Kata to Kumano pt.2

Tomorrow is flat as a tack along the water, so we took a moment to celebrate and enjoy Matsumoto, our last pass baby! Iseji goes up and over to Kumano City, but at the top there's another trail that takes you a less direct way via the coast and a UNESCO site the manager and Norma both encouraged us to visit. If we didn't divert we could walk out of town to look at it later, but we had the legs and the mood was high so swing a left, we're going via Onigajo.

A Japanese woman's singing voice was getting closer, and we hung back in the trees to not startle the older group in the pagoda taking a rest listening to their tour guide perform a local folk song. When she'd stopped we tried to sneak past with some smiley waves, but their leader spoke English and in the kindest way possible, demanded we join them.

We nestled in amongst the eight or so Japanese, and were promptly handed a frozen towel from a plastic bag and urged to unroll it and put it on our necks to cool and pass away in relief. In a bandana and bumbag, the tour guide launched into a new folk song with, thankfully, a very simple clapping accompaniment.

After that it was time to interrogate the newbies and the reaction to hearing we're Tasmanian is a credit to the tourism industry of the state I feel - they freaked OUT. Why are we here in this rural area? Why would we leave Tasmania with its devils and large lobster? How long are we here?

We explained we're walking Kumano Kodo for three weeks and gestured to the insane view behind us as evidence of why, and they freaked out again once she translated, booming low sincere ARIGATOs at us and gasping. We took a photo all together, every one of them shook our hands, and then toddled off into the trees, delighted when I suggested we'd see them in Tasmania. SWEETIE PIES.Read more