Hiking the Kumano Kodo – Katsuura to Ishiyama

Backpacking, Flashpacking, Hiking, Japan, Travel, , , , , ,

5/19 – Our last hiking day dawned grey and rainy, but a little weather would not keep us from our appointed hike! We took a bus from Katsuura to Daimon Zaka, a stone stairway that led up to the Nachi Taisha, our third Shinto shrine.

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We entered the torii gate, and kept climbing upwards.
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The Grand Shrine:
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Do fish care if it’s raining? Sorry for the blurry pix – blame the weather!image

The site contained a huge, old spirit tree, covered with moss:
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We spent the morning with Max, from Quebec:image

Right next to the Shinto shrine was a Buddhist temple. One stop shopping for the religion of your choice – the Japanese often incorporate beliefs from both.image

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We continued walking, downhill now, past a three-storied pagoda, on our way to the Nachi Waterfall, which is also a sacred site. It was beautiful in the mist.image

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Then it was time to walk back up the hill to catch a bus back to Kii-Katsuura, and a train to The Kyoto suburb of Ishiyama, where we are spending the night. Sorry again for blurry pix.image

This is the end of our Kumano Kodo adventure. If you ever get the opportunity, it is a beautiful journey, customizable based on how many days and how far you wish to walk. A damp, but lovely day!

5/20 – Today we were agenda-free, relaxing and catching up on our reading and blogging. We took a walk to see the shore of Lake Biwa.image

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Even here in the city, we find shrines:


This is Kwan Yin, goddess of Mercy:
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I’ve loved being in Japan, with its friendly, helpful people, polite manners, orderly queuing, and advanced technology toilet seats. It’s been great to visit
a “first-world” country again. Soon we will travel back to Osaka Kansai Airport for our flight back to Bangkok, then on Cambodia. Our next post will be from Siem Riep!

Hiking the Kumano Kodo – Yunomine Onsen to Shingu to Katsuura

Backpacking, Flashpacking, Hiking, Japan, Travel, , , , , , ,

5/18 – Took a bus this morning from Yunomine Onsen to Shingu, to take a ride in a traditional flat-bottomed boat used historically by pilgrims on the Kumano River to visit the Hayatama Taisha, the second of the three grand shrines. We donned life jackets and straw hats to get into the spirit.image
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We were the only gaijin (foreigners) on the boat, but our guide Kyoko-San translated most of the highlights for us.

We got out of the boat at a small island to touch “the monster’s spine”, assuring us of strength and long life.image
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It was a gorgeous morning for a boat ride.image

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Kyoko-San played a traditional flute as we drifted past the cliff faces in the clear turquoise water.image

We disembarked in Shingu, and walked toward the Hayatama Taisha. We were surprised that the Japanese tourists opted to get on a bus back to the station instead. We entered at the torii gate. image
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Near the Hayatama Taisha is a long flight of rock steps up Mount Gongen, where runners holding torches race during the annual fire festival. Can’t imagine racing up these steps in the dark…imageimage

The steps lead up to a small shrine at a sacred rock where the three deities are believed to have come down to earth.

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We watched many come to pray and meditate here.image

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The overlook gave us a great view of the city below, and the Pacific Ocean beyond.image

We took a short train ride to Kii-Katsuura, where we spent the night in a western hotel. Yay for mattresses! Tomorrow we will visit our third shrine.

Hiking the Kumano Kodo – Yunomine Onsen

Flashpacking, Hiking, Japan, Travel, , ,

5/16 – Well, there’s nothing to describe the experience of soaking in a hot, spring-fed sulphur-rich bath. I felt like a boiled egg, and smelled like one too! The water was so hot that I had to mix some cold tap water into the bath before I could get in (no other ladies present at the time). Unfortunately, the tap water comes from the spring too, so there was no way to rinse off the sulphur smell. We were assured that the water was drinkable, and even brushed our teeth with it – one can get used to anything!

This guesthouse is very much like our last, with thin futons, bean pillows and fish for supper and breakfast. I’m told that the good posture of the Japanese is thanks to thin futons. With a nod to the Western guests, our breakfast included instant coffee, and also ham and eggs, eaten with chopsticks, of course!image

We are staying at Yunomine Onsen for three nights, as the Kumono Kodo trail offers several challenging (that means steep) hikes in this area. image

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Our hostess packed us a lunch to eat along the trail. What could it be?image

Yummy! Three rice balls – one wrapped in nori (seaweed), one wrapped in mustard leaves, and pickled squash.image

This area is the home of the Shinto Hongu Taisha shrine. It is the first of the three major shrines we will visit this week. It boasts the largest torii (shrine entrance gate) in Japan. Here’s our first glimpse of the torii from atop the mountain. Can you spot it?:image

Here’s the gate up close: image

The stairway to the shrine (up and up again!):image

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And the shrine itself. The faithful queue up to ring a bell, clap their hands together in a rhythmic pattern, and offer a silent or spoken prayer.image

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The symbol of this shrine is the three-legged crow, with one leg to represent each of the three major deities.image

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Prayers are written on paper or wood, and hung at the shrine.image

We hiked back past flooded rice fields with newly planted seedlings.image

Back at our guesthouse, we enjoyed another bath and changed into our matching kimonos. It’s fun to dress alike!
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We shared supper conversation with Hank and Jose from the Netherlands. Good supper and new friends!
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5/17 – Hiking in the other direction today. A bit rainy in the morning, which makes climbing slippery rocks even more exciting.image

We neglected to ask for a packed lunch today, so we thought we’d buy something to eat in town. Turns out the only items for sale were raw eggs sold in mesh bags. image

The shopkeeper conveyed to us with no English that we were to tie a rope to the bag and lower the eggs into the hot spring to cook them. He even provided an origami basket to collect the shells, and a packet of salt. With some canned coffee, the best lunch we’ve had all week!image

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A fine hiking day.

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Hiking the Kumano Kodo – Chikatsuyu to Yunomine Onsen

Backpacking, Flashpacking, Hiking, Japan, Travel, , , ,

5/15 – A beautiful, sunny day for a hike.  We stopped in at the Cultural Center at the beginning of today’s walk, and discovered an old, familiar friend – the Camino shell!  Turns out that Tanabe and Santiago de Compostela are sister cities; each hosting a pilgrimage.

Today we saw some beautiful mountains:image

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Serene wooded paths:

And little shrines along the paths:

Beautiful trees and flowers:image

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We saw the cultivation of tea:

We walked through an area known for folk wood carvings, which were displayed in front of many houses.

We knew we were near Yunomine Onsen when we could smell the sulphur in the air. A natural hot spring runs through the town, and we are staying three nights at small guesthouses right on the spring, with deep hot-water baths. A new experience! image

Hiking the Kumano Kodo – Takahara to Chikatsuyu

Backpacking, Flashpacking, Hiking, Japan, Travel, , , ,

5/14 – The Takahara Lodge is famous for being the place to witness the Mist on the Mountain.  What wonderful grace that the mist greeted us when we arose in the morning, right outside our bedroom window!image image image

Within in a half hour, the sun was up, and the mist was gone.image

After a wonderful breakfast that included eating a whole fish – eyes, tail, little bones and all – we set out for our day’s walk. Two couples from Australia kept us company for part of the way. We passed flooded fields with newly planted rice seedlings.image

The trail was shady and wooded for most of the day.

There were musical streams:

And we stopped to admire the many small shrines and statues called Jizo that lined the trail. Jizo are bodhisattva who protect travelers, women and children.

By mid afternoon we arrived at our new home, the Nakano Guesthouse.image

Here we got a taste of true Japanese living. Of course, we removed our shoes at the door, and were given a pair of house slippers. The slippers had to be removed at the door to our room, as only bare feet walk on the tatami mats. When using the bathroom, special bathroom slippers must be worn. It got confusing pretty quickly. I’m sure I offended within minutes of our arrival. This was our room.image

After sitting on the cushions to have some tea, we moved the table aside and pulled our futons out of the closet to make up our beds. I’m too old to sleep on the floor! The little pillows were hard and filled with beans. We had a traditional supper, also sitting on the floor. We chatted with Jenna from Canada, a young girl traveling solo. After about 20 minutes my legs fell asleep, but the food was wonderful!image

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Kyoto, Japan to Tanabe, Japan – the Kumano Kodo

Backpacking, Flashpacking, Hiking, Japan, Travel, , , , , ,

5/13 – Got an early start this morning to catch the 8:36 train to Kii-Tanabe. The Kyoto train station was busy on a weekday morning. image
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When our train was called, everyone lined up in two rows, just like it said on the sign. The Japanese are an orderly people. I felt badly for the businessmen, dressed in their identical black suits and white shirts. With the glum looks on their faces, it was easy to imagine they were all on their way to an undertakers convention!

We passed some beautiful beaches on the way, with swimmers and surfers.image

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Two and a half hours later, we arrived at Kii-Tanabe, had a yummy pork and noodle soup lunch, and waited for a bus to Takijiri, where our Kumano Kodo hike began.imageimage

Here’s what you do while waiting for the bus.

It was already mid-afternoon by the time we arrived, so it was nice that the day’s hike was planned for only 3.7km/ 2.3mi. Here is the entrance to the trail. We will walk to visit three major Shinto shrines this week.image
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Pilgrims ritually wash themselves at the beginning of the walk.image

The first part of the hike was totally uphill – climbing, climbing, then climbing some more! image

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We saw several small shrines in the forest,which is what the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage is all about.  Several were Jizo, or Buddhist bodhisattva, which help travelers to attain enlightenment.  The mixture of Buddhist and Shinto symbols is common in Japan.

We arrived at the Takahara Lodge at 4:30pm and were welcomed by the delightful owner. I had my very first Japanese communal bath – men and women bathe separately here. After sitting down on a little stool to shampoo and wash, we climbed into a deep pool, lined with stones, for a hot soak. It was lovely!image

We went down to supper freshly washed and wearing our kimonos. The meal was amazing, with little bites of different vegetables, sashimi, grilled fish and Kobe beef cooked at the table, so tender it just melted in your mouth. Fruit sorbet for dessert. So delicious!image

We met two couples from Australia who will be walking our route tomorrow. We retired to our room with the beautiful view of the mountainside. Tomorrow is a hiking day! 

 

   

  

Bangkok, Thailand to Osaka, Japan to Kyoto, Japan

Backpacking, Japan, Thailand, Travel, , , , , ,

5/9 – Time to boogie out of Bangkok. Bangkok is an airport hub, with less-expensive flights than can be had out of northern Thailand, which is why we traveled here. Today we fly to Osaka, Japan, for our long-awaited Kumano Kodo pilgrimage hike. We had originally planned this hike for earlier in the spring, but delayed it as we waited for my broken arm to heal. Happy to say, after two weeks of daily swim therapy in Pai, my shoulder is almost good as new, and I’m ready to hike. Japan had a cold, wet spring, so it is just as well that we waited to travel.

After our wonderful experience with Bangkok Air, I had an expectation that we would be given a meal on our 5 hour Air Asia flight – no such luck. We had to purchase our entree (the size of a cell phone) and water, accepting what was left when the meals we wanted were sold out. No movie, no nothing. image Chicken with one carrot and one potato.

We arrived at Osaka at 10:30pm, and queued to have our fingerprints and photos taken, then again for baggage inspection. The two guys in front of us had their baggage opened and spread out for all to see, but they let us walk on through (guess we don’t fit the drug smuggler profile). There were lots of nervous, agitated people in line, as the last bus and metro train leave at 11:30pm, and then all mass transportation shuts down until morning. We cleared the last queue just at 11:30, and congratulated ourselves for booking a room at the airport hotel, although the cost for one night is what we usually spend for a week’s lodging…

All the airport restaurants were closed, but we found a 24 hour Burger King, so we chowed down on our first Whoppers in over a year. It was served at table, with complimentary water and much bowing. After we finished every bite, we weren’t hungry anymore.

Our room was tiny, but the bed was soft, and we slept like the dead. We didn’t wake up until after 9am – very unusual for us. The shower was strong and hot. What do I love about Japan? You can drink the tap water, and plug your chargers right into the wall without an adapter! I usually have to rotate charging my iPad, phone and camera batteries, but here I can charge them all at the same time!

We found a restaurant full of folks eating breakfast, so figured this would be a good place to eat. The woman behind the counter motioned us over to a machine in the corner, where we could select what we wanted to eat by pressing a button, pay, then receive a ticket to present for our food. We couldn’t figure out how the machine worked, but a man came in, and we watched him navigate it, then followed suit.  (Put in money first, and available selections will light up.)image

Not sure what I ordered, but I ate it all – after using spoon and fork in Thailand, we are back to using chopsticks here.

After checking out at noon, we walked to the train station for our ride to Kyoto. Once again, there was a machine with only Japanese characters that had to be navigated to give us our tickets. Luckily, the nice man in front of us helped us, and showed us which track was ours. 90 minutes later, we were in Kyoto!image

We settled in at a nice apartment with a kitchen and a washing machine, so we are getting all our clothes clean while we are here. Know what else I love about Japan? Not only does the toilet seat heat up for your comfort, and make the sound of a babbling brook for those with shy bladders, and a refreshing warm rinse available when your business is complete (separate buttons aimed for ladies #1, or #2), along with a discreet fan feature, but after flushing, the clean water filling the tank is presented so you do not waste water turning on the sink to wash your hands! I’m definitely getting one of these babies when I get home!image

We met Jim’s friend and fellow college professor Carl for supper, for lovely food and to catch up on old times. A long and wonderful day!image

Bangkok, Thailand – the Grand Palace and the Amulet Market

Thailand, Travel, , ,

5/8 – We are only in Bangkok for a few days, and can’t hope to see all that the city has to offer. Jim has been here many times during his army years, and his years teaching in Asia.  This is what I would call a gritty city – full of smells and packed with people. The image above was spray painted on a roll-up aluminum door. image

The sidewalks are lined with food and trinket vendors so that you can only walk single file, and have to watch not to get burned on a steaming wok or flaming hibachi.  Great food, though, any time of the day or night!image

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Jim recommended that we see the Grand Palace, which contains the Emerald Buddha. We have already been to several places in Laos and northern Thailand where the Emerald Buddha used to reside Before King Rama I moved it to Bangkok in the 1700s, so it will be nice to finally see it and determine what all the fuss is about. The Palace was within walking distance, across a busy highway adorned with pictures of the Queen(?) and lots of elephants. Did I mention, it was HOT? image image image

The Palace was jam packed with tourists.  After covering arms and knees (bring a shawl or rent one), we went with the foreigners…image

The Grand Palace is a series of ornate buildings, most of which can only be viewed from the outside.

The exception was the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha, where we removed our shoes and joined the throng paying homage. The statue is actually made of jade, but the first monk who discovered it, covered with plaster in the 1400s, saw a glimmer of green under a chip on its nose, and mistakenly thought it was made of emerald. The statue wears a different outfit for each of the three seasons, and it is dressed by a royal official for the Hot, the Wet and the Dry. This is the Hot. There were no pix allowed inside, so here is one courtesy of Google images:
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My favorite images are of all the guardians of the temple:image

We visited the Amulet Market, where Buddhists come to purchase tokens containing images of the Buddha, famous monks, or bodhisattvas. Some are as small as a dime, and some are full size statues, carved, cast, painted or photographed. Vendors line several streets offering their wares, and men with magnifying glasses pore over bins full of small amulets, looking for one that may be an antique, rare, or worth lots of money. I guess this is the Thai equivalent of stamp collecting.

Not knowing which to select, we followed some monks and bought the same kind they were buying. Monks should know, right?image

On our walk home, we saw Mother Earth squeezing her hair to give water to the world. Now you know!image

Bangkok, Thailand – Farang Scam!

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In Bangkok at 12 o’clock they foam at the mouth and run
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. – Noel Coward

5/7 – After a month in northern Thailand where it’s pretty darn hot, we’re now in southern Thailand where it’s REALLY hot. Bangkok is a big city, known for its canals, (the Venice of the East), Buddhist temples and for scamming Farang (Westerners). Although we’ve been traveling for a while and consider ourselves fairly savvy, we got scammed here on our first day! Here’s our cautionary tale.

As we walked toward the Amulet Market early in the morning (trying to beat the heat, but it was already 85 and climbing) a distinguished looking and well-spoken gentlemen stepped up to advise us that today was a holiday and the markets were closed. Another man in a security uniform confirmed this.  The nice gentleman, who said he was a college professor, went on to tell us that if we needed something to do instead, he would suggest a wonderful boat ride through the canals of Bangkok that could be had for a special price during the holiday (the King’s birthday!) He warned us not to use a tuk-tuk with red or blue numbers, which would overcharge us, but only ones with a white and yellow sign. As he said this, a tuk-tuk with a white and yellow sign pulled up to the curb, and the gentleman told the driver to take us to the dock for 20 baht (60 cents). As you are reading this, you must smell a fish, but he was so smooth and it happened so quickly, we just went along. He wanted no money, didn’t seem to be selling anything, and who could argue with the price of the taxi?

At the dock, the driver got out (another red flag we missed – when does a cab driver ever leave his cab?) and introduced us to another gentleman who walked us down to the water’s edge just as a gondola (just like in Venice!) pulled up. Quick as you can say Bob’s your uncle, we were motoring away on a private gondola, our wallet lighter by 2000 baht (about $60.00). There was no coercion, and we could have refused to get in the boat. We did get a very nice hour-long tour of the canals, but found out when we disembarked that a) it was not the King’s birthday, b) all the markets were indeed open, and c) we paid double what we should have for the boat ride. Poor dumb Farang! Here are our expensive canal pix:image Our gondola

imageimageimageLots of flowers

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imageThe Royal Palace in the distance

Walking back to our hotel, an English couple stopped us and asked if the Royal Palace was closed for the holiday. They had been persuaded by the same gentleman, but had sense enough to walk away. As we passed the spot where we had encountered him earlier, he was speaking earnestly with a French couple. When we approached and told the couple not to listen to him, the security guards ran up and tried to shoo us off – everyone gets a cut of this deal!

Of course when we returned to our room and googled Bangkok Scams, the first one that came up was “the __________ is closed for the holiday.”  Variations are used to sell fake gems, overpriced taxi rides, extract extra money for visas, and who knows what else.  Shame on us for not doing our research before setting out.  A smooth operation –  at least we got to see the canals!