Yes, we hug trees. 😺 If you love the scent of the forest, might as well go full circle, wrap your arms around a tree and seep their energy. It's an effective mantra, I promise you.
Let me share our experience as pilgrims in the famous Kumano Kodo in Wakayama. If you have done the Camino de Santiago in Spain, you probably know about Kumano Kodo as well. It's about 70km total walking distance, but some people do a hybrid: bus + hiking depending on the number of days off you took from work. We only had a couple, and Kevin had an injury so we chose the suitable trails apt for our condition.
It was unlimited forest bathing. The trails were also forgiving and well maintained, hikers along the way never failed to say hello.
Now, let's highlight this small village called Yunomine-onsen, also known as Japan's oldest spa. You will instantly know you're nearby when you start smelling sulfur (if you're curious about how sulfur smells, try sniffing a rotten egg 😅). There is a narrow stream at the center of the village, gushing with lukewarm mixture of mountain stream and hotspring, and a group of people around a small well dipping sweet potatoes and eggs.
We spent good two nights here even when hiking to Hongu Taisha, one of the three major shrine destinations of the pilgrimage. There was a short 3-hour trail from this onsen village, and so we got extra time to spend digging hot springs at a riverside. Yes, you got it right. Hot water sprung everywhere along the river, how amazing was that?
But what I loved most about this trip, was how convenient it was to organise it, and how delicious the food were! The local lodges we stayed at were manned by welcoming owners who prepared homemade meals from mountain vegetables and local ingredients. We also celebrated our wedding anniversary at one of the lodges, which made this trip even more special.
If you are interested, most of the information are found here. You can even make an entire plan, including accommodation depending on the route you take - traditional accommodations you cannot book using regular booking websites. One thing to note was that the owners of these lodges were keen and waiting for us to arrive, sometimes they call the previous accommodation to confirm you are on your way. Here's our route, more or less:
Day 1:
- Arrival from Tokyo
- Hike from Takijiri-Oji to Takahara
- Stayed at Keyaki
Day 2:
- Took combined walking routes to reach Hirohara-oji ( Takahara > Kurigawa > Osakamoto)
- Stayed at 3rd Minshuku
Day 3:
- Hiked back to Tsugizakura
- Took the bus to Watarase
- Hiked to Yunomine-onsen
- Stayed at J-Hoppers
Day 4:
- Hiked to Oyunohara, Hongu-Taisha
- Spent the rest of the day at Kawayu river onsen
Day 5:
- Took the bus to Ukegawa to drop of luggage
- Went back to Koguchi trail to hike to Ukegawa 😅
The last 2 days were spent in Nachi Taisha, where we wore Heian Kimono to hike up the shrine. You can see some photos here.