shingū
Kumano-gawa River
I had made my way across the Kii Peninsula by train, bus, and feet; boat seemed like the next logical step, so I booked a river tour with Kumano Travel. It was beautiful but it DUMPED.
Luckily for me, I had been soaked in sweat or rain for 7 days straight already, so I carried on to Kumano Hayatama Taisha relatively unperturbed.
A highlight of the day was schlepping up to the Kamikura-Jinja shrine, nestled under a giant boulder.
My final shrine visit did not disappoint: Kumano Nachi Taisha.
This is the official end of the Kumano Kodo Trail… and in tradition with the rest of the week, I had some happy surprise reunions with fellow trekkers there :)
My final stop in Shingū was a splurge. I spent a night at Kumano Bettei, an onsen spa on a private island. Tatami mat rooms, dolphin views, twelve course meals, hot springs. Seriously.
Entering my James Bond era
I gotta say though… all of the above was ~$300 for the night. I’ve paid more for cruddy hotels that make you pay for water.
I took a private ferry from Kii-Katsuura, settled into my yukata, and soaked in the dreamworld.
I took myself out to a bomb-ass dinner and sake tasting.
I soaked in the onsen and slept like a rock.
Tunnel to the hot springs
night night
The next morning, it was pouring again. After breakfast I donned my river-cruise poncho and squished around the island. I found another hot spring footbath!
yes this is breakfast and yes this is just for me lol
I begrudgingly said farewell to Kumano Bettei, a truly magical place. I took a regional train back to Osaka.
bye </3
I had two goals for my one night in Osaka:
1) Eat okonomiyaki
2) Go to the Nintendo store
I was successful on both accounts, but not without a fight. It may have been due to fatigue and hunger, but I had a hell of a time locating the Osaka Nintendo Store. Google Maps is my cheat code when traveling, but it can only do so much when places are in skyscrapers or buried in giant underground shopping malls. I survived, but it was definitely the most stressed I got on the trip :X
DROOL
The plan was to fly back home to the States the next day, but Mother Nature had other ideas. This was during the July 4 weekend East Coast meltdown caused by thunderstorms and other patriotic drama. I awoke to a text that my connecting flight was cancelled. When given the choice to get stuck in Tokyo or Newark for a night, I chose….. Tokyo.
With my bonus day in Japan, I ate some food, drank some bevs, and most importantly: went to a Tokyo Giants v. Hanshin Tigers game!
Onibus Coffee, a godsend on a hot day… it is hard to find iced lattes out in the world sometimes so this was a treat
I almost left Japan without eating gyoza!
My craziest moment in Japan: after quite a few innings and 2ish drinks, I realized that some of the chants were in English. “Hit the ball! Homerun!” I had just not been listening with the expectation that it was in Japanese. This realization made my maybe-buzzed head spin a little.
Other notes from the game:
It went into extra innings but after 12 the game just… ended. A friendly tie that people accepted with no drama???? What is this madness?
I tried to order two beers from the drink ladies and got two lemon hard seltzers.
100% user error on my end
I tried to order a hot dog with fun looking stuff on it and got a bun with a sausage in it.
100% user error on my end
I didn’t screw up this ice cream sandwich order!
The next day I figured I should at least TRY to get home. I made it to Newark but then got caught up in the airport meltdown and spent the night in New Jersey. Thus, I rang in July 4 with a 7am flight from Newark to Boston. I did get upgraded so I had a mimosa which is my go-to fancy upgrade drink.
If I had to describe this trip to Japan in one word, I would use “delightful.” It was chock-full of delights. Hiccups with weather and travel were well worth it to go on this solo adventure of a lifetime.
where:
kumano kodo, japan; shingū, kumano bettei, osaka, and tokyo
when: june; very hot and humid
how: book the river tour with kumano travel. for tokyo giants game, buy direct from their site or from viagogo. i used viagogo day-of and picked up my tickets at a post office in tokyo… i don’t understand how it worked out but work out it did
