Resources / Logistics Guide to Kumano Kodo

[andycohn]

My wife and I recently walked the Nakahechi trail of the Kumano Kodo. When we returned, I put together a Getting Started / How to / Logistics guide. My intent was not to describe the Kumano Kodo in any detail, but to answer the questions most people (i.e. me) would have in advance, and to introduce others to the resources most helpful for detailed planning. The chapter heads are as follows:

-- Extremely Brief Introduction: What Is the Kumano Kodo and Why This Guide?
-- Resource numero uno – Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau
--Resource numero due: Google Knows Everything
--Which Route Should I Travel / Stages?
--Getting to the Nakahechi
--Accommodations & Food (Plus Futons, Onsens and Yukatas)
--Stopping Places on the Trail
--Arranging Your Kumano Kodo
--Cost
--Navigating the Kumano Kodo: Signage and GPS
--Getting Your Merit Badge: The Dual Pilgrim Certificate
--Shipping Your Extra Crap
--When To Go
--Phones and Electronics
--Money in Japan
--Travel to Japan
--Travel within Japan
--Travel on the Kumano Kodo

The guide s attached. I'm also posting it in the Resources section

 

[Bradypus]

Thanks! Makes me want to go back and do it again!

 

[dfox]

FWIW: The video provides some Kumano Kodo's trail surface and elevation information.

 

[J.Patrick]

What a helpful and to the point guide.
Ever so grateful!

 

[Mearls]

My wife and I recently walked the Nakahechi trail of the Kumano Kodo. When we returned, I put together a Getting Started / How to / Logistics guide. My intent was not to describe the Kumano Kodo in any detail, but to answer the questions most people (i.e. me) would have in advance, and to introduce others to the resources most helpful for detailed planning. The chapter heads are as follows:

-- Extremely Brief Introduction: What Is the Kumano Kodo and Why This Guide?
-- Resource numero uno – Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau
--Resource numero due: Google Knows Everything
--Which Route Should I Travel / Stages?
--Getting to the Nakahechi
--Accommodations & Food (Plus Futons, Onsens and Yukatas)
--Stopping Places on the Trail
--Arranging Your Kumano Kodo
--Cost
--Navigating the Kumano Kodo: Signage and GPS
--Getting Your Merit Badge: The Dual Pilgrim Certificate
--Shipping Your Extra Crap
--When To Go
--Phones and Electronics
--Money in Japan
--Travel to Japan
--Travel within Japan
--Travel on the Kumano Kodo

The guide s attached. I'm also posting it in the Resources section

My son and I completed our first Camino in September and he’s been nudging me towards the Kodo. This guide is an answered prayer! Thank you so much for posting.

 

[KayfromUK]

That's great. I'm from Japan, but having lived in UK for a long time, I felt it was much easier to find the info. about Camino de Santiago. I have done a part of Kumano Kodo last autumn. Having done the Camino, I am hoping to get a dual certificate. That's the plan for my next visit to Japan.

 

[Bradypus]

That's great. I'm from Japan, but having lived in UK for a long time, I felt it was much easier to find the info. about Camino de Santiago.

I think that the local authorities who promote the Kumano Kodo are treading a very fine line. They are quite deliberately not going down the path which the Caminos have taken of encouraging ever increasing large numbers of low-budget walkers. No "pile it high and sell it cheap" approach. The background infrastructure for publishing information and processing bookings is quite modest and low-tech. Often accommodation is fully booked months in advance. So the route probably doesn't need very active promotion!

 

[MikeyC]

Thank you. I enjoyed reading that.
May I just add a couple of comments.

As you say, slippers are an essential but if you have large feet take your own. I have yet to stay anywhere in Japan which had slippers bigger than a size 8ish. It avoids any embarrassment on either side. (And sometimes there's another pair just for visiting the toilet!)

We also assumed the more upmarket hotels would take credit cards but this is not always the case. We once booked an expensive room in Yufuin with a private onsen, multi course dinner etc. At checkout I proffered a credit card and found out it was cash only. We just managed to scrape together enough to settle the bill. I now double check when booking and upon arrival.

 

[NamaMama]

Thank you for this. My husband and I are waking the KK next November. All of out accommodations are confirmed and booked.

 

[henrythedog]

Excellent guide; very readable. Thanks

 

[Daddyfrog]

My wife and I recently walked the Nakahechi trail of the Kumano Kodo. When we returned, I put together a Getting Started / How to / Logistics guide. My intent was not to describe the Kumano Kodo in any detail, but to answer the questions most people (i.e. me) would have in advance, and to introduce others to the resources most helpful for detailed planning.

Thanks. A useful primer!

 

[Lou Lulu]

Thank you so much. I have been thinking about doing Kumano Kodo for a while.

 

[KayfromUK]

Now, i've enjoyed reading it. I can add some tips:

• You can get cash from post office ATMs, as well as 7/11. Post office ATMs have limited hour as it only opens during the post office hours.
• If you are travelling around Japan, you can get Japan Rail Pass. With it, you can take any trains incl Shinkansen -bullet trains- and reserve it for free, except 2 commuter trains, Nozomi and Mizuho. But there are plenty of others running. I don't know about other countries but in the UK, there are more than one agents selling it online and there are differences in prices. It's a big bargain, otherwise, you have to pay separate fees for taking any express trains and seat reservations.
• The equivalent to What's App in Japan is 'Line', though I didn't use it to call hotels. I used my UK mobile to call my friends on 'Line'. Trains stations normally have wifi.
• Tattoos are banned in most of hot springs and public baths as they are typically worn by Yakuzas - Japanese Mafias.

 

[Former member 104756]

Great resource @andycohn

I walked the Nakahechi Trail in November 2019, as part of three weeks travelling in Japan. It was wonderful. Great memories of this challenging path, the glorious scenery, the FOOD and the warmth of the local people we met, especially in our home stays.

Regarding accommodation - we made our own bookings using the Kumàno Travel community online reservation system BUT it was slow, cumbersome and frustrating. Not a complaint, just a statement of fact. There were times when I almost gave up. But I also appreciate the reasons why it's so slow and cumbersome, including this as stated on the Kumano Travel home page. '... many of the accommodations in our community are small, family-owned establishments that do not use computers often.

Here's a link to the Kumano Travel Site.

https://www.kumano-travel.com/en

For those who want to make arrangements directly using the community reservation system as we did, I'd also recommend starting as soon as you know your preferred travel dates. One of the aspects of the system (at least when I used it) is you need to choose and receive confirmation of where you are staying, say, for night 1, in order to reserve night 2. The bookings are not in real time. Confirmations sometimes took 7-10 days and 40% of the time we were unable to stay in our first or even second choice. So, it was back to the drawing board. It took me weeks just to secure 5 nights accommodation.

Kumano Travel does offer self guided packages, where they will have made all the bookings but these are infrequent - there were only two dates in 2023. That would be a good ‘local’ option, if the dates happened to suit.

If we were to return to the KK, which we hope to do, I would probably try to coincide with the dates offered by Kumàno Travel or go with a self guided package with a provider such as Oku Japan as @andycohn did or Australian based Home Comforts Hiking which @dick bird mentioned on another thread.

 

[gollygolly]

FWIW: The video provides some Kumano Kodo's trail surface and elevation information.

Thanks … for the video and the memories

 

[NamaMama]

If you are travelling around Japan, you can get Japan Rail Pass. With it, you can take any trains incl Shinkansen -bullet trains- and reserve it for free, except 2 commuter trains, Nozomi and Mizuho. But there are plenty of others running. I don't know about other countries but in the UK, there are more than one agents selling it online and there are differences in prices. It's a big bargain, otherwise, you have to pay separate fees for taking any express trains and seat reservations.

According to my recent research, the Japan Rail Pass price increased 70% in October 2023 and people are saying it is not worth purchasing.

 

[Bradypus]

According to my recent research, the Japan Rail Pass price increased 70% in October 2023 and people are saying it is not worth purchasing.

That's a pity. It used to be a real bargain if you wanted to fit in a lot of sightseeing in a limited period. And experience the superb Japanese rail network. Mark Smith discusses the pros and cons of the pass these days on his excellent international rail website "seat61".

TRAIN TRAVEL IN JAPAN 2024 | How to buy & use a Japan Rail Pass

Guide to train travel in Japan & how to use a Japan Rail Pass. Shinkansen (bullet trains), classic trains, airport trains. Japan Rail Pass or point to point tickets?

www.seat61.com

 

[HumanistHiker]

I am starting to get an itch to walk some of the Kumano Kodo, having had an amazing trip to Japan in April (at the 3rd attempt due to Covid lockdowns), as well as my Camino Portugues in October.

Camino+onsens+lovely Japanese food definitely appeals. (Hmm, Buddhist pilgrimage, I wonder if that means lots of shojin ryori food ...)

I believe the recent increase in the JR pass price coincided with it now allowing use of some of the super-fast Nozomi Shinkansen trains not previously included.

 

[Bradypus]

Hmm, Buddhist pilgrimage, I wonder if that means lots of shojin ryori food ..

The Kumano Kodo is mostly centred around Shinto shrines. But being Japan the dividing lines are a bit fuzzy and there is a Buddhist temple slap in the middle of the Nachi shrine complex! And of course the Kohechi Kumano Kodo starts at Koyasan which is the HQ for Shingon Buddhism in Japan....

 

[Former member 104756]

According to my recent research, the Japan Rail Pass price increased 70% in October 2023 and people are saying it is not worth purchasing.

Oh that would be a pity as @Bradypus says. On the Japan Rail pass site (? I think) there was a tool that allowed us to work out whether it was worthwhile financially given our main travel within Japan. It certainly was. We took a 14 day pass which we activated on leaving Tokyo for Kanazawa. Even with 5 of the 14 days not using the JR Pass while on the KK, it was still good value. And convenient. Might be worth checking if you have a rough idea of your itinerary.

 

[KayfromUK]

Increase of 70 % on JP rail pass! That's very steep. I went in November 2022. I only used twice out of 7 days, but using it to get to Kyoto station from home, then took Shinkansen to Osaka ( I don't normally take Shinkansen to Osaka as there are lots of other private train lines run between Kyoto and Osaka) then Shinkansen to Hakata, then to Kumamoto, finally to the local station for my friend's home. I didn't use it while we were trekking. It still worked out cheaper than what I might have paid for discount bullet train tickets. But with 70 % increase, it won't be. If you are travelling a lot in the area where JP rail trains and JP rail buses operate, it still could be useful.
As for Shojin Ryori, it's a rarelity. You will have to look for it to have one.

 

[MauiGail]

Thank you so much, Andy! Four friends and I will be hiking the Camino Portugues in April ---- the first Camino for all of us. Then in October we'll be hiking the Kumano Kodo, in addition to doing a cycling trip in Japan. Your site has a wealth of info that is helpful for our planning. Thanks again