Are you interested in a hiking adventure to Japan?

31 May Are you interested in a hiking adventure to Japan?

Are you the adventurous type? Then keep reading. I can assure you that a recent hiking trip that I lead to the UNESCO heritage listed Kumano Kodo in Japan with ten other ladies will inspire you book your next adventure holiday.

Japan is amazing.  It’s safe and easy to navigate. It’s cities are both ultra-modern and traditional. The people are super friendly always ready to please. It has the most amazing food. And it also has this incredibly beautiful and challenging walk called the Kumano Kodo. It is a sacred pilgrimage walk that was walked by Emperors with over 1000 years of history.

The Adventure

Our trip to Japan starts off in Tokyo where we spend a day exploring. Doing a half-day cultural tour of a traditional residential area called Idabashi. Day two we take the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Osaka. Then onto a transit train to Kii Tanabe where we are briefed about our walk. We’re given our maps and information for our hiking adventure for the next five days.

The next five days we walked through rugged mountains, quiet rural villages. We take in spectacular views of rivers, waterfalls, forests and shrines. At the end of each day, we were delighted to be welcomed by the hosts of our night’s accommodation. Being traditional accommodation, we bathed in onsens and swam in rivers to relieve and soothe tired muscles. In the evening we ate delicious Japanese food. And then in the mornings, our hosts would wave us goodbye as we set off on the Kumano Kodo trail.

Our final night in Japan was topped off by an evening in Kyoto where we had a beautiful dinner in a traditional Gion restaurant. We were treated to a rare sighting of a Geisha at the end of the evening.

Our adventure had many highlights.  But I am sure every lady would say that the biggest satisfaction was completing the walk itself. The days were long, and the were challenging, but it the scenery was fantastic and a superb cultural experience.

If you are planning on doing this walk, then my best piece of advice for you is to train hard. We had a 10-week training program, which incorporated hikes at Mt Cootha, as well as multiple cardio and strength sessions each week.

Women Hiking Adventure Kumano Kodo