Adventures in 2020

Now it's time for some touristy stuff, and what better place to do that than in Kyoto. Over the last few days we did a cooking class and self managed cycling tour as well as a bit of shopping to round off our action holiday. A lot of our travel was by bus.

Our last day on the Kumano Koda trail. We chose to catch a boat down the river rather than walk the last leg. It was more appealing to sit on a traditional boat and float down the river, much more so than struggling up over an 800m challenge trail with our packs that never got lighter and only served to weary our legs.

We both felt it was time to take it easy on ourselves. The wet weather and long days was causing a bit of angst between us. So instead of walking all the way to our next destination we elected to walk back to Hongu and catch the bus. The rain cleared and we were glad to see some of the old spa village Yumonine Onsen. The hub of the village located on both sides of a stream.

Let's start with the Japanese souffle cheesecake. I am not one to eat cakes, but sometimes I will make an exception. This cake is one of them, especially after a day of toil we had yesterday. It is melt in the mouth heaven. When I got home I followed this recipe (which is also on Youtube) and got pretty close to the desired flavour and texture. The Japanese yuzu lemons are different to ours, but I was happy with our alternative.

A test of will power. Our biggest day 28 km. With an early start, we got to our destination just on nightfall in wet conditions and with strained daddy-daughter relations.

The Kumano Koda trail is a UNESCO listed heritage walk, one of only two in the world, the other being the Camino de Santiago in Spain. This walk is a network of routes leading to major shrines. This was a fantastic walk, worth doing whether its a day, multi-day or simply a series of transport based excursions.

I read a magazine article about the opening of the Kumano Koda trail somewhere. At the time I thought, "I must go there sometime.." .

It would be remiss to visit Japan without sighting Mount Fuji at least once, in my books anyway. Rather than scoot past on a tour we chose to spend three days there, staying at K's backpackers. (Good place to stay by the way: friendly staff, & there is a view of Mt Fuji if you look for it.)

It has been a dream of mine to visit Japan. The intrigue of its culture and the magic of its powder snow. Conjure those thoughts of traditional dress, tea ceremonies and old guest houses partially buried in snow.