The Kumano is a sacred mountainous region located on the Kii Peninsula of Japan, stretching south of Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto, and home to the ancient spiritual Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage. There are several routes however, the most popular one is the Nakahechi Imperial Route that traverses the rugged mountainous trail winding through deep forests of cypress, pine, and camphor trees starting in Takahara and ending in Nachi at the Nachi Tasha Grand Shrine.

The pilgrimage began 1,000 years ago, taking the Imperial family and fellow pilgrims an average of 30-40 days from Kyoto. Several Oji shrines and teahouses were established along the way for pilgrims to rest, relax, and pray during this arduous trek. Today, the Nakahechi route can be completed in 5 days and covers over 46 miles (70 km) of mountainous terrain.

This past May, our family of four visited Japan for two weeks and the highlight of our trip was our time spent together doing the Kumado Kodo hike. Although the hike can be navigated and booked on your own, we opted to hire Oku Japan. Oku Japan operates guided, self-guided, and custom tours around Japan. Their trips combine the simple pleasures of enjoying the hospitality of close-knit communities deep in the countryside that preserve the traditions of a not-too-distant past. We picked them for their excellent reputation, their commitment to helping local rural communities, and their incredible attention to detail to every aspect of our trip, from start to finish. We were not disappointed.

Reaching the start of the Kumano Kodo Trail

To reach the start of the Kumano Kodo hike requires some work. We began early in the morning by catching a train from Kyoto to Osaka, and then another train (roughly 2 hours) on the JR Line to the coastal town of Kii-Tanabe where we took a bus inland to the town of Takijiri, the starting point of our trek. We had just spent three fantastic days in lovely yet crowded Kyoto and were truly looking forward to experiencing the countryside without the tourists.

Map credited to Oku Japan

We arrived in the tiny town of Takijiri a little after 2 pm, and were happy to see only a handful of other fellow hikers get off the bus. What we would find over the next several days is that this hike remains relatively off the radar of most tourists (especially Americans) and we would have much of the hikes to ourselves.

Since ancient times, Takijiri -oji (shrine) has been believed to be the entrance point to the sacred Kumano region. Takijiri means “base of the waterfall,” a reference to the nearby confluence of the Tonda and Ishiburi rivers, and during the golden age of Imperial pilgrimages (12th-13th century), cold water ablution rites were practiced here to purify the body and spirit before worshipping. In ancient times, it was a ten-day journey of 230 kilometers on foot from Kyoto to reach Takijiri-oji. From here, the trail climbs steeply for another 35 kilometers to reach the first of three Grand Shrines of Kumano – The Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine.

At the start of the Kumano Kodo pilgrims and travelers have the chance to ring the bell and purify themselves with sacred water at Takijiri -oji before starting the journey. Then it is short but steep two hour hike on the Kumano Kodo trail to the mountaintop village of Takahara.

Want a visual quick view of the hike? Check out this reel

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As we entered the magical forest of pines, cypress, and camphor trees we were instantly at peace and spellbound by its beauty and nature. The first part of the walk was short but included a long and steep 1-kilometer climb up of 1,200 feet (370 m) into the forest. Thankfully, the route is filled with history, and there are many placards alongside the shrines where you can stop along the way and read about the history of this sacred trail.  You can even get a Kumano Kodo passport and stamp each shrine you visit, similar to hiking the Camino in Spain.

After two hours of steady walking uphill through an ancient forest of pines, cypress and camphor trees, our family of four finally arrived at an opening in the forest overlooking an endless sea of velvet green colored mountains as far as the eye could see. We were in the ridge-top village of Takahara, where we would spend our first night at a Ryokan (a small, locally-run Inn) after receiving our ‘fureai’ (a gift designed to provide interaction and connection with locals) from the town’s bakery.

After snapping a few family pictures,  we continued a few meters down the gravel road to a small dwelling with the name, Meguru.

“Kon’nichiwa” said a middle-aged Japanese woman greeting us with a warm, broad smile. “Welcome to our family bakery,” she smiled, offering us each a slice of homemade fruit pound cake and cookies all baked freshly this morning with local ingredients. The bakery is owned by husband and wife team, Atusushi and Yi Kudaka and they opened it five years ago as a dream to live in the countryside and raise their young son. The name of their bakery, Meguru, symbolizes the arduous journey of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage as it translates literally into “travel through” in Japanese, and is named after their deep love of the region and the trail.

The bakery gifts were set up by our trip organizer, OKU Japan who implemented a program called ‘fureai’ which promotes traveler interaction with the local people.  In each town we visited, we had one or two fuereais and it was a great way to meet and support the rural small business owners throughout the hike.

After indulging in our bakery goods (ginger cookies and vanilla and chocolate pound cake), we continued to the address of our accommodation for the night. We stayed at a local family-owned inn, called Hatago Masara, owned by a Japanese-French couple, Masa and Sara.

Photo of our inn for the night (there are ten family-run inns in the village for guests to enjoy a traditional meal and stay the night).

Masa and Sara have been running their inn for five years and have enjoyed meeting travelers from around the world. Their cooking is french-inspired with a Japanese twist prepared by both Sara and Masa. We delighted in a five-course meal of farm fresh salad, french onion soup, a main course and dessert, all while drinking Saporo beer and french wine. It was a delightful evening!

Photos left to right. Outside of the inn. The rooms are all decorated with traditional Japanese futons for beds. Last photo is of Masa preparing our meal. 

After dinner, we rolled out our futons and were fast asleep to the tranquil sounds of the forest. What a wonderful, cultural experience our first day had been. We could hardly wait for Day 2 of our hike along the ancient pilgrimage path on the Kumano Kodo.