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Day 3 | Chikatsuyu to Yunomine Onsen
Day 4 | Yunomine Onsen to Koguchi
Day 3 - Chikatsuyu to Yunomine Onsen
Today was the day when all the plans went out the window. Had originally scheduled to leave at 0500 because the map said to expect 9-12 hours of hiking to get to Kumano Hongu Taisha… after which I was going to catch one of the buses to the Yunomine Onsen area or walk there if time/body permitted. Unfortunately, the place I was staying at did not offer breakfast bento option. They did however make an exception for me and served me breakfast a little earlier at 0615 since they knew how long I was planning on walking that day. I felt guity since they had to wake up earlier just for me, but it was much appreciated. Most of the places I stayed at on the trip were really considerate and accomodating of hikers doing the trail… even when making reservations online, they ask your departure/arrival place/time so they can be on the lookout for you. Nice breakfast, but because of this had a late start at 0640… almost 2 hours behind already.
Uphill all the way to Tsugizakura-oji but nice views, light drizzle, cool ryokan here and there with the eating room facing the mountains/valleys… very peaceful place to wake up in the morning I thought.
To go to Nonaka springs, I left my pack at the top of the hill a little hidden off to the side and went down the hill to get water from the famous spring. Tried to save as much energy as possible. It’s a little detour but at least a good place to fill up on water for the rest of the day. When I got back up the hill to my pack, there were a couple of girls (later found out from Idaho) who had caught a shuttle to Tsugizakura where they were starting for the day (they claimed to have done the previous sections the day before). Apparently, they had already done the Camino de Santiago so they were just trying to collect their final stamps to get the Dual Pilgrimage certificate I wrote about earlier. Didn’t walk with them but passed each other a couple times throughout the day. This would’ve been an ideal place to start the day myself but couldn’t help when planning. Already tired just from getting water…
SNAKE!!! On the very last uphill section leading up to Waraji-toge pass, I stopped 3 feet from it and didn’t even notice it, brown ~3ft long. I bent over on my knees to catch my breath and all of a sudden it just moved in front my face…. man, thanks for the adrenaline boost! Based on the brochure, it looked like one of those Japanese Mamushi, poisonous pit viper. Phew!
After passing Waraji-toge pass, you head downhill towards the semi-permanent detour route…. OMG! Climbed the whole damn mountain from the river! Completely wiped out already, 2 hours behind schedule, blisters in full effect. Same bugs following me, going in my eyes/ears… super irritating. This was a very unexpected challenge and just completely destroyed me… basically a worst case scenario. Going back and looking at the brochure info, this section should not have been as difficult as it felt… I don’t know what the difference was or if I’m just that much out of shape.
Going up Mikoshi-toge pass, I must’ve been sitting/laying down to rest every 30 meters. Can’t walk straight anymore… just nothing left in the tank.
To the right of Funatama-jinja is the Akagi-goe route that goes directly to Yunomine-oji.
Just before Inohana-oji, saw another snake but this time not so close at least…. smaller brown body, green head, 2 ft long. Couldn’t figure out which type this was…
Last climb to Hosshinmon-oji took me 45 min (3x longer than map speed), sitting every 30m and literally laying on the ground. At the last stretch, a friendly elderly couple and their dog walked by me as I was laying on the trail… for all I know, they could’ve just been spirits ushering me to the finish hehe. Finally made it to Hosshinmon-oji by 1530. Aside from just about dying… decision to stop here was based on risks of missing last bus from Kumano Hongu to Yunomine Onsen, and also missing dinner at the ryokan by arriving too late and in the dark. Check-in was supposed to be from 1600-1800… couldn’t afford to miss the meal either as there aren’t many alternative food options there.
Taken directly from my notes, “Couldn’t walk properly anymore, waiting for bus, can’t sit on bench properly, probably blacked out several times, other voices like dreaming.” The last bus of the day from Hosshinmon-oji came at 1628 and arrived at Yunomine Onsen about 40 minutes later (¥510).
At Yunomine Onsen, I could barely get off the bus and was cramping all over just taking my shoes off at the ryokan across the street. At Iseya Ryokan, the guy didn’t even greet me and chatted with 3 ladies about the onsen, making me wait even though I spoke with him first… I literally just sat down on the ground at the check-in counter, visibly tired and irritated about this. Then I finally get my key and of course the room is on 4th floor, all stairs.
All I could do after getting into my room was to lay on the floor. Come dinner time, carefully walked down the stairs and come to find out the dining room table was on the very far end and had to sit on the floor, cramping up all dinner long. The room itself was decent…. wiped myself off with a towel in the room…. can’t walk down 4 floors now for bath.
Directly from my notes, “Can’t pop ears, cramping everywhere in every position, little nauseous, hard to eat, so dizzy, chest cramps or heart attacks? At least three times today. Just laying on floor trying to recover enough to walk normal. Never felt like this before, probably should be in hospital. Definitely not doing full hike tomorrow, already doubting I can finish today’s section. Hand won’t stop cramping.”
Day 4 - Yunomine Onsen to Koguchi
Woke up earlier and managed to get the first reserved time for the Tsuboyu bath @0600. Reservation window was next to the ryokan (down the street from the actual bath house) and was ¥700/30 minutes, private bath. It is also one of the only hot springs designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. There seemed to be nobody else waiting for it before or after me. The water was super hot so ran both cold water taps and still could only manage to sit in the water for about 5 min.
More info here:
http://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/onsen/yunomine/
After the bath, I walked up to Yunomine-oji nearby, saw a fallen torii gate and a snake caution sign (only now???). Already feel like the day before on these short stairs. Smells of eggs everywhere.
Super stiff, still doubting whether I could finish the route so checked out later after breakfast and took an extra nap. Still can’t eat much, can’t pop ears, stomach weird. A guy offered me a ride in Yunomine but I declined… seemed kind of strange even if maybe just being nice. Caught bus to Hongu Taisha, then almost missed transfer to second bus forgetting it was on the opposite side of the street. Started back at Hosshinmon-oji around 1030, supposed to be all downhill or flat but map deceived me again. So many ups and downs…. was just as painful as day before, no energy, especially Mizunomi-oji to Fushiogami-oji.
Even after Fushiogami-oji, still ups and downs for a good 1km working my way around the ridges. It could also be that I’m just so tired that every little uphill slant feels exaggerated to me. Several groups I passed with guides but only day tour groups again. My packs water cover cord snapped at Fushiogami-oji, cheapy-thing and didn’t help with the passing showers. Hot, humid, no wind, hard to breath, sweat like crazy.
So anxious to finish I think I rushed the last downhill part. Passed a couple different groups on day tours. When I finally got to Kumano Hongu Taisha (at around 1330) I couldn’t really move… my entire body just felt terrible. After resting for a while, I did my prayer, viewed the main shrine, and bought souvenirs. By this time, a mini typhoon was already over me and it only began to rain harder.
Kumano Hongu Taisha is one of the three grand shrines (and central most shrine) of Kumano. I’d even say it’s the grandest of the grand shrines. The offical symbol or motif of the Kumano Grand Shrines is the Yatagarasu Three-legged Crow. You’ll find that the crow is represented in a different pose at each of the shrines. It’s said that it was sent as a navigator and messenger by Amaterasu herself to help aid the first Emperor of Japan through the Kumano mountains. It just amazes me how ancient and deep all the history (?) surrounding this area is and how so much of it really gets into the core of what I really enjoy about Japan (old world).
More info here:
http://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/world-heritage/kumano-hongu-taisha/
Visited Oyunohara.. the original site of the Kumano Hongu Taisha and also where you’ll find the biggest torii gate in Japan (some say the world). Kumano Hongu Taisha was reconstructed at it’s current location after a flood destroyed almost everything at Oyunohara in 1889. Got the final stamp in my book (for this section), then went back to the Heritage Center where the nice staff recommended an udon restaurant down the street. They also let me leave my bag there which didn’t seem like common practice but maybe them just being nice because I looked like a wreck, so thanks!
Interesting fact: the Yatagarasu is also the symbol of the Japanese Soccer Association (easy to miss that third leg holding the ball). Nakamura Kakunosuke, who’s said to be the founding father of soccer in Japan, was also born in Wakayama Prefecture.
More info on the man here:
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/
My original plan of the day had me hiking from Yunomine Onsen to Koguchi but it was obvious that that wasn’t going to happen for me and so I decided to catch the bus from Hongu instead. I was basically forfeiting the Dainichi-goe and Kogumotori-goe routes… which was unfortunate because of course it feels a little like quitting AND I couldn’t see everything AND I couldn’t get the stamps…. but between that and basically dying (really my thought at the time)… I chose not dying. My only consolation was that I could at least say I finished the main, certifiable, Nakahechi route. After eating, I just laid on a bench listening to the rain for about an hour outside the Heritage Center until the bus came. Caught the bus around 1611 to Kanmaru and had to transfer to the Koguchi bus. Little confusing but bus driver pointed out (and drove a little further to) the next bus stop to Koguchi for me. By now it was a full storm passing overhead, with lightning and thunder, so I took shelter across the street under a bike shed with some spiders. The bus stop had no shelter and I was pretty much standing on the corner of the road. The next bus driver was also nice (and they all seem to know a little English) enough to stop closer to Shizen no Ie since it was pouring rain and I was only passenger (arrived around 1703). Rivers are beautiful here (if I weren’t so tired and sick).
Shizen no Ie, only one of two accomodations in this village and is actually pretty cool since its a converted old school house. You can definitely picture it too with the layout and old backstop in the front! Dinner was good, finally had meat, just can’t eat much unfortunately. Really craving some curry. So much bento style, fish, veggies, healthy as it is. Will try to take advantage of washer/dryer here since all my stuff was wet. Extras here: free to wash clothes, ¥100 dryer/60 min, ¥100 AC in room/120 min (first time having coin operated AC hehe).
With my body in such bad shape and the weather the way it is, I decided to discontinue the hike and just try to recover and enjoy the trip more rather than stress/pain/rush. This meant giving up on the remaining Ogumotori-goe route from Koguchi to Kumano Nachi Taisha. It bothered me for a while just thinking about it… only 3 days of hiking but it really seemed like so much longer. Thinking about it now as I write this, I still don’t regret the decision. Positive note: bus/transportation is relatively easy here (though price can add up) so now I can just be in relax/recovery mode.