Finally, people!

Post by Ella

I’m finding it hard to keep this blog up to date. So many experiences on the Kumano Kodo portion of our trip. The first two days of our walking, we met no one else on the trail. Yesterday our hike took us onto a more popular portion of the Kumano Kodo and we shared the trail with maybe a dozen others who passed us during the day. 

Last night we shared a communal dinner with 6 other hikers at Chikatsuyu Sora, a small inn. Energetic Naomi and her husband greeted us and welcomed us into their home. She spent time with us preparing us for the next days hike. At dinner, she facilitated conversation and dropped pearls of knowledge about flora and fauna and local life. Two of the hikers were Japanese women from Sapporo. The other four were Canadians from Calgary. We all agreed politics was off the table. Right now, we were in our happy place.

Dinner was sashimi, pickled radishes, and hot pot. Dessert a juicy slice of mikan orange.

The inn has only 3 rooms besides ours. Our room appears to be the owner’s living quarters with a little kitchen, toilet and bath area. We lucked out. The others have shared facilities.  No tatami mats in our room. Wood floor covered by a soft rug. Futons with extra blankets because it’s cold. Got down to 33°F last night, high of 51 expected today. But sunny.

Grubb will post more about the hike. The first couple of miles were the toughest, straight up the rocks it seemed. We got smart and bought a couple of bamboo walking sticks at a tiny kiosk at the beginning of the trail. So yeah, the third leg sure helped with the balance.

See the whole days route below. We started at a guesthouse on the coast just outside of Hidaka. Taxi to the Gobo train station. Well, it’s all on the map.