Kumano day 2: Hisohara Ojo to Hongu

9/30/24

We slept a long time in the beautiful traditional guest house, hosted by a wonderful older couple. During the night I was aware of heavy rain and thunder, but in my exhaustion did not rouse to worry about having to hike in the rain. We awoke at 6 am after 10 hours of sleep, my first truly restful night in Japan. The rain had stopped and all could see out the window was a bit of fog and mist. Our breakfast was served at 7 am. Once again we were treated to an amazing array of dishes.. We sat at the sunken table ( thoughtully built lower under the table for Western legs not used to kneeling)

We headed off along a narrow rural road, into a dense forest and areas of light settlement and agriculture. Our route wound around the mountain, hugging the steep cliffs. WE came to a tunnel that punctured the mountain and then curved steeply down to cross a brook.

Each time we cross a beautiful bride over babbling brook, it means we will soon have steep climbing on rocks or roots, often quite steep.

We came to a larger shrine at Nonaka, surrounded by old growtn cedars.

Soon after the Kobiro-oji ( shrine) we needed to take detour. Some climactic or geologic event disrupted the trail and we had very clear sign to take a different route down and then up and over the mountain reaching the Iwakami pass at 2200 meters. The mist and wet surfaces mad footing a little treacherous. Some of the rocks and roots were slippery. We were thankful for the trekking poles that helped when we started to slip.

We came to a shrine after having crossed the high point of the day. It was 11:30 and we were hungry. All of the approved Kumano lodgings provide lunch to carry as there are no sources of food on the trail

Our path became easier as we continued to descend from the mountain

We were relieved that the steep ascents and descents were over and could now walk along a brook with intermittent waterfalls.

As we pulled into a rest spot with bathrooms, we had completed 20 km and were exhausted. I thought that would be our total distance for the day, but now it was still 6 km to the reception center where we would get our certificates. We decided to take a bus into Hongu to the temple and Information center of the Kumano

We went from one office to another, but in the end got our dual certificate from the priest in the Information center.

There was a convenient bus to take us to a famous hot springs hotel near Hongu where we bathed in the hot spring and had a nice dinner and a beer. It appears that this is the end of our Kumano hike. The path extends on for a couple of days, but we feel we were tested to our limit these couple days, I am struggling with a cold , and it’s time to change gear.