Top Of The Kumano Kodo And Firemen To The Rescue

It was such an extraordinarily beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky and about 20 plus degrees. We were looking forward to another day of walking the Kumano Kodo .

I think there must have been some confusion as to the route we were going to take because we were reading two different guides. We were unsure as to whether we were originating from Ukegawa or Koguchi. We were dropped off at a point and just started there! Of course, this meant we might be needing to watch out for different landmarks for each route but this didn't think about it for quite a few hours. After all, everything is in Japanese! The Kumano Kodo is so well signposted, we weren't worried and just plodded on.

We must been clambering uphill for about 900 meters (how do the Japanese navigate some of those big stones) when it dawned on us that we should only been going up 500 meters. Having endured particularly steep "steps" we had been going up at a rhythmic pace so we didn't notice how far or how high we had gotten to.

Then we found ourselves at the top of the Kumano Kodo! See photo below.

We proceeded downwards on the Kumano. Again, and this must be getting rather boring as I keep repeating myself, everything is just so beautiful and zen. It's all very natural, we again saw only four old Japanese hikers on the trail, three men and one woman in slippers! The path, composed of large rocks and tree roots, seems to have been there for centuries, moss growing on them, creating an uneven vibrant green route through the mountains of the Kii peninsula.

After some relief at being able to navigate the downhill route without any nasty slips (extend those walking poles to max, it helps a lot in this terrain) we noticed we were here. (See photo below). Somehow we hadn't passed Koguchi and that confused us to no end. I'm hopeless with maps but love trekking (google maps or guides help) and on this trip have been relying on Annabel to show me the way. Annabel did not like the fact that we did not pass Koguchi. " Isn't our hotel there for the night? "And since I'm a lazy useless old sod, I just answered "Probs". That wasn't very helpful at all! 

Well, the hotel wasn't in Koguchi but in Nachi and we were probably just a hop and skip away.. But we somehow forgot this minor detail. By this point we had our knickers in a twist and were determined not to miss our ryokan. We were not very happy that we might have to walk back mossy steps reaching the top of the Empire State Building and down again at least twice (we had already done 900 meters ascent and a little less on descent, and the Empire State is only 381 meters) when we spotted a few firemen on their lunch break in a rest area. 

How lucky was that! Remember, we had seen about a total of 15 people the whole week on the trail, so this was highly unusual. The forest Gods were looking out us! The firemen understood us to be lost and in a typical example of Japanese generosity, they volunteered to take us to the nearest train station. 40 minutes away! With the added bonus of stopping for every "camera ready" view. You have to love the Japanese. 

Camera Ready!

Since we've now reached Nachi, our journey down the Kumano Kodo Nakahechi trail ends. Here are some views of the sea at the end of the Kii.

The Japanese have done well in being true to the spirit of the Kumano Kodo. There is little evidence of human activity, no litter, well hidden few facilities but excellent signage throughout. Complete silence reigns in the dense forests of these mountains and the scenery is naturally beautiful without any touristic manicured packaging. You understand, when you walk the trail, why the Japanese came here for nature worship and in search of spiritual purification. I cannot recommend it highly enough.  We travelled with Oku Japan.