Kumano Kodo Day 3

Destination: Koguchi, “Shizen no Ie” accommodation.

We woke up at 6am, no sleep in for the wicked! We calculated 28 km for today but we misread the map (again), turned out for a 32 km day with a 1950m elevation gain. Quite a big day!

It was already hot by 7am – that’s when you know it’s going to be a hard day. My body moves the best in the cold or the rain. We were hit with an 800m climb first thing in the morning, but my body refused to move. Possibly still tired from yesterday, or the small dinner that I had, I had very little in me to offer for this slog of an ascend.

I usually time my first break at 10am, but this morning was an exception, hoping the sugar would give me the momentum to move uphill. Philipp was waiting for me for half an hour at the top (…sorry!).

We eventually reached the end of Kohechi route by arriving at Hongu Taisha – which officially makes me a pilgrim! First route done! We got our important stamp, photos taken, and got our brochure for the next route – Nakahechi (the main route of Kumano Kodo). Maybe we’ll see more hikers from here, we thought. So far we’ve seen no one and this didn’t feel like the Japan that I knew.

It took us a while to find the trailhead for the next section, and a daunting realisation hit us that we misread the map and the total km of today. We quickly recharged with snacks for that sugar rush and quickly sped up our pace so we arrived before dark.

4pm with another 12.6km left, with hills too. My brochure stated 4.5h – 6h for this section. Taking the guideline with a grain of salt (it’s a pilgrimage for all ages after all…) I figured we could crunch that time duration into 3.5 hours.

The next 12km feels a little hazy in my memory as my brain mentally checked out to block out all my pain. Meditate & move your legs Sarah. The sunlight had disappeared, and we walked the last km of road in the grey dusk. At last, we reached our destination, shizen no ie accommodation at 7.30 pm.

That was a big day. It wasn’t the hardest mentally, but my body was shattered and ready to sleep right after eating.

faces of very tired hikers – happy to finish the day

Dinner was prepared for us as we signed in, and I enjoyed another well-deserved bath in the Onsen. We noticed there were 7 other foreigners at this accommodation, all who happen to be walking Nakahechi. From 9 pm, my brain couldn’t function anymore. I slept on a tatami mat again, making it a cosy sleep. (Except for the Japanese bean pillows – why are they rock hard?)

Last day tomorrow! Happy Pilgrimage!

Elevation Profile

Total Km: 33km
Total Ascend: 1850m
Time: 12 hours