Day 1: Kumano Kodo- 3 Flights, 2 Trains, 1 bus and a car ride later.

Reaching the starting point of the Kumano Kodo took longer than I anticipated. Three flight changes, two trains, a bus ride, and finally, a twenty-minute car ride to my accommodations made it happen. Kansai International Airport is the main gateway to the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trek, a sister pilgrimage route to Camino de Santiago.

Getting to Kansai was relatively easy despite 2 layovers and a long flight 😅; the adventure truly began afterwards. I needed to catch a train from Kansai Airport to Kii Tanabe City. Fortunately, the train station at Kansai International Airport is directly connected to the terminal. Upon exiting the terminal with my luggage, the bustling train station reminded me of stations in India, albeit well-organized 😉. It was quite overwhelming given all the unknowns, language barriers, not knowing which train to catch from which platform and on top of that I know I had multiple transfers before I got to my final destination.

Google Translate quickly became my best friend. A dash to the visitor support center where they were very helpful and explained the train lines and platform numbers, sending me sprinting to find my platform. I had to catch another connection to the next one so I could not afford to miss this one and had to make a run for it.

Now I can say it was’t not bad at all! The train transfers and the connections worked just fine. Everyone I talked to whether they were the officials working at the train station or the airport or the locals were extremely kind and helpful. They spoke whatever english they were able to speak and open to communicate via Google Translate.

The Kii Tanabe Station is located right next to the Tanabe Tourist Visitor Information Center. The staff there all speak very good English. My primary goal was to obtain the latest bus and train timetables. Public transportation reigns supreme here; taxis are uncommon, especially outside major cities, at least according to my observations. Once you grasp the connection system for trains and buses, you’ll be well on your way. I heavily relied on the daily buses that run between villages and trailheads. These buses sometimes operate only once a day, so missing is not an option!

Exiting the train, I successfully caught the bus and arrived at Takijiri-Oji, the starting point for the Kumano Kodo Nakahechi route I was undertaking. I then headed to the Kumano Kodo registration office, where you can obtain maps, guidebooks, or your pilgrimage passport for stamping. I had already ordered my pilgrim package from Japan a month before. I walked in to say hello and ask for their help to contact my host, who was going to pick me up from here since there is no public transfport.

My host’s wife showed up 20 minutes later to pick me up. It had been over 30 hours since I had left home and was happy to check in to my accommodation that night. I was exhausted but also very excited to start my hiking next morning. This was a beautiful place, in the middle of mountains right outside the window of my room.

And who says vegetarian is a challenge in Japan. On my first day, I was totally floored with multi course meals that was so graciously prepared by the host family. Delicious and beautiful vegetarian dishes in the dinner as well as breakfast the next day were equally amazing .

One thing, I do want to mention is that Kumano Kodo is very different from Camino De Santiago in regard to accommodation logistics. There’s no way you can come here and just walk without booking accommodations. Camino has a very widespread infrastructure around it and many places to stay. Kumano pilgrim goes through very remote villages with small populations. In some places you cannot even find convenience stores, let alone restaurants! You have to have the accommodations because your hosts prepare your meals most of the times, whether it’s dinner or breakfast with them, and then most of them can pack you a bento box for your next day hike. So far this seems to be the norm.

Anyways, the next morning I woke up ready to start my pilgrimage 🙂

More on that, in upcoming post.

Arigato 💕