Day 4 : Kumano Kodo – Chikatsuyu to Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand shrine

16 miles of adventure, with just enough uphill to make you question your life choices ;-).

I mentioned in my previous post that my accommodation in Chikatsuyu village was a bit off-trail. That’s where I stayed last night. This was an interesting experience as it was a mostly automated hotel with no staff in sight. My previous stays spoiled me with incredible guest house meals, but last night I had to settle on a pizza I made myself with the ingredients stocked in the fridge by the hotel staff. It was pretty decent ✌🏽.

I was still thankful for the super efficient, clean, and comfortable accommodation. By the time I checked in last night, I was so hungry and tired that I decided to grab dinner first but realized later that it was too late to go to the co-op. It closed at 6 so I missed getting myself snacks for the hike. I was short on my supplies, but I knew I would have a decent meal at the end of the day.

Today was going to be the longest and the highest elevation day so far, but it was not going to be the hardest of the entire trek. I left quite early around 6.30 am since it was going to be a very long day and on top of that there was a major section of the trail which was re-routed so I had to take a detour for a very long section.

Still I was really excited to reach my first grand shrine, Hongu Taisha. I was in good spirits as I walked out today. The spiritual connection with the nature , the positive energy of the universe seemed strong today. The clouds were pretty low and the mountains were peaking out. It was so beautiful walking towards the village and through the village, with the lovely little houses, people going about their daily life, some gardening, some weaving baskets and some drying nori.

I enjoyed the various views and met three or four other people on the trail. We walked and talked a few times throughout the day today.

During my research, while planning this trip, I came to know that there is a possibility of meeting wildlife and thus one needs to be prepared. The main warning was to be careful with snakes, especially the pit viper. Then there were poisonous centipedes and Asian hornets to be careful of. During the hike, I came across warnings about these as well.

Amusingly, there are warnings of bears as well however, if you talk to the locals, they don’t think they have ever seen a bear on these trails.

As I was walking with these new friends and we were chatting all of a sudden few of us screamed and jumped on the side as we saw a snake. Freaked me out 😅 . This has been my only sighting so far. Fingers crossed, I don’t want to see another one. I have been chanting that I’ll stay out of your way snaked and you please stay out of my way. 🤪

The trail was tough for me, with steep inclines, and the detour was pretty intimidating. I’m impressed that it has been marked very well, but still, there were a couple of places where if you would not have paid attention, it would have added a little extra on the mileage.

Came across a few beautiful oji were on the way where I collected my stamps, and paid my respects.

I walked on and off with a lovely couple from Frankfurt, delightful to talk to. Also kept running into three lovely ladies many times during the day. Amanda out of these three was working it for her milestone birthday.

Five hours into the trek, I realized I was not even halfway there, so tried to pick up my pace. Passing through the beautiful forest, the hard detour, huge trees reminded me of redwoods in California. It was a humbling experience to remind me how small we are in the bigger scheme of things.