Eric's Corner - Wakayama Vacation Days 2 and 3

The second and third days of my hiking trip were fairly similar; a lot of hiking, a lot of sweating, no one to talk to. But I enjoyed it. Hiking alone for hours at a time is a great way to go if you live in one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Besides the peace and quiet offered by the forest, there’s also the added bonus of going at a pace that’s right for you. As much as I enjoy nature and the great outdoors, I viewed each leg of my trip as a course to be completed as quickly as possible. I didn’t like taking rests and often arrived at my goal an hour to two hours earlier than the estimates on the map. Had I been hiking with someone else I may not have been able to set that pace and a 7 hour hike might have become a 10 hour hike. Ugh.

Anyways, I stayed in a minshuku on day two and enjoyed the same good food and hospitality I had enjoyed the day before. Because I was the only guest I was a bit worried that I would have to talk to the owners all evening or that they would feel obliged to entertain me somehow. It isn’t that I don’t like talking to people (anyone who knows me knows that). But shooting the breeze in a second language requires a lot more concentration and even a casual chat about the weather can end up being pretty taxing depending on the other person’s speed and choice of vocabulary. But my concerns were unfounded. They cooked dinner, made my bed, and left me alone with the TV. Perfect!

The hike on day three pretty much the same although I had way too many run-ins with some type of flying insects that seemed really attracted to my scent. I don’t actually think they were dangerous but they made a loud humming sound and kept flying directly into the side of my face. But besides that the hike was pretty easy and 6 hours later I found myself at Yunomine Onsen and the Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine. The Shrine is considered one of the most spiritual spots in Japan and the entrance is marked by the world’s largest tori shrine gate.




Yunomine Onsen is the oldest onsen bath in Japan, discovered about 1800 years ago, and is the only onsen designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. After checking in to a nearby minshuku I walked over to the famous Tsuboyo bath house, a tiny cabin with a small bath designed to hold no more than two people. For over a thousand years pilgrims along the Kumano Kodo route have made their way to Yunomine onsen and used the same Tsuboyo bath to heal not only their bodies but also their spirits, performing purification rituals in the sacred waters. In fact the healing properties of the bath and the spiritual calm the waters bring are so legendary that the little cabin has even made its way into a kabuki play, bringing the hero of the story back from the brink of death. It was with this powerful and inspiring knowledge that I stepped into the bath and was struck immediately by a single thought, a thought I’m sure has been shared by a millennium’s worth of visitors – “TOO HOT!” The water was almost comically hot and I wondered just how in the hell anyone had ever been able to stand it. Well it turns out that you really should read the instructions before trying these types of things. Had I bothered to read the sign I would have known that a hose pumping cold river-water into the bath was available to my right and that it was strongly recommended that I turn it on for five to ten minutes before entering the bath. Roger that. I followed the instructions, gave it another shot, and found the experience to be every bit as physically and spiritually refreshing as advertized. It was a wonderful way to end a long day of hiking and I felt great and ready to tackle day four.

Or so I thought…