Next Adventure: Japan and the Kumano Kodo October 17-November 1 2016

photograph from Oku Japan, my walk organiser

The Kumano Kodo is an ancient pilgrimage path in the Kumano mountains of the Kili Peninsula of Japan. Kumano is a sacred site associated with nature worship since prehistoric times. This religion is based on a form of mountain worship as the place where the spirits of ancestors return after death. Shugendo, this belief, is translated to "path of training to achieve spiritual powers" and emphasis is put on physical endurance as a path to enlightenment.

For over a thousand years, people from all levels of society, including emperors, have made this arduous pilgrimage to Kumano.  It is now registed as a UNESCO World Heritage ( the other being the Camino de Santiago).  Come and follow my blog, as I, alongside my friend Annabel Dearlove, make this pilgrimage following the Nakahechi Route. We will hopefully not get lost (Oku Japan has set up our self guided trip) and we cannot wait to see the true rural Japan.

The Japanese adventure (another one) starts in two weeks!!