With a little time before we leave, we went to the Samurai museum. Fun presentation, with the option of dressing up as either a ninja or samurai to practice one’s sword or star throwing skills. Alas, we had a train to catch.
As we await the Haruka express to the airport, I feel we miss Kyoto already. Sayonara
Our last 2 nights in the Kumano area were spent at onsen or ryoko hotels, and the natural hot springs are at about 90 C. The cold water added makes soaking lovely.
The day after arriving back in Kyoto, we caught up with laundry 🧺 and arranged for rail passes for this week. Only 3 full days left in Japan and so much to see & learn.
We went to Hiroshima by train - visited the museum devoted to the history of the horrors that the atomic bomb unleashed in 1945. The peace flame will burn until there are no nuclear weapons on the planet. The remnants of a building near the epicenter is the atomic bomb dome. Such a sobering reminder that these weapons must never be used.
We made it to Chikatsuyu via train, then local bus through mountain roads; and found iced coffees. Our hosts that evening were a couple who had done 10 Camino walks in Spain. We shared the accommodation with a family from Singapore & spent the evening eating amazing food and fascinating conversation.
We hiked the final stretch to Hongu taisha; lovely weather, quiet woods & rock-hopping up and down. Great walk!
We took trains south out of Kyoto to arrive at Shimizu-Ura station on the west coast of the Kii peninsula. From there we walked up & down the mountain behind the town, and found that what was described as a 2 hour walk turned into a 4 hour strenuous hike.
These small trail shrines house small guardians along the way. They pre-date the introduction of Buddhist traditions in this area. We were met by a sign at the Fujishiro shrine, an auspicious site for the Kumano Kodo, that read “welcome Linda Jacobsen”. I was near exhaustion and ready to take a taxi, but found hope in the welcoming temple staff who gave us a brief tour, complete with a ceremony to wish us well on our journey. So humbling & adds meaning to our journey here.
We spent the night outside of Yuasa in the midst of orange groves, eating food prepared by our host.
Day 2: We adapted our plans to don our rain ponchos and ended up touring a black bamboo workshop, the Dojo-jo temple (birthplace of Kabuki), and the Kokokuji temple with a tour by one the monks. We were soaked & amazed. Photos below show a glimpse of the day ….
