Owase to Kata

Keen to luxuriate in our rest day, we'd planned to walk the trail via a big Kumano Kodo cultural centre to the next station, then rather than undertake a large mountain pass, catch the train. Depending where you are on the line, they run about 7am, 9am, 12pm, 4pm and 6pm, which is amazing, but it does leave gaps.

We got to the station for the midday service and had a decision to make about how far to go. The two stops before the one closest to our accommodation looked like they were in teeny towns, and while one of them had a beach and I was fanging for a swim, we figured more time in the relatively larger Kata, and our ryokan (traditional inn) would be a good call.Read more