Ukegawa to Koguchi

Today we hiked the 13 km of the Kogumotori - goe section of the Kumano Kodo. We had cut our teeth the previous afternoon by doing a short (3.5km), but very steep, section of the trail from Yunomine Onsen to Kumano Hongu Taisha. It had been quite wet and when we arrived at Hongu we had opted for coffee rather than a visit to the "Grand Shrine" as we waited for a local bus to take us back to the Ryokan. Margie felt that she had visited enough religious sites for this stage of the holiday - there would be more to come...
The Kumano Kodo was as imagined. A well constructed ancient path that took us through cedar and cyprus forests as it wound through and over the mountains. It passed shrines and ruins of ancient Tea Houses and was well marked in an unobtrusive way that seemed in keeping with the historical and religious nature of the route.Views of surrounding country side were rare as the route was through forest, but were appreciated all the more because of this. Margie did get an occasional Grouse Grind wave of panic, but generally all was calm and tranquil as we wound our way along. We had finished by 2pm and had time for ice cream whilst we waited for a shuttle bus to take us to our next Ryokan. A better room and a more modern Onsen awaited - with communal bathing strictly segregated by gender. The food was less subtle and very Japanese. We are getting used to the raw fish and seaweed, but the large raw prawn was challenging initially, though we had to admit was tasty. Maybe we are becoming acclimatised to this oriental diet after all.