Kumano Kodo hike, Japan

[Mikes]

We recently went on a three day hike along parts of the Kumano Kodo trail, in the mountainous Kii Peninsula, south of Osaka. Kumano Kodo is a network of trails used over the past 1,000 years by people embarking on a pilgrimage to worship at three great shrines at Kumano. The network of trails is now a registered UNESCO heritage site. The trails, past hundreds of shrines, involve crossing over mountain passes, some 1,000 metres in height. An area of high rainfall, it features abundant vegetation and giant cedar and cypress trees. We stayed overnight in ryokan along the way.

Many of the shrines were in deep shade under the cedar and cypress trees, and were quite challenging to photograph. Images are in the following order.

1) Day 1 - start of the hike - Takijiri-oji shrine

2) Day 1 - late afternoon at the top

3) Day 1 - shrine at the top

4) Day 2 - shrine amongst the trees - precursor to another climb to 690 metres

5) Day 3 - shrine at the top - rain again

6) Day 3 - the giant torij at Hongu - in the rain

7) End of the trail for us - the village of Yunomine Onsen. Japan's oldest onsen is here - in use for 1,500+ years

[Frank Fremerey]

I love #3 and #4 because of the nice geometry shadowplay and colorscape. Bith exotic and storytelling.

[Mikes]

Thanks for commenting, Frank. They're my favourites, too.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

All are nice, however my preference would be the two last ones in your series. They seem to impart the photographer's eye over the pure vision of the scene. The lushness of the rice paddies and the blue umbrella balancing precariously on the railing - super.

[elsa hoffmann]

The Yunomine Onsen is very interesting - I hope you had a chance to use it?
I like the rice fields best - thanks for sharing. I didn know there were so many  Onsens in Japan.

[David Paterson]

I'm with Bjørn on this one - the last two not only demonstrate a photographer's eye but capture the essence of rural Japan.

You are certainly chalking up these hiking trails; I'll have a lot of catching up to do if I make it to Japan this year.

[Mikes]

All are nice, however my preference would be the two last ones in your series. They seem to impart the photographer's eye over the pure vision of the scene. The lushness of the rice paddies and the blue umbrella balancing precariously on the railing - super.

Thanks for your comments, Bjørn. I suppose that it is not surprising that these two were the least processed of the images. I had difficulty in processing the "shrine in the forest" images because of the very contrasty conditions in their forest settings. I wanted to keep these because they captured the essence of the mountain trails for me. Maybe less processing is better?

[Mikes]

The Yunomine Onsen is very interesting - I hope you had a chance to use it?
I like the rice fields best - thanks for sharing. I didn know there were so many  Onsens in Japan.

Thanks for commenting, Elsa. There is a old public onsen in the centre of the village that is popular - rebuilt many times, I'm sure. I didn't use this as we had an onsen in our ryokan that was fed from the same hot spring. They are great for sore limbs after a long hike!

The public onsen:

[Mikes]

I'm with Bjørn on this one - the last two not only demonstrate a photographer's eye but capture the essence of rural Japan.

You are certainly chalking up these hiking trails; I'll have a lot of catching up to do if I make it to Japan this year.

Thanks for your comments, Dave. The Kumano Kodo trails are well worth doing and pretty strenuous in parts. However, they will be breeze for someone who has tackled Kita-dake in winter! We also did some of the hikes on Yakushima - also worth doing. Wait for the dry season, though.

[elsa hoffmann]

Mikes, I googled this area immediately as it looked so interesting.
This is why I enjoy NG - I see wonderful places - and often end up on google reading more.
It broadens one's mind, and inspires at the same time.

We have a couple of hot springs here in SA also mostly big open outside ones. There is something about hot water and people sitting in it doing nothing.

[Mikes]

Mikes, I googled this area immediately as it looked so interesting.
This is why I enjoy NG - I see wonderful places - and often end up on google reading more.
It broadens one's mind, and inspires at the same time.

We have a couple of hot springs here in SA also mostly big open outside ones. There is something about hot water and people sitting in it doing nothing.

It is an interesting little village - another view:


And the hydrangeas there are beautiful!

[Akira]

Mike, this is an excellent series from your trip to one of the most spiritually essential area of Japan.  You have captured whole lot of important elements only in these several pictures!

[Mikes]

Akira, thank you for your kind comments - I appreciate them. The spirituality of the area was palpable, with many shrines along the way - some were very large and some, by the side of the track, were tiny. They were all carefully tended, most with fresh flowers and other offerings. There were many storyboards along the track detailing some of the early pilgrims from more than a thousand years ago.

We stayed in three comfortable ryokan along the way, and the regional foods (keiseki) were excellent.

It was a great experience for us, and we will certainly go back as there is a lot more to see and experience.