Hi everyone!
A friend and I are planning to hike part of the Kumano Kodo in June.
Our plan is to start at Koyasan, take the Kohechi route to Totsukawa where we will link up with the Nakahechi route and follow that through to to Kumano Kongu Taisha.
Overview og areas we are planning to stay:
Day 1 – Koyasan
Day 2 – Omato
Day 3 – Miuragechi
Day 4 – Totsukawa Onsen
Day 5 – Kumano Hongu Taisha/Yunomina Onsen
Day 6 – Koguchi
Day 7 – End at Kumano Nachi Taisha
Has anyone does this path before? How was it?We’d love to know your thoughts on the terrain, daily distances and places to stay each night.
We are particularly struggling to find info on and accom options for the Kohechi section – so any help there would be great!
Also, has anyone had a good experience with luggage transfer? We would like to send our main luggage from Koyasan to our last Ryokan/Minshuku of the walk.
Thanks in advance!!
3 comments
Sigh, doing Kohechi in June is a very, very bad idea. June is monsoon (rainy) season in Japan and the area is prone to landslides. It does require proper hiking gear and most of it is outside cell coverage areas, so any required help will not be forthcoming (as in – it will take number of hours to reach area from where you could call for help).
The trail requires you to carry your own food and water supply since there are no real points (outside a couple of villages), when you could re-supply and most of the accommodation options are minshukus, which can only be booked by calling them directly.
Only Nakahechi, and it was near the end of hiking season. I did the hike in four days (staying in Nonaka, Yunomine Onsen, and Koguchi), and wished I had taken one more day.
It’s going to be hot in June.
Daily distances are fine for those two days of the Nakahechi. Definitely bring hiking poles, many of the rock staircases can be very slippery, especially the last two days, where it rained almost nonstop for me.
If you’re hiking to Kumano Hongu Taisha, them hiking to Yunomine via Dainichi-goe (beautiful hike, short but steep), it’s going to be a long day and you might want more time to check everything out, lest miss out on some cool things (museum, temple complex). Consider an extra day in Hongu Taisha, then head to Yunomine and soak in Tsuboyu or other hot springs.
The hike to Koguchi from Kumano Hongu Taisha and from Kumano Nachi Taisha are great.
If you’re really into getting the stamps on your “passport,” being your own ink pad. Some of the ones pretty far in can be dead/dry.
Had good experience with luggage transfer. Gave them out bags at the beginning and picked them up at the very end.
I did the Kohechi route 10 years ago. I brought a sleeping bag and stayed in an unmanned mountain hut on Obakodake. The route gave me serious leg cramps, and that’s coming from someone who completed Nakahechi with relative ease.
But if you’re fit and ready for an adventure in the wilderness, go for it. Several points along the way offer escapes / bus stops in the case of an emergency, though you may have to wait 2-3 hours for the next bus to come.