CHIKATSUYU TO KUMANO HONGU TAISHA SHRINE
Elevation Gain: 4012 feet 12.79 miles
February 18, 2025
Suzanne walks over bridge covered in overnight snow
With a fresh dusting of snow, we could see we were only the second pilgrims to add our footprints to the Kumano Kodō this day. Like yesterday, the trail began its ascent with rugged steps of worn wooden logs, exposed tree roots that snaked across the path, salad plate-sized river rocks cemented into place, or steps carved into the bedrock.
Steps can be made of anything, logs, stone, exposed tree roots, or carved into bedrock.
The first three miles rise from 500 to 3443 ft, which only took us 90 minutes, so we knew that today’s ambition of reaching theHongu Tiasha Shrine before it closed felt doable. It could have been a 15-mile day, but Suzanne had found a bus that avoided the first 3 miles of road walk if we could catch the 7:23 a.m.bus.
Comparing the Kumano Kodō to the Colorado Trail
Jessica Stone, from TheTrek, wondered how the Kumano Kodo (KK) compared to other trails I’ve hiked. Since I’m halfway through The Colorado Trail (CT), I’ll compare/contrast these trails. Both KK and CT have significant elevation gains, but the KK has fewer “oh wow” views. The KK has more public bathrooms. Both trails are in great shape and occasionally meander through the ruins of abandoned villages where people once lived. There is less litter on the KK, but absolutely zero trash cans, but 100s of signs warning not to leave trash there. The KK has a much quieter airspace, with no jet engines from DIA that are just loud enough to break the silence of the wilderness. The CT has lots of surface water (except segment 2), and while the KK guidebooks assured us there was plenty of public water, this has not been our experience. The water we have is the water we have carried from the morning or from vending machines. At least some of that may be due to the fact that we are walking the KK in February, and some taps are closed for the season.
To all tourists Please do not throw garbage here.
Fool Me Once, Shame on You
Not to repeat yesterday’s experiment in human suffering, confirming what my father would say “There is no such thing as cold weather, just underdressed people,” today we are anything but underdressed. It is in the 50s when we started and like yesterday I’m already overheating and beginning to shed layers. Suzanne warns me “Don’t you even think about taking off your base layers Mr. Buchele.” Instead, I stuff my puffy and keffiyeh in the trunk (my backpack’s outer pocket). She was right (of course). Almost like clockwork an hour later a stiff wind rushed up from the valley floor and soon it’s a windy 38° F. No fooling me twice, I think, as I pull out puffy and keffiyeh from the trunk and stay warm.
Warm, but an eyesore, we are walking versions of the Michelin Man and the Pillsbury Doughboy with our puffys, vests, hats, scarves, and gloves, proving what my mom would say: Warmth has no fashion.
A Custom Called Kiribi
It didn’t seem this cold while our hosts waited outside to say goodbye. I’m outside with them, but Suzanne isn’t. Our host is nervous, the bus comes in 10 minutes. She calculates the distance to the bus stop, our walking speed, and the time left. “Babachan ganbatte” she mutters taping on the window. Babachan, the familiar for grandmother, and ganbatte, meaning “you can do it” or “do your best”. I recognize this and understand enough to be surprised she uses the familiar babachan, instead of the more formal okasan, which is how we address our son-in-law’s mother. Later Suzanne cringes when I call her babachan and that is when I learn of last night’s mother/grandmother bonding over photos of our grandkids while I was soaking.
For good luck, our host performs kiribi,by striking a stone with steel so that sparks fall on our backs.
For good luck, our host uses a strike-a-light to shower my back with sparks. The Japan Times explains it is “a custom calledkiribi,in which you send someone off by striking a stone with steel so that sparks fall on their back. The person could be departing on a long journey or just leaving for a day of work, but the sparks are supposed to keep the person safe from harm or injury.
Suzanne comes out and our host quickly sparks her too. It was a Zoroastrian belief that fire helps purity, and this belief was assimilated into Buddhism, which spread to Japan in the 8th century. Over time, the Japanese came to believe that sparks could also drive away evil and bad luck. We’re going to need it, as today Suzanne has planned an ambitious day of 12 miles in under nine hours, and her ankle is still bothering her.
12 Miles isn’t That Far Unless…
Now hiking 12 miles in nine hours may not sound like much, but add in over 4000 ft in elevation gain and for these two 60+ Texpats (Texans who live outside of Texas), it is a challenge. Point of reference yesterday, we averaged about 1 mi/hour. We are on vacation, after all.
A dusting of fresh snow on the trails this morning
The first 3 miles of road walk are via bus, but soon we’re walking through a winter wonderland of freshly fallen snow. The trail isn’t slippery, and the day isn’t yet cold; it’s a pleasant hike through tall Japanese Cedars gently swaying, as the snow falls in clumps from their canopy.
As we move deeper into the forest, I notice how the pictures I snap are almost devoid of the longer light-frequency colors. My eyes see deep reds and browns but in my photos, those colors are washed out.
See if you can find Steve on the path between Japanese Cedars.
Our First Buddhist Temple
We take a break at one of the first Buddhist Temples I’ve noticed. How do I know it’s Buddhist instead of Shinto? It has a fat Buddha-like Jizu with a red bandana. The sign tells us this Jizu was moved here to protect pilgrims from the ghosts of those who had died along the way, perhaps, because they had no Jizu to protect them?
A dragon fills the hand-washing station with very cold water.
Rather than a traditional offering, Suzanne picked up much of the trash around the temple, and discreetly added it to my trash bag.
An offering of two bottles of “One Cup Sake”; apparently, the Jizu has saved the one on the left for later.
A Detour Through the Female Side of the Mountain, and a Landslide
Most of the day we have been walking the detour route of the KK on the female slope of the mountain, rerouted after the male slope was damaged by a typhoon in 2011. This gives me a chance to compare this newer trail with the 1700-year-old one we have been on. The detour occasionally follows logging roads, so no longer single track, and we walk side-by-side holding hands.
One lone tree survived the landslide in 2011
The forest comes to an opening and we enter a huge treeless clearing created by a landslide. Sun and blue sky usually obscured by the canopy now shines intensely, and I feel myself warming up. When the detour rejoins the old way I notice how deeply the original route has worn into the forest floor. Trees line each side of the path as if they have grown there to prevent our path from spreading, or meandering.
Look how deeply the Kumano Kodō has cut this path. It’s about 3′ deep
Forest Bathing and a Haiku
I feel such a peace in this forest, a perfection of ordered randomness. My eyes search for patterns in the trees, but find none but moss-covered rocks, fallen trees decaying, and puddles of light that found their way past the canopy. I see why they call it forest bathing, and we are in a deep soak.
I’ve never been one for poetry, but today’s forest bathing inspired each of us, unknown to the other, to compose a haiku:
Cedar lined paths
Guide our Kumono journey
Silence saying much
(Suzanne’s haiku, in the conclusion to this day’s story)
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2010/12/16/reference/kiribi/
