Hiya
2025年9月21日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
I'm out of shape (physically and mentally) but - we're back baby! I've come to Japan to become a dual pilgrim. The Kumano Kodo is linked with Camino de Santiago as UNESCO recognised ways to fart aboutもっと詳しく
Steep innit
2025年9月21日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
A measly four kilometres of walking today, which I've spent the last few months quietly writing off without ever having looked at the map. Quite a bit of elevation in the first kilometre it turns out.もっと詳しく
Vapes only
2025年9月21日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Outside Takahara
2025年9月21日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
With not much left to go we came out of the woods into rural back roads, sweetly adorned and with incredible views of the valley. At the edge of our destination town, a lovely shrine.
Rest stop
2025年9月21日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
Made it! This is the rest stop in Takahara, it has a vending machine, toilet, pay phone, little stall shop, and most critically, cat. Also has views out the wazoo. We got a cold drink and relaxed inもっと詳しく
Full board
2025年9月21日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Dinner, breakfast and lunch included, Guest House Noko Noko is topping off a pretty unbelievable day. I'm so knackered I might just have a little kip on my keyboard. More as it happens my loves, rollもっと詳しく
Ohayo gozaimasu
2025年9月22日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Clocked a cat within three metres of the door on our morning walk, VERY good start, you can see him there crouching in the garden - didn't want a bar of us but then maybe he'd just got up and who canもっと詳しく
Takahara to Chikatsuyu
2025年9月22日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
We had to do a bit of planning before this trip, but I'd emphasise that it focused on logistics rather than experience, leaving lots of room for surprise and delight.
Amongst the logistics was anもっと詳しく
Pocari sweat time
2025年9月22日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
We got into town at 1.30, and couldn't check in until 3 but mooched happily down to the little shop zone and river, which the woman running Noko Noko said was beautiful and she's right.
The river
2025年9月22日, 日本 ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Absolutely lousy with dragonflies! We sat on the rocks with our feet in the water and read their Wikipedia page. They're territorial apparently, but they weren't bothered by us.
Happiness Annex #3
2025年9月23日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
We carved up the dates and booked half each, so the first few nights are a complete surprise to James and I'll get that joy later on. I'm starting off WELL, just quietly. We soaked ourselves in aもっと詳しく
Breakfast and some paper
2025年9月23日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Included in our accommodation was a voucher for breakfast and a lunchbox at a nearby cafe, the latter particularly useful when you're walking through the forest. It was charming and cluttered and weもっと詳しく
Chikatsuyu to Hongu pt.1
2025年9月23日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Big'un today, so we got cracking after only one (1) nervous wee each. Started with three kilometres to T-oji that we would have walked yesterday had there been any accommodation available, andもっと詳しく
Chikatsuyu to Hongu pt.2
2025年9月23日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
The plod continued.
Mountain crab et. al.
2025年9月23日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
Snake. Monkey. Hornet. Frog. Dog. Spider. Snail. All seen today, all photographed at extremely close range by the 8 year old boy I'm travelling with (except monkey). Yet nothing prepared us - nothingもっと詳しく
Bear based friendship
2025年9月23日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
A few hours into the day we pulled over to yield to a tiny woman motoring up behind us at alarming pace, bear bell tinkling at her hip. We'd seen her earlier at a shrine, and were on smiling terms.もっと詳しく
Chikatsuyu to Hongu pt.3
2025年9月23日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
After crab shrine (this trip might turn into BC and AC) it was rural roads then very sandy trails until reaching Hongu. Some clever people had set out the very roadside stalls selling drinks etc I'dもっと詳しく
Hongu Taisha
2025年9月23日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
This is the first of the three major shrines that make up the Kumano Kodo, it's very impressive. Please google it. Coming into town a man pulled his Audi over (unusual to see European cars here, muchもっと詳しく
Blue Sky Guest House
2025年9月23日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
More goals kicked by L. Magill. She's looking good for the Brownlow. Stool in the shower got a workout, we were cooked.
Dual pilgrim
2025年9月24日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
The Camino in Spain and the Kumano Kodo in Japan are really chummy. That relationship is way more pronounced on this end, where the opportunity to be a dual pilgrim is made clear from the outset. Dualもっと詳しく
Hongu to Yunomine Onsen
2025年9月24日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
To allow for a sleep in, breakfast, dual pilgrimage registration, looking properly at the main shrine, and a bit of recovery, today's walk was a mere 2.5km to nearby spa town Yunomine Onsen. Turns outもっと詳しく
First noodles of trip
2025年9月24日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
Today is the first day we're on our own for lunch and haven't we done well here. Two bowls of udon, mine with an egg and fish cakes, James' with ume (salted plum) which just about blew his ears off.
Onsen tamago
2025年9月24日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
There's a little hut in the middle of the hot spring river here, and it houses the Tsubo-yu, the only UNESCO listed bathhouse in the world. It fits one or two people, the water is up to 91 degrees andもっと詳しく
Yunomine Onsen
2025年9月24日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
Rest of the town absolutely fuggo, isn't it. It absolutely has a scent though. Worryingly, we can't notice it as much as before, which must mean we have taken it on and reek of egg.
Pardon
2025年9月24日, 日本 ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
We're staying at a Minshuku tonight, which are a type of family-run bed and breakfast common in rural/coastal areas and spa towns.
It's a big house essentially, and it has three guestrooms, occupiedもっと詳しく
旅行者
WOW! Did you eat the fish, tuna is it, raw? Just as well you work up an appetite!!
旅行者
Chuckle 🤭
旅行者Can't wait to follow this pilgrimage, love your writing Lexie 😍
旅行者Okay I am starting here at the beginning and am definitely not viewing on work-time! Prepare for many notifications!
旅行者🥰🥰🥰🥰