The Kumano Kodo is an over 1,000 year old network of pilgrimage trails on Japan's Kii Peninsula. It is one of only two UNESCO World Heritage pilgrimage trails, the other being the Camino De Santiago network in Europe. Like the Camino, the Kumano Kodo has several routes to choose from, of varying distances, terrain, and popularity. We have stitched together two routes to build a 10-day trek. The Nakahechi (~70km) and Kohechi (~65km) routes will take us through forests, over mountain passes, past grand shrines, and will include a traditional boat ride on the Kumano River where it meets the Kumano Nada Sea, part of the North Pacific Ocean. Our hike will end with a temple-stay on sacred Mount Koya (Koyasan), the founding site/headquarters of Shingon Buddhism.
Source: Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau
Compared to the Camino de Santiago—for which I booked no lodging in advance when I walked the last 100km from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela with family in Fall of 2024—the Kumano Kodo takes an incredible amount of advance planning and budgeting. For this and a number of other reasons, there are far fewer pilgrims on the Kumano Kodo. Tent camping is highly restricted to designated campgrounds, which range from few and far between to simply nonexistant depending on the route. Pilgrims instead stay in ryokans (inns), minshukus (guesthouses), hostels, and temples, with the option to opt into meals, including dinner, breakfast, and a packed bento box lunch. Luggage shuttles are also an option, although we’ve chosen to stow our urban gear in the train station and carry our backpacking gear for the love of the game. Because of the limited availability of lodging, pilgrims generally make reservation requests 4–6 months in advance of travel.
We made all of our reservations through the local booking system website, linked at the bottom of this entry. It took us about 10 hours broken out over the course of two nights, because the booking system functioned best during Japan daytime hours. This experience was not for the faint of heart. Every logistical variable had to be taken into consideration. For each lodging selection we had to pick a first choice, and at least three back-up options, define dietary restrictions (especially interesting to navigate since Chris’ Alpha Gal diagnosis last year), provide a projected arrival mode and time, and so on. Once the booking request was made, we received booking approval in a little under two weeks, which was lucky as the wait can often be a month or more. When the approval came in, we had 48 hours to complete payment. Our reservations were processed a couple days after Christmas, with most of our first choice lodgings, so this was a great note to end 2025 on.
Comically, it was riding the high of our honeymoon booking success that inspired us to finally get our wedding on the books… better take care of that before we go on our honeymoon!
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It’s sure to be a memorable experience and since we loved keeping an online journal about our Appalachian Trail thru-hike, we’ve decided to do the same with this special trek. Thanks for following along!
Learn more about the Kumano Kodo: https://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/kumano-kodo/