Hiking the KUMANO KODO in JAPAN | NAKAHECHI ROUTE | PART ONE 

Thank you! We loved our time there!

I’m so happy to hear you found some value in the video! I really enjoyed putting it together 😀 I can only speak to the Nakahechi route, but the signage was excellent. There’s a marker every half kilometer, and it’s well traveled and well groomed, so if by some happenstance you ended up off the trail, it wouldn’t take long to realize it. There are also plenty of signs that say “Kumano Kodo” or “NOT Kumano Kodo.” The maps from Tanabe Tourism were also extremely handy to have along. We did prebook our accommodations, and that is what is recommended for this trail due to limited availability and cultural politeness. We used the Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau website to pre-book our accommodations and meals and were really happy with our experience going through them. Most people spoke limited English or no English, and if you have a language translator on your phone it can be very handy. And hiking from Hongu to Nachi some of the signs were only in Japanese, so we used our Google Translate app to read them. Good luck with your planning!! 😀

@@runawaywithliz Thank you so much for your detailed response, Liz😃. Really appreciate it. This gives me more confidence to do it solo. I have done the Camino De Santiago solo and was able to do it because of very well-marked routes. I had Google Translator in Spain too, it is very handy. As I start to plan, I may ping back with further questions. Keep Vlogging and keep sharing your adventures. 💞

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you! The yukata was so comfy, I wish all hotels offered them!

Thank you, I'm happy you enjoyed it! It really was challenging, but we also had a great time too!! It's a beautiful trail.

Hello! We hiked it at the very beginning of October. We took 5 nights to do it. But our first day was only around 5k/3 miles, so if we'd stayed in Kii-Tanabe rather than Osaka I think it could have been done in 4 nights!

How awesome! I hope it stays dry for you too! I'm from Minnesota, so I will almost always take cold over rain! There's not much for flat stretches no matter which direction you go, I think, especially the first and last days, and your last descent into Takijiri might be a doozy! It was pretty technical...lots of rocks and roots. I'd have hiking poles and shoes/boots with good ankle support, for sure, though you probably already have those covered! I hope you have a blast! It's a cool hike!!

I want to say it was 1000 yen total for two bags for 6 nights, but it was definitely no more than 2000 yen. The costs vary by bag size. (It’s probably listed on the website for DAIKOKU LOCKER, but if not, if you just look it up on Google the storefront images have the bag sizes and prices.) We went with DAIKOKU not just because it was cheaper than other options we’d seen-though it was considerably cheaper-but also because when we finished the hike we could go straight to Osaka and onward to Kyoto and not have to stop in Kii-Tanabe again.

Sure! In Takahara we stayed at Keyaki, in Chikatsuyu we stayed at Guesthouse Housen, and in Yunomine Onsen we stayed at Ryokan Adumaya.