kimonos, ending the tour to the temple with the usual selfie!!!

Not far from there, the Yasui Konpiragu, a small Shinto shrine has also something unique: a big granitic stone with a hole that according to the belief can erase the …memories from a past relationship and bring good luck to the start of a new one. For that, is necessary to crawl through the hole in both ways. Before is necessary a bit of ritual, sticking a paper with the prayer in the stone that is already totally covered with paper!

Part of the ritual of a Kyoto trip is to dress the traditional kimono that is possible to rent for a day in the endless number of shops that you find in the Gion area. It’s a popular thing not only for foreigners but also among Japanese tourists that visit Kyoto, to experience the Japanese tradition in the ancient capital.

Moving away from central Kyoto, the most popular destination is the Arashiyama area, where a few significant Buddhist temples and a packed bamboo groove attract thousands of people that come here on a day trip. The area has a lot to offer and the location near the river makes it a very crowded place, practically on the weekends.

I confess that didn’t really enjoy that much Arashiyama probably because of the crowds and the high concentration of selfie-sticks… or maybe because I’ve seen similar places like this before, but still there was something that made it worth the trip (about one hour by bus): the Otagi Nembutsu-ji, a Buddhist temple from the XII century. It really worths the walk up the hill to reach this place, where the high level of humidity creates the conditions for the growth of a think moss layer that covers stones and temples.

The ground around the Otagi Nembutsu-ji temple is fill up with stone-carved statues, about 1200. Pilgrims that come here to learn to carve under the guidance of Kocho Nishumura, an artist that becomes a monk, made these statues during the past century

All of these statues are different and represent rakan, Buddha followers, in different poses and facial expressions, from serious prayers to a hilarious laughing. Otagi Nembutsu-ji It’s not out of the beaten track but definitely is away from the big crowds that flood the Arashiyama area. On the way, there’s also the Saga Toriimoto, a street that preserves the traditional architecture and where you can stop in one of the teahouses to enjoy local Japanese sweets, most of them filled with bean paste.

Leaving behind the funny stone statues, you can reach another temple, the Adashino Nenbutsuji where the maples tree shows the different red tones of the autumn foliage that surround the cemetery. Adashino Nenbutsuji also has a bamboo grove, smaller but way less crowded than the Sagano Bamboo forest, nearby Arashiyama Station.

**Bamboo Grove at Adashino** **Nenbutsuji, small and less popular than the one close to Arashiyama**

The Seiryo-ji, another Buddhist temple, where a gigantic prayer wheel richly decorated with paintings, which is rare to find, which goes unnoticed by most of the people who head straight for the grand hall.

**prayer wheel at Seiryo-ji Temple in Arashiyama**

But what really stand up in Kyoto was the Fushimi-Inari Taisha, a Shinto temple located about 2.5 km southeast from Kyoto station, dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice and sake, that has foxes as messengers, which statues you can be seen everywhere guarding the entrance of shrines, as also in small images in the endless souvenirs shops along the street that links Fushimi-Inari Taisha with the closest stain station (Inari Station).

The temple itself if impressive by is size but what is really catchy are the 4 km maze of paths that go up and down through the forest that ends up in the summit Mount Inari, from where you can have a good view to Kyoto.

But Fushimi-Inari Taisha is famous for the photogenic torii, which are the iconographic image of this place. The torii is a kind of gate, made traditionally in wood, which is located at the entrance of Shinto sacred places and shrines, symbolically marking the transition between the mundane to the sacred.

Along the way that leads to Mount Inari there is more than 10.000 torii – yes, ten thousand!!! – offered by several companies asking for success in business as Inari as the patron of business. In some parts of the trails, the concentration of torii is so high that it forms a kind of tunnel that a kind of warp the paths, filtering the light and creating a mysterious atmosphere. The intense and bright red color of the torii contrasts with the green of the forest that densely covers all the area, making the walk along the trails as a kind of symbolic initiatory experience where one can enter the world of the supernatural at any time. Cearings open in particular sacred locations, where stone-carved fox statues that look like they are protecting the place guard dozen of moss-covered small shrines.

The entrance is free, and despite the crowd that you’ll find at the entrance of the temple and along the first meters of the trails, most of the visitors don’t hike the 4 km that go up and down the Mount Inari.

Where to sleep in Kyoto:

TheGuest House Taiko-ya Bettei is a Kyoto’s traditional townhouses, machiya, with more than 180 year-old, build in wood, around a small garden. The location, despite being a bit far from the Kyoto Station (one metro stop) is a walking distance from the more popular areas like the Nisiki fish market, the Yanaka temple, Gion, etc… And without luggage is also a walking distance from the Kyoto station!!

It’s a quiet local neighborhood with supermarkets and restaurants close by.

The dorm is not so attractive as it is located in a new characterless building, but the rooms have tatamis and futon beds in the traditional Japanese style. In the winter it was a bit uncomfortable as to reach the toilets and shower you need to cross the garden but there’s something cozy in this house that made me enjoy the days that I spent there.

Where to eat in Kyoto:

Like any big city, Kyoto has a lot of options for all budgets and for all kinds of food. I stick to the traditional Japanese food, where the udon was the main choice, mainly because I like it a lot as also it’s a dish that can be found without meat or fish… although, the broth has probably some fish products!!!

Here’s the result of my gastronomic experience in Kyoto:

Eishotei: this small restaurant is located nearby the Shijo Kawaramachi intersection. It doesn’t have a sign in western characters but inside you can find the menu in English. This udon comes with a thicker style of broth, that it worth to eat until the end… as usually in Japan the broth is left in the bowl after finishing the noodles. Casual and cheap. A Udon with egg cost around 850 ¥.

Okaru also very small, this casual restaurant is located close by the Gion-Shijo station. It’s famous for its curry udon where the noodles come with a very thick and spicy broth; it can be topped with cheese, that is good but isn’t really necessary at it cuts a bit the curry flavors. It costs around 850 ¥ but can be more expensive if you choose a dish with meat or the curry udon with cheese (1150 ¥).

For a okonomiyaki, a typical Kansai dish, Mr. Young Men, close by the Shijo Kawaramachi intersection, is a very local choice, being full most of the time. The place is not very attractive at the first glance, old and a bit messy, but has a lot of character thanks to Mr. Young Men that is an artist behind the stove preparing the food with mechanical and precise movements of those who have been doing it for a long time.

Also for a okonimiyaki, the Donguri restaurant (located close by the Sanjo Dori bridge) is a good reference. It’s a bit more sophisticated and also more expensive but where you can have a meal for less than 1000 ¥.

okonimiyaki

At the Pontocho alley there are plenty of restaurants, most of them only open for dinner… join the crowd that line outside, which usually is a good sign of the quality of the food!

In the Arashiyama area, close to the Seiryo-ji Temple, there’s a tofu factory that sells different kinds of tofu for taking away. There isn’t a sign in western characters but it’s easy to identify the place by the people the line in the front of the shop.

Tofu Factory at Arashiyama

Osaka… in a laidback bustle

Osaka was a short stopover on the way from the far distant south Yakushima to the sacred mountains of Koyasan. But despite the only two nights spent in Osaka, the second biggest city in Japan, there was time to feel the vibe of the city.

It’s busy but people seem to enjoy life in a very relax way and Osaka is also a good place to be introduced to the Kansai gastronomy, very focus in meat (the famous Kobe beef) but where there’s space for vegetarian options, like the okonomiyaki a kind of cabbage and egg pancake, the tsukemono a Japanese style pickles marinated in rice vinegar (a subtle mix of seat and sour taste) and the yatsuhashi a delicate sweet made with bean paste and wrapped in thin layer of glutinous rice dough.

I explore mainly the area around Namba and the endless commercial area of Dotonbori located nearby a canal and the Shinsaibashi-Suji, an endless covered street full of shops and restaurants. It’s more interesting to visit this area in the evening where the neon lights are on, hiding the less interesting concrete architectures of the city. In fact, Osaka shows more appealing during the evening time, where the pace of city life seems even more intense and vibrant, but where the locals seem to enjoy life in a laidback style, filling up restaurants and bars, no matter in each day of the weeks!!

The Pachinko is a widespread phenomenon in Japan and the Pachinko parlors, as these places they are called, are everywhere from big cities to small towns, where the impressive massive buildings, which look more like sophisticated warehouses are easy to spot. The pachinko is a mechanical game that doesn’t require many skills and is a mix of entertainment with gambling. Despite gambling is illegal in Japan, Pachinko is considered an amusement game, as apparently the prize can’t be directly exchanged by money… but for sure it is highly addictive, as people line in long queues at pachinko parlor waiting for the doors to open!! In Osaka, around 10 am, on a weekday, about one hundred people were waiting outside.

People, mainly men, spend hours in front of these machines that line one after another in endless corridors that fill up huge rooms. There is a constant mechanical noise that gives to the place a kind of hysterical urgency, which contrasts with the passivity of the hypnotized-looking players.

Nara:

While I stay in Osaka I use my last day of JR Pass to visit Nara. I regret. In fact, the Tōdai-ji Temple is impressive by its huge then gracious proportions, and the Buddha statue really overcomes the other famous Daibutsu, in Kamakura. Not in size, as Nara’s is the biggest one, but by the beauty and gentleness of Buddha’s features, by the deities that flank the statue, and by the magnificent temple that shelter it… or maybe because of the autumn colors of the surrounding park.

All this should have left a good impression, but was something there that made me rush and leave the place quickly, without exploring the city. Its indeed a very crowds place and don’t expect to find any spiritual environment between… I visit it at lunchtime and more or less could avoid the big tour groups.

Surrounding the Tōdai-ji Temple, there’s a park where deer live freely… free but not wild, as these animal are totally adapted to the human presence, waiting for the food that visitors offer them and in return they let themselves be petted, as it is part of the local tradition that touching a deer brings good luck, as these animals are considered sacred. These deer are totally adapted to the human presence looking carefully into the hands of visitors expecting some food! Sad.

Where to sleep in Osaka:

The Mad Cat Hostel Osaka… the place is cool, the staff also and they have two nice cats, one white and one black, that give a certain touch to the place and a bit of a homy feeling.

The negative thing is that there’s a bar attached, where most of the guest gathering, and if you are not in the drinking mood your schedule maybe not fit with late arriving in the dorm… and you’ll probably gonna disturb the other guests sleep if you are an “early bird”!!!

From Mad Cat Hostel you can quickly reach Namba Station or Shin-Osaka by the metro Midosuji Line.

Where to eat in Osaka:

The Namba Udon is one local dodgy place located in one of the most popular commercial areas, where you feel that nothing changed since they open, maybe dozen of years ago, where a layer of grease and dust warps the place, where the dim yellowish light increase the sensation. The aromas of food impregnate the air, and while you waiting at the counter you can observe the messy way of preparing and serving the delicious udon. This restaurant seams that don’t fit with the shiny glow of the surrounding shops but is always full of people, mostly locals.

I like it so much that I even got off at Namba on my way form Kumano Kodo to Kyoto just to have again the Donburi (vegetables and egg) with udon soup at Namba Udon, one of the most delicious meals that I had in Japan!!

The udon (think rice noodles) in the Kansai area served differently from the Kanto region(Tokyo/Yokohama), with a lighter broth, both in taste and in colour.

Donburi
Namba Udon
Udon soup at Namba Udon

The okonomiyaki is a traditional dish from the Kansai area that consists of a kind of think pancake made with potato and egg, a bit like a messy Spanish tortilla, but cooked in a flat metal surface. To this cabbage, potato and egg base, other ingredients are added as vegetables, tofu, yam… and meat. Traditionally the okonomiyaki is topped with a sweet dark sauce, but there are also other options with cheese and many other toppings. Sometimes it’s served with stir-fry noodles. If chosen with careful this is a tasty meal that suits vegetarians… but not vegan!!

I had a very good experience that warm up my hear at the Okonomiyaki Nico, a tinyplace nearby Mad Cat Hostel where you feel at home, and have the chance to try a “tailor-made” vegetarian option of the okonomiyaki with different toppings, made just in front of me and served with a sip of sake. Remarkable.

**Okonomiyaki preparation at Okonomiyaki Nico, a very small restaurante in Osaka, close by Mad Cat Hostel**

From Osaka (Namba) to Kyoto station:

If you take the bus from Tanabe you can stop at Namba Station or at Osaka Station. From both stations, there is direct train connection to Kyoto, and it’s cheaper to travel by train than by bus.

From the bus terminal, I walk until Namba Metro station, took the Midosuji Line (180 ¥) to Yodoyabashi and there took the Keihan Main Line to Gion-Shijo Station (420 ¥), that is a bit further from Kyoto Station, but it drops me closer from my guesthouse. Maybe it isn’t the cheapest option but was the most convenient to avoid to take the metro in Kyoto… but it all depends on where your accommodation is located.

Here is a resume of the option given by the tourist information center in Osaka (inside the metro Namba station) that, by the way, is a good source of information also about Kumano Kodo and Koyasan.

Yunomine… there’s no place like “onsen”!!!

TheYunomine Onsen is an integral part of the over 1000-year-old Kumano pilgrimage tradition, but in fact, this hot spring with its medicinal properties was found much earlier. Pilgrims performed hot water purification rituals in these piping hot mineral waters after their long journey in preparation to worship at Kumano Hongu Taisha.

The onsen, or hot springs as also the public baths (sento) have a long tradition in Japan and nowadays people still visit these places regularly. In the winter it’s a very good way to warm up the body and to relax the muscles.

In fact, apart from hiking and soak in the hot springs, Yunomine Onsen doesn’t have much to offer, but there is something in this small village nestled in a valley around the river where the sulfur hot waters emerge, that grab me and made me want to stay longer than I had initially thought.

There’s a kind of fairy tale atmosphere where the dim light of the cloudy winter days increases the sensation of being in an unreal place. The nights were rainy, and despite not being in a high altitude, November brings low temperatures during the night, creating a morning mist that takes hours to shed from the thickly overgrowing mountains that surround Yunomine.

Yunomine Onsen lives at a slow pace marked by the arrival of the local bus that brings new visitors and pilgrims, and by the hikers, that along the day slowly emerges from the forest. And Yunomine is a perfect place to recover from a hard and long hike, where it’s easy to connect with the rhythm of nature!

I confess that since the first time that I try the onsen in Japan I become really fond of it, and never lose a chance to try the hot springs if they are close by or easy to reach. It’s a very good way to warm up the body in the cold winter days but apart from that, there is also a relaxation feeling that can’t be reached in another way. It’s not just about relaxing the muscles but there also an interior relief, that many times come out as a sigh or deep breath.

But Tsuboyu, the oldest hot spring in Japan has something special. It’s basically a hole created by the rock in the river where the water emerges between the stones with a milky color and with a lot of floating things that look like cooked egg white, that are called Yu-no-hana, or hot spring flowers, that are floating white mineral deposits and that are a sign of the medicinal qualities of the water.

These waters are believed to have healing powers and they are also part of the purification ritual that the Kumano Kodo pilgrims perform on the way to Hongu Taisha.

The small wooden hut in the middle of the river is the **Tsuboyu** the Yunomine onsen, the oldest in Japan, and you can still bath in this natural pool that is considered a purification ritual before you reach Hongu Taisha

With Yunomine as a base point, there are several options for day hiking:

The easiest option is to make Akagi-goe trail (6km) until reach Akagi-goe junction (close by Hosshinmon Oji) and from there take the Nakahechi Trail to Kumano Hongu Taisha (10km), one of the most important shrines of Kumano Kodo; return to Yunomine by the short but steep trail of Dainichi-goe (3.5 km). Like this you can make a loop, starting and finish in the Yunomine Onsen, that doesn’t take you more than 4 hours.
IF you feel with more energy, hike the Nakahechi Trail, from Akagi-goe junction until the detour pass (Jagata-Jizo), which is about 6 km; it’s a bit more demanding as you also need to do the Akagi-goe trail (6 km more). Unfortunately, or not, to do this part of the trail you have to go back the same way, as there isn’t the possibility to make a loop or to find a bus along the way to return to Yunomine Onsen. It took me 7 hours in total so it’s better to start early morning if you are hiking in the short winter days.
The third option is to hike the part of the Nakahechi Trail that goes from the Hongu Taisha to Nashi Taisha. For that, you need to take the bus from Yunomine Onsen to Ukegawa, and that is the beginning of the second part of the trail, as the forest path suffers a break after Hongu Taisha. From Ukegawa it’s an easy walk until Koguchi, where you can find a bus that brings you back to Yunomine Onsen. It’s about 4 hours hike with gentle slopes.

See more at Kumano Kodo… walk the spiritual path?!

Kumano Hongu Taisha. The symbol of the Kumano Kodo is a crown with three legs.

At Yunomine there are three onsens:

Tsuboyu, a small wooden hut located in the river that cross the village; it’s a private onsen, which means that it’s for one person each time as there isn´t a gender separation: 780 ¥ and you can only stay for 30’ minutes… maybe it isn’t the most charming place but is, without doubt, the most special onsen that I try! Here you need to bring your own stuff, like soap and shampoo and there are not towels to rent or sell.
Medicine bath, it’s a small pool where the water is cooled down without being added cold water: 390 ¥. Here you can’t shower with soap or shampoo.
Public bath, have the hot spring water is cooled by adding cold water: 260 ¥

Check more details at: //www.tb-kumano.jp/en/onsen/yunomine/

Tsuboyu where the conditions are basic but provides a remarkable experience

But if you want something more sophisticated you can walk to Wataze Onsen (900 ¥), about 40 minutes from Yunomine and there you find a more sophisticated onsen, with a pool inside and 4 pools outside with water at different temperatures. There’s a small garden, and over the fence you can see the mountains. Soap, shampoo and conditioner are provided for free.

The Kawayu Onsen, in the river, is a bit far and didn’t have the opportunity to visit it.

Where to eat in Yunomine onsen:

Apparently, some of the ryokans have restaurants but I didn’t try as I found one place, very simple and informal that suite me perfectly.

It’s called Yunomune Tea House but doesn’t have the name in western characters (but has a menu in English with pictures) but is a small bamboo construction just behind the Toko-ji Temple. There you can find several noodle soups, all of them delicious (several vegetarian options), with the prices from 550 ¥ until 800 ¥. Opens everyday from 7a.m. until 5p.m. The owner is far from look friendly but is indeed a very nice and gentle person.

At Hongu Taisha you have many more options to buy food as also a bigger choice of restaurants.

Shopping for hiking in Yunomine onsen:

Yunomine doesn’t have many options for shopping. The small supermarket closes on Mondays and doesn’t open early, so you need to prepare your stuff in the day before if you want to start early the hiking day.

For fruit, tofu (here you can find goma-tofu, that is made with sesame), cookies, chocolates and snacks there is also a small grocery shop.

The J-Hoppers Guesthouse sells a few things that you can use as a dinner as also to bring with you to eat during the day when you hike. They sell eggs, instant soup, rice, etc…

How to go from Yunomine to Tanabe or Hongu Taisha:

See the detail schedule at Kumano Kodo… Spiritual path?!?!

How to more around Yunomine Onsen by bus:

How to go from Yunomine to Osaka and Kyoto

From Yunomine to Tanabe:

You can start the day early from Yunomine and catch the first bus at 6:13 that drop you at Tabane at 8:00. It costs 1980 ¥… 6:13 is quite early but if you don’t want to spend one night in Tanabe this is the cheapest option, otherwise, you must use the train, which offers more flexibility.

From Tanabe to Osaka:

From Tabane to Osaka (stopping at Namba station and Osaka Station) there are direct trains several times a day, but if you don’t you have the JP rail pass, it’s cheaper to travel by bus.

There are 9 buses during the day departing from Tabane; the trip costs 2930 ¥ and takes about 3 hours.

If your destination is Kyoto Statin, there are also direct buses from Tanabe twice a day; the trip costs 3400 ¥ and takes about 3.5 hours.

Unfortunately even taking the first bus from Yunomine, you can’t reach on time (just for a few minutes) to catch the direct bus to Kyoto (7:30 am) and you need to wait in Tanabe until 9:30… but it’s not so bad as you have time to have breakfast! There is a /eleven just in the Kii Tanabe station, where there’s also a living room where you can wait. The buses to Osaka and Kyoto departure from the bus terminal just in front.

information about schedules and prices from the buses departing from Tanabe to Kyoto and Osaka

From Osaka (Namba) to Kyoto station:

If you take the bus from Tanabe you can stop at Namba Station or at Osaka Station. From both stations, you have trains connection to Kyoto. Apparently, the trip to Kyoto is cheaper by train than by bus.

I got off at Namba as I had plenty of time… and wanted to spot again at Namba Udon, one of the most delicious meal that I had in Japan!!

Namba Udon… a informal and basic restaurant close by Namba Station (metro) that i couldn’t miss when I pass by Osaka

Other ways to go from Namba to Kyoto Station

Kumano Kodo… walking the spiritual path?!

The Kumano Kodo is and ancient pilgrimage trails, with more than 1000 years, that link the three main shrines in Kii Peninsula: Hongu Taisha, Nachi Taisha and Hayatama Taisha, that since 2004 are classified as World Heritage by UNESCO as “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes of the Kii Mountain Range” that also includes the pilgrimage routes of Kumano Kodo that link these three holy places as also Koyasan.

Nowadays, Kumano Kodo is attracting more and more visitors from all over the world, most of them, more connected with the hiking experience than with the spiritual purification of a pilgrimage.

The Nakahechi trail is the most popular of the different routes of Kumano Kodo to reach Hongu Taisha, and starts in Takijiri Oji, located about 30 minutes by bus from Kii-Tanabe and ends at Nashi Taisha, also an important shrine, on the other side of the Kii Peninsula, the south most part of the Wakayama Prefecture.

Most of the people do the 30 km between Takijiri Oji andHongu Taisha in two days sleeping in Chikatsuya Oji, a small village with a few accommodations, and return to Tanabe by bus.

I choose a different strategy, considering my budget, the season (at the end of November the days are short) and the weather conditions as in the winter this area receives rain often… but also had to have in consideration the availability of the accommodations, that force me sometimes to change my travel plans, as in the weekends some areas are fully booked with only rooms left in the top range hotels.

So I use Tanabe as a base point of the first part of the Nakahechi Trail and then move to Yunomine Onsen to do the second part until Hongu Taisha, as also some secondary trails.

Kumano Kodo first stage: Tanabe

Starting early from Tanabe, where it’s easy to find budget accommodations, it’s possible to do the 23 km of the Kumano Kodo Nakahechi Trail, from Takijiri Oji until the detour pass, overcomingChikatsuya Oji and return by bus to Tanabe in the same day. I finish the first hiking stage where the Nakahechi Trail makes a detour in the result of rock instability provoked by a typhoon in 2011, that force to close this part of the Kumano Kodo trail, more or less, forever…

But in fact, the most interesting part of the Nakahechi Trail that I did in this first day, was from Takijiri Oji until Chikatsuya Oji, as from there, most of the trail leaves the narrow mountain trails and goes along a paved road, with houses and cars, pushing away the mystic experience of walking in the deep forest.

The first kilometer of the trail is particularly steep until you reach Tsurugi Sutra Mound, but from there, despite the constants up and down the hill, you can experience some flat areas that are easy to walk providing an opportunity to enjoy more the surrounding natures.

But, the most
challenging parts of the trail are also the ones that give the chance to face
fears and overcome anxieties, offering an opportunity to go inwards and to
reconnect... and the nature that surrounds us along this trail, dominated by
massive cedar and pine trees creates the perfect environment to do inwards and reconnect
with our being.

Along the way, many signs help you in orientation and it’s almost impossible to get lost along the trail, but watch out when the trail crosses the road, as sometimes the sign that points you the way is not so easily visible. As a tip, look to the pavement and you’ll find a stone path that leads you to the trail again.

Every 500 meters they’ve numbered marks that are also marked in the map (you must get one in the information point, in Osaka, Koyasan, Tanabe or somewhere else) that help you with orientation… sometimes these marks look that are almost two kilometers away from each other, but not! It’s just your tricky mind!!!

Kumano Kodo second stage: Yunomine onsen

The second stop of this Kumano Kodo experience was in Yunomine Onsen, considered the most ancient hot spring in Japan, with about 1800 years. Yunomine is not properly part of the pilgrimage route, but its location close by the Hongu Taisha that it became part of the experience as also a treat after a day of hiking.

With Yunomine as a base point, I did two days of hiking. The first one was to make 10 km more of the Nakahechi Trail from Akagi-goe junction (Hosshinmon Oji) until Kumano Hongu Taisha, one of the most important shrines of Kumano Kodo.

To reach Nakahechi Trail from Yunomine you must hike the Akagi-goe (6 km) and on the return, you can enjoy the short but steep trail of Dainichi-goe (3.5 km). Like this you can make a loop, starting and finish in the Yunomine Onsen, that doesn’t take you more than 4 hours. This is an easy hike, that you don’t need to start very early and don’t need to rush. It has steep parts but offers very beautiful and impressive views, as you are deep inside the forest, surrounded by tall cedar trees whose high dense canopy filter the low winter light, creating a sense of isolation.

On the second day I did the missing part of the Nakahechi Trail, from the detour pass (Jagata-Jizo) until the Akagi-goe junction, which is about 6 km, but end up being more demanding as you also need to do the Akagi-goe trail (6 km more). Unfortunately, or not, to do this part of the trail you have to go back the same way, as there isn’t the possibility to make a loop or to find a bus along the way to return to Yunomine Onsen…. but in the other hand you can enjoy the trail from a different perspective, and for sure you’ll spot thing that you didn’t saw before!!!

It’s a more demanding hike with long steep parts, practically to reach the Mikoshi-toge pass, so it’s better to get out of the bed early. But starting early morning, just a bit before the sunrise also bring great rewards, as you can spot monkeys and even dears, that at that time walk in the mountains before the arriving of the hikers. In the winter, the mornings start with the mist that very slowly comes off the forest.

Like this, I completed the Nakahechi Trail, from Takijiri Oji until Hongu Taisha, that is about 38 km… and had the amazing experience of the soak in the sulfur water of Yunomine Onsen!!!

Along the trails, there are several shrines where the pilgrims worship and play purification rituals “to rid one’s body and Sprit of impurities from past and present lives and to be ritually reborn and rejuvenated by the virtuous powers of Kumano deities”, mainly connected with Shinto religion, but where the images of Buddha are also present, as this deity was easily incorporated in the Shintoism. According to the tradition, evil spirits sometimes overcomes travelers in this area, and along the Kumano trails there are many stone craving statues of Jizo, a Buddhist deity who is the savior and protector of children and travelers. Many visitors make a brief stop in front of these statues to pay tribute to these entities, bowing and praying according to the Shinto rituals.

The pilgrimage it’s a path, usually hard and with obstacles, which are a way to test the confidence in yourself or in a spiritual entity and overcome your own blockages.
Spiritual or not, Kumano Kodo is a great place to be in contact with nature, observing the stillness of the tress and the quietness that warp these mountains where the sun hardly through the compact tree canopy that retain for hour the mist of winter mornings.

Along the Kumano Kodo Nakahechi Trail you can find stamps at significant points of the trail, connected with shrines or statues. The stamps are inside small houses that are easy to spot, and you help yourself stamping your passport. You can get the official pilgrim passport at Kumano Travel offices, or in alternative at the entrance of the trail, in Takijiri Oji, although this one is not valid if you want to have the “completion of pilgrimage” official stamp of the Dual Pilgrim that connect Kumano Kodo with Camino de Santiago.

Official or not, it’s funny to find the stamps and slowly fill up the “passport”; it’s also a good souvenir from your experience as a pilgrim in Kumano Kodo.

Along the way, you’ll find toilets and places to rest (some of them covered), but drinking water is not so easily available.

At the tourist information offices in Osaka, Tanabe and Koyasan, as also in some hostels and guesthouses in the area of Kumano Kodo, you’ll find a booklet with all the detailed information about the Kumano Kodo trails. There’s one booklet for each trail, with maps, trail altitude graphics and all the detail information that you need while hiking. You can download The Kumano Kodo Nakahechi Trail here.

At Hongu Taisha, after finishing the first part of the Nakahechi Trail you can enjoy the “moude mochi” a red bean glutinous rice cake, dusted with brown rice powder which represents the Kumano spirits of warmth and humbleness that can only be found close by one of the three holy shrine of Kumano. It’s served with *matcha* and eaten with the help of a small carved wood stick.

Check for more detail information at Kumano Travel website:

Where to sleep in Tanabe:

Despite the lack of interesting things to do in Tanabe, in this city I had one of the best stays in Japan. The Buddha Guest House, located a few minutes from the Kii-Tanabe station is a lovely traditional wooden Japanese house, located in a residential neighborhood. There are three rooms, all shared, where you sleep in a mattress over the traditional tatamis. I found it very comfortable and cozy. There’s also a small backyard and a very independent cat in the house! Laundry (100 ¥) and kitchen facilities are available. 2300 ¥ per night.

Here, I confess that felt at home… and most of the time I have the house all for myself!!… but This guesthouse as also Tanabe in general is not the place if you look for some social life.

See more at Tanabe… the starting point of the Kumano Kodo

Where to sleep in Yunomine onsen:

Yunomine is a small settlement along the road that runs parallel to a small river where the hot spring is located. There’s one small supermarket, one small grocery shop, one small restaurant… and onsens!!!

There are many accommodations in Yunomine; basically most of the buildings are accommodations, but the majority is ryokans style that provides also meals and has their own onsen. In terms of guesthouses or hostel with dorms, there isn’t much offer but the J-Hoppers Yunomine is an exception… and a good exception, as it offers very good conditions, with a big kitchen as a nice and a comfortable living room that is a good place to socialize a bit during the long winter evenings. In the evening there’s cooked rice for free, and rice porridge in the morning.

This guesthouse has three private onsen (basically the showers are there) with one of then open air. It’s great to wake up early morning and enjoy the relaxing inside the high temperature water while listening to the rain hit gently the roof.

Where to eat in Yunomine onsen:

Apparently, some of the ryokans have restaurants but I didn’t try as I found one place, very simple and informal that suite me perfectly.

It doesn’t have the name in western characters (but has a menu in English with pictures) but is a small bamboo construction just behind the Yunomine temple. There you can find several noodle soups, all of them delicious (several vegetarian options), with the prices from 550 ¥ until 800 ¥. Opens everyday from 7a.m. until 5p.m. The owner is far from look friendly but is indeed a very nice and gentle person.

In Hongu Taisha you have many more options to buy food as also a bigger choice of restaurants.

Shopping for hiking in Yunomine onsen:

For fruit, tofu (here you can find goma-tofu, that is made with sesame), cookies, chocolates and snacks there is also a small grocery shop.

The J-Hoppers Guesthouse sells a few things that you can use as a dinner as also to bring with you to eat during the day when you hike. They sell eggs, instant soup, rice, etc…

How to go from Yunomine back to Tanabe or Hongu Taisha:

How to more around Yunomine Onsen by bus:

(link)

Luggage store and luggage delivery:

Most of the foreigners do the Kumano Kodo on foot, doing all the trails with a backpack and sleeping along the way. Between the Japanese is more common come by car and visit some of the shrines that easy to reach by the road along the Kumano Kodo.

I found it difficult to do it with my 12 kg backpack, so I choose two places as a base point for daily hikes… I wish I had more time to do all the Nakahechi Trail until Nashi Taisha!!!

But there are other options: or you can leave your luggage at the guesthouse and hike for a couple of days or so, and then come back to pick the stuff… or you can hire the services that drop-off your luggage at specific places. Ask more details at Kumano Travel (Tanabe) or on their website.

How to go from Koyasan to Kumano Kodo by bus

From Koyasan to Tanabe:

Just to make it clear: Tanabe is the name of the city, but Kii-Tanabe is the name of the train station, as there is another station in Japan with the same name. Many places in this area have the “kii” prefix to identify them as being part of the Kii Peninsula.

You need to take three buses to reach Tanabe form Koyasan: once in Gomodanzan and then in Kirari-Ryujin (Ryujin Onsen). But don’t worry as all this is extremely well organized you don’t wait more than 10 minutes to get on the next bus. There is a combined ticket for the entire trip; it means that you pay only once, at the beginning of the trip to Koyasan.

The bus departure from Koyasan station at 9:45; change at Gomodanzan that departure at 11:05, arrive at Kii-Tanabe at 13:11.

The trip costs in total 4520 ¥.

The bus from Koyasan station stops also in Senjuibashi and in Okunoin-mae.

This bus service between Koyasan and Tanabe runs only until the end of November. It’s better to reserve in advance, not because of having too many guests (at the end of November I was the only one in the last part of the trip) but for them to organize and be waiting for you every time you change buses.

from Kirari-Ryujin to Tanabe instead of a bus is a mini-van due to the reduce number of passengers… in the end of November I was the only one going to Tabane

Combine bus ticket from Koyasan to Tanabe

From Koyasan to Kumano Hongu Taisha:

The bus departure from Koyasan station at 9:45; change at Gomodanzan that departure at 11:05 to Hongu Taisha-mae at 14:22.

The trip costs in total 5590 ¥.

The bus from Koyasan station stops also in Senjuibashi and in Okunoin-mae.

Tanabe… the starting point of Kumano Kodo

Tanabe is the second biggest city in Wakayama Prefecture, but this doesn’t offer any enthusiastic lifestyle, being a quiet place where the streets are empty most of the time. Still, it was a good base point to do part of the Kumano Kodo Nakahechi Trail.

Kumano Kodo is an ancient pilgrimage trails with more than 1000 years, that link the three main shrines in this area: Hongu Taisha, Nachi Taisha and Hayatama Taisha, that since 2004 are classified as World Heritage by UNESCO, attracting more and more visitors from all over the world. Along the trails, there are several shrines where the pilgrims worship and perform purification rituals, mainly connected with the Shinto religion.

The symbol of Kumano Kodo: a crown with three legs

Most of the people do the 30 km between Takijiri Oji andHongu Taisha in two days sleeping in Chikatsuya Oji, a small village with a few accommodations, and return to Tanabe by bus.

I choose a different strategy, considering my budget as also the weather conditions (in the winter this area receives rain often)… and the availability of the accommodations, that force me sometimes to change my travel plans, as in the weekends some areas are fully booked with only rooms left in the top range hotels.

So I stayed in Kii-Tanabe, and did the 23 km of the Kumano Kodo Nakahechi Trail, overcoming Chikatsuya Oji and return by bus to Tanabe in the same day, as here it’s easy to find budget accommodations and meals. On this first day, I finish the hiking where the Nakahechi Trail makes a detour in the result of rock instability provoked by a typhoon in 2011, that force to close this part of the Kumano Kodo trail, more or less, forever… This hike took me 8 hours.

After, I move by bus to Yunomine Onsen and stayed there to do 8 km more of the Nakahechi Trailuntil Kumano Hongu Taisha, one of the most important shrines of Kumano Kodo. To reach Nakahechi Trail from Yunomine you must hike the Akagi-goe and on the return, you can enjoy the short but steep trail of Dainichi-goe. Like this you can make a look, starting and finish in the Yunomine Onsen, that don’t take you more than 4 hours.

Yunomine was also the base point to complete the final part of the Nakahechi Trail, before reach Hongu Taisha. From Jagata-oji to the intersection with the Akagi-goe there are not more than 4.2 km but it took me 6 hours do do it, as you can’t use buses for the return trip or can’t also do it as loop, so you need the return thought the same way.

marks along the Nakahechi Trail, every 500 meters

The purification by water is one of the most common rituals of the Shintu religion, and as Tanabe, located by the sea is a starting point for the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage, here the ritual is performed with salt water

See more at:

Kumano Kodo… the Nakahechi Trail

How to go from Koyasan to Tanabe by bus:

check this link

Where to sleep in Tanabe:

Despite the lack of interesting things to do in Tanabe, in this city I had one of the best stays in Japan. The Buddha Guest House, located a few minutes from the Kii-Tanabe station is a lovely traditional wooden Japanese house, located in a residential neighborhood. There are three rooms, all shared, where you sleep in a mattress over the traditional tatamis. I found it very comfortable and cozy. There’s also a small backyard and a very independent cat in the house! Laundry (100¥) and kitchen facilities are available. 2300 ¥ per night.

Here, I confess that felt at home… and most of the time I have the house all for myself!!

Where to eat in Tanabe:

Most of the Tanabe restaurants are concentrated in an area called Ajikoji, where scattered along narrow and mazy streets you can find also bars, more properly “izakaya” that is a type of restaurant that also serves alcohol, mostly sake and beers. I try the Ichiyoshi, which has an English menu, with many vegetarian and even vegan options. The food was delicious and a meal costs around 1200 ¥.

Most of the izakaya style restaurants only open for dinner. So if you want to have a simple meal during the day, in a local environment, they’re a small eatery on the main street from the station called “barg” but without a sign in western characters. It’s just next to a pharmacy and serves warm udon with raw egg and butter, for 350 ¥. Looks vulgar but it was so much tasty that the usual udon!

Tourist information center in Tanabe:

At the Kii-Tanabe station you have the tourist information center that can give you good orientation about the Kumano Kodo trails as well about the Wakayama province.

There you can also get the schedule of the buses in the Kumano Kodo area, from Tanabe until Shingu, passing by Yunomine Onsen and Hongu Taisha, as well as prices and schedules about long distance buses to Osaka and Kyoto (departing from the bus terminal just in from of the train station).

How to go from Tanabe to Osaka and Kyoto:

How to go from Yunomine to Osaka and Kyoto

Japan

Itinerary:

Costs:

Where to sleep in Kyoto:

Where to eat in Kyoto:

Nara:

Where to sleep in Osaka:

Where to eat in Osaka:

From Osaka (Namba) to Kyoto station:

With Yunomine as a base point, there are several options for day hiking:

At Yunomine there are three onsens:

Where to eat in Yunomine onsen:

Shopping for hiking in Yunomine onsen:

How to go from Yunomine to Tanabe or Hongu Taisha:

How to more around Yunomine Onsen by bus:

From Yunomine to Tanabe:

From Tanabe to Osaka:

From Osaka (Namba) to Kyoto station:

Kumano Kodo first stage: Tanabe

Kumano Kodo second stage: Yunomine onsen

Where to sleep in Tanabe:

Where to sleep in Yunomine onsen:

Where to eat in Yunomine onsen:

Shopping for hiking in Yunomine onsen:

How to go from Yunomine back to Tanabe or Hongu Taisha:

How to more around Yunomine Onsen by bus:

Luggage store and luggage delivery:

From Koyasan to Tanabe:

From Koyasan to Kumano Hongu Taisha:

See more at:

Kumano Kodo… the Nakahechi Trail

How to go from Koyasan to Tanabe by bus:

Where to sleep in Tanabe:

Where to eat in Tanabe:

Tourist information center in Tanabe:

How to go from Tanabe to Osaka and Kyoto:

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