Intro
Andrew and I hiked the Nakahechi Route of the Kumano Kodo in May 2024 and had a blast! The combination of village to village hiking with learning about Japanese culture along the way and finishing the days with delicious home-cooked Japanese food was truly ideal. We had a blast meeting fellow travelers along the way and all in all loved our experience. If you’re looking for an active, more off the beaten path trip in Japan, this is for you!
There are four main route options for the Kumano Kodo. We chose the Nakahechi Route which starts on the west coast of the Kii Peninsula and travels inland to the mountains. Since we only did this route, it’s the only one I can recommend but we did love it!
At a Glance:
- Duration: 5 days hiking
- Distance: 50 mile
- Difficulty Level: Medium
- Start Location: Kumano Kodo Kan Pilgrimage Center
- End Location: Kumano-Nachi Taisha
- Total Elevation Gain: 18K ft
- Season: March to early June or September to November
Getting There
We flew into Tokyo where we spent a few days before traveling to Kyoto for two days. We then took a train and bus to the start of the hike. At the end of the hike, we took a train back to Tokyo for our flight back to the US. If I planned again, I would fly into or out of Osaka because it is closer to the Kumano Kodo.
Planning Resources
Booking Website: We used Kumano Travel to book all the hotels except for two. The website is run by the Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau. I checked the hotels individually (for those that had websites) and booking through this site is not more expensive. For the majority of the places we stayed, it was the only way we could book (outside of calling, which would have been difficult as we booked while in the US and can’t speak Japanese). As you go through the booking process, you rank your top hotel options by night. We then waited ~2 weeks before getting a response about if they were available. The waiting game is frustrating but I don’t know another way around it since that was the only way to book some of the accommodations.
Booking Timeline: We booked our trip at the beginning of January for the end of April/May. However, many of the people we met along the route booked 6-9 months before the trip. We didn’t have trouble finding accommodation but maybe we got lucky!
Bags: We carried all of our belongings during the hike but the majority of people along the hike used a delivery service. Their bags were picked up in the morning and delivered to their hotel by the evening. I believe you can book this through the same website.
Highlights
- Onsen at Kiri-no Sato Takahara Lodge
- Dinner at Guest House MUI
- Noodles and sushi here at after a long, wet hike
- Soft serve at the end of day 5 to celebrate completing the hike while looking at Kumano-Nachi Taisha
- Seeing shrines and reading about the history of the trail throughout the journey
- Meeting hikers along the way from across the world and running into them throughout our time hiking
Day by Day Tips
Day 1:
- You will need to take a bus from the train station Kii Tanabe station to Kumano Kodo Kan Pilgrimage Center. The people at the Information desk at the station were very helpful and helped us buy the tickets and know where to get on the bus.
- I highly recommend staying at Kiri-no Sato Takahara Lodge. It was a little pricey but the meals were a fun experience. The owner is enthusiastic about the food and even forages for various ingredients in the dishes. The lodge’s onsen is also incredible.
Day 2:
- Guest House MUI has basic accommodations with a shared bathroom. The room we stayed in was Japanese style. It was clean, had everything we needed, and the host is incredibly welcoming. The dinner and breakfast are amazing and puts it high on my list of recommendations.
Day 3:
- We stayed at Blue Sky Guesthouse, which we booked outside of the Kumano Travel booking platform. I recommend it! Blue Sky felt more like a small hotel or bed & breakfast than the other spots. It did not include dinner but it was an easy walk into town and a fun change of pace to eat in a restaurant. The big highlight was that there was a washer/dryer. Our Day 3 hike was incredibly wet so we were lucky to be able to dry our clothes!
Day 4:
- If you are staying at Sansaro, you will need to take a bus from Koguchi to Sansaro at the end of day 4 and vice versa at the beginning of Day 5. The bus is easy to navigate.
- If you stay at Sansaro, you will have the opportunity to go to a public onsen (here), which is a fun experience! I recommend googling onsen protocol so you know what to do / not to do but people were very friendly and helpful.
Day 5:
- Throughout our time on the trail, other hikers were psyching each other out about the Day 5 hike. While there is a lot of elevation gain very quickly, if you’ve done the other days, you can do this. The large elevation gain makes the finish feel well earned!