Post by Ella
We finished our first day on the trail. Steep up, steep down, rainy, lots of slippery rocks. Guess who fell twice? Not me!
Are you asking what trail? Where the heck are you?
To answer…The Kumano Kodo, the trail of the Emperors. It is an ancient trail, or rather set of trails that snake through the mountains of the Kii peninsula. More history and geography later.
Yesterday we completed day 1 of 5 days. As Grubb will attest when he has the energy, it was challenging.
A brief outline of the day is all I’ve got the energy for.
The morning began in Osaka with another Japanese style breakfast. Then down to the bellhop to arrange the.storage of one of our suitcases and the forwarding of the other suitcase to the place we will be staying a few days from now. Everything we need for the next few days crammed into our day packs, we headed to Osaka Station for our 9:04 train. Transfer at Wakayama and alight at Shimizu-Ura. A tiny station with only a small platform and no buildings. Begin hike.
Almost immediately we were steeply ascending a rocky trail.
A mile later, we reached Jizobuji Temple and a public bathroom (with Todo toilets).
And the rain started. And the ascent continued. Things started getting slippery. But we persisted, got to the top. And then the descent. I took a misstep and down I went. Picking up my body and my ego, I tread more carefully. Then Grubb went down, twice. Oh these two old fools. We made it though. No choice really.
Close to the bottom, the trail ended at a narrow road and a sign for the Fujishiro shrine. We headed to the shrine and came across this sign. How did they know we were coming? I’ll say more later.
We got a private tour of the shrine including a blessing by the head priest (Shinto), a power point presentation by an animated tour guide, well and more. Followed by a tour of the Suzuki home with its beautiful gardens. After this, our guide offered a ride to the train station (in Kainan) where we’d catch a train to Yuasa, home of soy sauce.
At the moment we are at a guesthouse in a small village, Aridagawa, known for mikan (mandarin oranges). I promise, more details to follow.
OMG, so glad you guys survived those falls! How far was the walk? I’m extremely impressed you got everything you need for several days in those packs!
It was only about 3.5 miles but seemed like 10! Yep, only sock and underwear changes. First aid, water, electronics, chargers, maps. Still feels too heavy. Throws you off balance as you know. We should have practiced walking uphill on a tightrope to prepare 😜
Now I understand why grubs been in training with s loaded back pack! Great pics and story !
Yeah, next time he has to train walking uphill maybe. Or carrying his pack while playing golf.
Tenacity! Great scenery. Do you have hiking poles?
Short answer…no hiking poles. I knew I should but didn’t want to carry them around for 6 weeks in Japan. Then I figured I’d pick some up in Osaka, Totally forgot in the haze of jet lag. Today, however, we found some good sturdy sticks along the trails. They worked pretty well as makeshift poles. No spills today.
Love the statue with the knit hat and bib.