Kumano Koda - Day 2 - Hongu

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.
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Hindsight is a good thing: I recommend doing a continual risk assessment when doing a walking holiday. It is easy to be complacent on a - may I call it - "sanitized walk". The Kumano Koda trail is far easier than many of the walks I have done because of the efforts taken to provide paved paths and escape options with the roads nearby. However the topography is demanding and not to be dismissed lightly.  The stone paving is often moss covered and so requires a lot of care when descending.
Elevation profile to Hongu
I failed  to reassess the options for this walk perhaps due to travel fatigue and from the exertion yesterday. Introspection: there was some challenge mentality there to complete the task set forth, "complete the journey come what may". I should know better. As a leader there is a responsibility to consider others in the party, this is after all a holiday and supposed to be a special trip not an ordeal. 
 
Kumano Travel provides a comprehensive brochure and here is a snippet of the options for this leg:
Kumano guide walk options
The trick to making this walk enjoyable is to know the bus route and schedule, and intercept it with the key points of interest. Unfortunately I took on a lot in planning this trip and didn't get that far with such comprehensive planning. The underlying intent to "walk it anyway" shelved the risk option planning. Would of - could of - should of: I had ample time in the lead up to this walk whilst in Japan. I find on any trip it is a good idea to revise and brush on the days ahead. 

Enough of the retrospective discourse and  introspection, my daughter was still speaking to me - just !  I commend her, she has  a lot of grit and determination. 

Our start today was with a good breakfast at a local cafe. The food was prearranged by our accommodation and Kumano Travel. Just as well, as English is not a strong point and we are in no way linguistically capable in Japanese. Steph, despite learning Japanese at primary school had no recollection (Australian language teaching is still in the dark ages).
Breakfast at a cafe.
We walk along some roads to get to the trail proper. A mistake we made was not following Google Maps to the letter. What looks like continuous roads on the map are not. This is a mountain range so some roads will stop because of the geography. It is all adventure - though those few added km were not needed !  The narrow quiet roads would make for a good cycling trip, provided you have the fitness and appropriate gearing.
Sweeping road guiding us away from the track.
Eventually we got to the correct location of the Kumano Koda track, reassured by a small wooden sign. The signs are such that they blend in with the environment, so you do need to keep a keen eye open.
Kumano Koda trail sign
 We are rewarded soon enough with a shrine. There is no shortage of shrines,  you would think you'd get bored with so many but each are different and have their own character. However, when it came to a side trip to climb some peak because an outlier hermit thought it was a good thing to be closer to spiritual nirvana we made some executive decisions.
Shrine on the Kumano trail
Public toilets are spaced at reasonable distances. There wasn't much of a need to 'duck behind the bushes'. There weren't a lot of people on this trail either, so privacy wasn't an issue if that need arose.
Toilet block
I loved the thoughtful touches such as a nice resting place or the cleanliness of the public toilets. We did not see a dirty nor graffiti ruined toilet anywhere here nor in Japan in general.
As well as interpretative signs in English. How lucky to be born with a defacto world language: though it's somewhat selfish to be ignorant, so we did work on some simple please and thank you expressions. Arigato.
Interpretative sign in English and Japanese
The blink and you'll miss it shrines somehow aren't due to small floral or other decoration. To me  they are more personal and appealing. They are representative of a special event for a person a death, epiphany or regular resting spot over a grueling ascent.
Small shrine
These dragon fountains have some special meaning and tradition involved with cleaning hands with ladles provided. I can't quite remember the process but I think you grab a ladle of water and pour it over the left, then do the same for the right. Trusting its purity we filled our bottles too. A purifying tablet is probably a good idea, but we survived with some trust in the good spirits.
Dragon fountain
Each rubber stamp has an ornate design on it. You need to apply a firm steady pressure to ensure that the impression comes out properly on the souvenir trip card. Still kids at heart it was a special delight to get that reward stamp, especially as we got more tired and grumpy near the end of the day.
Kumano Koda trail stamp
Stairs are stairs. Whether they are formed with wood or rock the are convenient for the traverse over the mountain terrain. I preferred these log formed risers with gravel infill. Quite comfortable to walk on and with the forest rising proudly in a clean vertical  line on each side they worked well on the aesthetic side too.
Stairs, wood with gravel infill.
The roughly placed boulders on the other hand required a bit of care in foot placement, especially in shaded steep areas where they are covered in moss.
Stony path
The Japanese toad is not a pretty sight. Like their cousin in Australia - the cane toad they are toxic and large. We came across a nesting area where they were busy in the process of mating and producing huge amounts of eggs.  Interesting this one where it takes two blokes to do the job !
Japanese toad.
We arrived at dusk in ever increasing rain to Hongu Taisha. This is a major pilgrimage destination. As large and extensive as it is, for me the small shrines on the lead up journey were more interesting. Maybe it was the fence and formality that didn't sell me.
Hongu Taisha
We did not linger for too long as we still had a few kilometers to travel to get to our accommodation. I was informed in 'that' tone that it is time to leave .

Fortunately the village was down hill , along the street to the end and a bit to the right. Sounds easy ! It wasn't so easy as the place was tucked in out of the village slightly and it was dark. It took us a couple of door knocking exercises to get it right. Worth it though. We were welcomed with a smile and were very pleased with the quality of the room. 
 
A bit of a downer was that we did not have a meal organized. Being a bit frazzled and somewhat wet, Steph was in no mood to go out to a restaurant either. I wasn't going to let that beat us though and went out again to buy some food at a grocer. A sumptuous meal was soon prepared.  The trial of the day was soon forgotten, especially with the Japanese cheesecake I bought for dessert - a divine cake designed to uplift the spirits in situations like this !

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