小辺路 – Masumi Shishido

熊野古道小辺路　Kumanokodo kohechi Day 3

On Tuesday, the 5th of October 2021, I found myself struggling to get a good night’s sleep, perhaps due to either too much food or simply the fatigue accumulated from the previous days. My hand still throbbed and swollen from that horsefly bite.

Just before sunrise, I opened a window, and I saw an astonishing sight, I thought it is quite artificial. It resembled the vibrant images in some Asian restaurant’s walls, or the overly saturated photo prints on the staircase of Yodobashi Camera. Nevertheless, the tranquillity and the cool moisture in the air gave a sense of depth upon this landscape which I felt that almost falling into. I have enjoyed the view for while but when the sun light hit the magic dissolved. There were some time till breakfast so I had tried to sleep little bit more.

Totsukawa onsen morning bus stops at a busstop

My departure was later than my usual schedule, I walked out of this quiet village, and crossed the red bridge which I saw from the window, and returning to the trail, then I began climbing towards Hatenashi Toge. It was sunny and steamy when I walked through the tiny village, which has an iconic view of Kohechi. I wasn’t particularly intrigued by the view, I just wanted to enter the forest pass to escape from the heat.

For the past two days, I didn’t encounter many people on the trail. However, as I got closer to Kumano shrine, I saw more people. I reached the peak in about two hours from the starting point, a bit too early for lunch, so I pressed on. After coming down from the Toge, I arrived at the river that I had seen from the summit. I walked along its banks, looking at the murky yet vivid blue water, wondering why it is so vivid, water should not be so deep, almost as if someone had spilled paint.

I reached a parking area “Michinoeki”, offering not only a “park view” with cars and motorcycles but also a river view. There were seating areas, toilets, and many vending machines, as is often the case. It was the perfect time for a bento lunch. After lunch, I walked on the tarmac for a while, only to realise that I had missed the right turn to rejoin the trail. Backtracking was always painful, especially on foot. It was merge point with the “Nakahechi,” the most common route. From there, the trail changed, looks like more “Kumanokodo,” a gentle downhill path through cedars and ferns leading to Kumano Shrine.

The old shrine, once stood on an island in the river, had been washed away in a flood long time ago. Now, only the gate remained, it is new, and metal. It was still quite impressive, especially after several days of walking to reach this point. I couldn’t spend too much time at the shrine, also I didn’t want to walk around too much, as I had to walk the “Dainichigoe” Pass which is not long, and the shortest route to reach Yunomineonsen, where I had booked a hostel. Glancing at the sun, and I was thinking how much time I have, once the sun goes down, it will be difficult to see the ground in the forest so I was rushing. When I got to the peak which is not high but I was greeted by the sunlight filtering through the trees. I guesstimated that I had about 15 minutes left, and when I got out from the trail in to someone’s back of hose, dusk was settling in.

The hostel featured an outdoor onsen bath, no view but really nice. Yunomineonsen area lacked nearby restaurants, so I bought small curry from the reception. It was a lighter dinner compared to the previous two nights. It was just 3 days, but I felt that I had walked for a week or so.

Kumanokodo Kohechi Section 4 & Dainichigoe. Approx 20km Yunomine Onsen

日の出前に目が覚める、疲労か過食かよく眠れなかった。アブに刺された手は腫れていて痛む。

窓を開けるとまるで絵の様な景色だ、アジアンレストランにかかっている様な、その彩度はヨドバシカメラの階段に掛けてあるプリントみたいに鮮やかだ。静寂と冷えた朝の湿度が妙に深い落ちていきそうな奥行きを与え、しばし眺めていた。朝日が直接当たると魔法は溶けていく。朝食まで時間があるのでもう少し寝る事にした。

出発はいつもよりも遅め。静かな村を出て窓から見た赤い橋を渡り古道に入り果無峠を登る。天気も良く湿度も上がる、写真で見る小辺路の石碑のところに来た、時間帯のせいだろうかそれ程印象的では無かった、それよりも早く涼しい森の中へと先へ進む。

二日間歩いている時はほとんど人を見かけなかったが熊野本宮に近づくにつれ人を見かける様になった。宿を出てから2時間ほどで峠を越える、昼にはまだ早いので下り川に出る、頂上付近から見えたところだろうか。川沿いを歩きながらあまり深そうでもない川なのにどうしてこんなにも青いのだろうかと思い進む。

道の駅に着く駐車場だけでなく川も眺められトイレもありテーブルもあり当然の用にいくつもの自販機。昼にする。そこから先も舗装の道を行くのだが途中曲がり角をすっかり見過ごし引き返すのは歩きでは一番きつい事である。ちょうど中辺路と合流する地点でそこからは熊野古道らしくなる、シダと杉の間を心地よく熊野本宮に向かって緩やかに降りていく。

中洲に元々あった神社は大水で昔になくなったらしい、今は金属の新しい鳥居が立っているだけ。ただやはり見応えある、特に歩いてここに到着すると。色々見歩くと時間も体力も使ってしまう、宿は湯ノ峰温泉のホステルに取ったので大日越、本宮から湯ノ峰への最短で丘を越えていく道だ、太陽を見てあとどれぐらい時間があるのか考える、上りから下りに差し掛かるあたりで木々の間から夕日が差し込む。あと15分くらいだろうか、丁度森から民家の裏に出る頃には夜の帳が下りてきた。

ホステルは小さいながらも温泉露天風呂があり休まる。湯ノ峰温泉付近は旅館のみなのだろう食事ができる所は無いので受付でカレーを買って食べる、今までの二晩とは違い軽い夕食。三日目だがすでに一週間くらい旅をしている様な気がする。

熊野古道小辺路　Kumanokodo kohechi Day 2

I got up at 5:30, had breakfast, and got lunch Onigiris from the Minshuku. Then I began my day just after 6. The moment of decision making. For the past couple of days, I was thinking whether I should walk two sections, as the second section of Kohechi is only 15km but with a 1300m Toge/mountain pass. The 3rd section is only 20km, but another 1000m Toge. I got up early, my legs felt good, so I thought I could walk two sections all the way to Totsukawa Onsen.

The morning was slightly misty, I walked down along the river, and I looked up, mist were vanishing in the morning light. I crossed a bridge and got back into the forest, I started climbing up, my mind fell into concentration.

I was nearly at the top of the mountain when the pass was diverted due to a landslide. The diverted route was no longer the pass but rather a mountain ascent through the trees, marked by fluorescent pink tape. At some point, I couldn’t see the marker for quite some time. According to the map the diversion shouldn’t be that long. The trees weren’t that tall, so the peak couldn’t be that far. I saw a break in the trees and a sign for the peak, Obako Toge. At the top I stood still for a while, trying to cool off, looking at the vista which should have been there, but instead, clouds were flowing rapidly sideways. This was the first Toge, so I must keep moving.

I descended the mountain and came upon a rather quiet village, if I hadn’t planned to walk two sections, I might have stayed here. I had a short lunch break where there are space and public toilet. The sun was strong, and the temperature rose, my feet were also heating up. Time was running out, so I pressed on for another 1000m Toge, followed by a long descent to Totsukawa Onsen.

After crossing Miura Toge, I looked for a place to have a short break, but I couldn’t find a comfortable spot to sit. I passed ruins of houses and decided to have a sip of water and something to nibble. It wasn’t a particularly comfortable place, there are not much light and quite damp. So, I decided to keep walking while eating a banana. Then, all of a sudden, I experienced a shockingly sharp pain in my left hand, the hand holding the banana, which I dropped. I had to scream. I didn’t see any insects because it was rather dark. I walked very fast for a while, thinking it might have been a hornet, and wondered how far I was from the nearest road. At the same time, I got frustrated. By the time I reached the tarmac, I started to think it was a horsefly, although I got swell but it is not getting worse. Then I got even more up set. I had dropped my banana, and I hadn’t managed to kill the horsefly.

The normal road was rather dull. I tried to walk as straight as I could to shorten the distances. By the time I reached Totsukawa Onsen, it was just getting dark, and I was exhausted. I entered the Minshuku, and a lady asked me to fill out a form and if I came by car. I said I got here on foot, she seemed not to quite understand, which struck me as somewhat contradictory given the name of the accommodation, which means ‘Practitioner’ or ‘pilgrim’s onsen of the Sun.’

I had a good room with amazing view, which I’ll show in the next blog post. From the onsen/bath, you could also see the same wonderful view. The only problem with that accommodation was the many stairs for walkers. It shouldn’t have been much of an issue if I had been walking over 30km every day, as I did on the 88, but this was only my second day, and my first 35km. The last thing I wanted to do was go up and down the stairs in tiny vinyl slippery slippers. Dinner was once again botan nabe and fish from the river, along with many other dishes. It was wonderful, but there was far too much food. I managed to eat it all, but this could be a problem as it might hinder my sleep. My body would use a lot of energy to digest rather than recover from fatigue. After the meal, I went straight to the futon.

Kumanokodo Kohechi Section 2&3. 35.78km Taiyo no yu

5時半起床、朝食をとり昼用のおにぎりをもらって6時過ぎに出発。この日は一区間か二区間にするか決めかねていた。内心はもう決まっていたのだが、何かあって歩けない事もなくはないので距離の決定はその日の朝。

第二区間は15kmほどしかないが1300mの峠越え、第三区間は20kmでもう一つの1000m峠越え。朝早く起きて足の調子もいいので十津川温泉まで歩く事に決めた。朝霧が朝日の中で消えていくのを見上げながら、川沿いの道を下る。橋を越えたら森の中へ戻り登り始める、意識は集中の中へと落ちていく。

頂上付近で道は崖崩れのため迂回、道といってもただの山、ピンクのテープで木に印がついているだけだ、進んでいるうちに印が見えない、地図ではそれほど距離がある様には見えない、木はそれほど高くないので頂上までは遠くないはずだった。木々が開け、伯母子峠頂上の標識が見えた。眺望の代わりに横に流れる雲を眺めてしばし体を冷ます。これが最初の峠で、次に向かう。

山から降りて小さな集落に入る、一区間だけならここで一泊だ、よく整備された公衆トイレの前の広場で昼食、気温はだいぶ上がった、足も暑い。時間が経つ、次の峠を越えれば後は十津川温泉まで下り。三浦峠を超えてから一休みできるところを探していたがなかなか適当なところが無い、出店跡だっただろうか、広場だが上は木が生い茂り湿度があり感じのいいところでは無かったので水を飲んでバナナを食べながら先を行く事にした。その後突然バナナを持っていた左手に激しく刺された様な痛み、思わず叫ぶ。薄暗かったからかどんな虫か全く見えなかった。早足で歩きスズメバチだった可能性はあるのか考え、一般の道からの距離はどのくらいかと考え始めた。舗装の道に出る頃にはハレと痛みの程度から恐らくアブだったのではと思う、そうすると余計に思わずバナナを落として、その虫を殺さなかったことに怒りを覚えた。

普通の道はただひたすらつまらない。なるべく真っ直ぐに歩き距離を縮めようとする。十津川温泉に着く頃には暗くなり始めていてだいぶ疲労感もあった。宿に着くと宿泊者情報を記入してくれと紙を渡され、車で来たかと尋ねられた、歩きだというと見慣れないといった表情、行者民宿という名前とは違いほとんどの客は車なのだろう。

素晴らしい眺めの部屋だった、同じ景色は露天風呂からも見る事ができる。眺望は次のブログで掲載しよう。この宿の問題は階段が多いことだ、毎日30km以上歩いていれば脚もできて問題無いだろうが、二日目で初の30km超えの足の裏が痛い状態で滑りそうなスリッパで階段を登ったり降りたりするのはできれば避けたい。

この晩も料理は赤い牡丹鍋、そして地魚と他沢山、なんとか全て食べたが、消化に力を使うと身体が回復しないかも、だが食後はもうすぐ布団へ、眠りに落ちる。

熊野古道小辺路　Kumanokodo kohechi Day 1

It took me a while to process the images, even though raw data never matures inside of a hard drive.

On Sunday, the 3rd of October 2021, I have started Kumanokodo from Mt. Koya. The reason for starting from there was simple, I had completed my 88 pilgrimage there, and it is the easiest access from Tokyo via a night bus to Namba Osaka, arriving at 6:20 am. From there, I took a train to Mt. Koya. I am a typical Tokyo village people, beyond the area where I live in Tokyo, my knowledge of Japan was quite limited, therefore Osaka is definitely foreign to me, finding a train to Mt Koya is challenge, even though this was second time.

The entrance to Kumano Kodo Kohechi wasn’t very conspicuous, there is a rather small sign. As I enter the pass, I swiftly shifted into walking mode, aiming to maintain a faster pace. While Kohechi is reputedly the most challenging of the three major routes to Kumano, it may not be so tough for someone who has completed the 88 pilgrimage. After all, each section is less than 20 km. I immediately sensed a difference compared to the 88. The pass exuded a positive energy, not only because of the weather or the soft earth underfoot, but perhaps due to its unique location.

熊野古道小辺路 Kumanokodo landscape path river bridge

During my walk, I often felt that someone was walking behind me, while my mind always strides a few meters ahead. Could the person behind me be another version of myself from a slightly different timeline? Also I often felt that something is hiding and watching at the next corner, perhaps and hopefully charming little spirits?

熊野古道小辺路 Kumanokodo landscape path mountains pine trees

Smooth walk in the morning, predominantly through well maintained forests. Towards to noon the temperature got higher, I saw only one person walking in the opposite direction, where just before the pass intersected with a road. Then after I had quick lunch break where there were three off road motorcyclists having a break. They seemed well prepared, with mesquite repellent incense. Fortunately, I had not have issues with bugs during my 88 journey, perhaps it was the season.

熊野古道小辺路 Kumanokodo road mountains pine trees

I reached an inn / Minshuku just after15. Just before reaching the inn, I noticed a dog leashed to a traditional Japanese dog house, barking rather fiercely. Then I saw two more dogs leashed to dog houses next to the inn, they were also barking loudly. After a refreshing bath, I hung my hand washed, damp clothes by the window to dry in the strong westerly afternoon sun.

The innkeeper called me over, that dinner was ready. I was the only guest that night. The meal served was “Botan Nabe,” a dish I had never tasted before. It was typical of the region, a hot pot featuring wild boar and various vegetables. The innkeeper sat beside me while I was having the meal. He was quite talkative, sharing that he is also a hunter. The three dogs are his hunting dogs, the most aggressive one stays bit far from Inn which is the first one I saw. In Nara, hunting deer is prohibited, so they predominantly hunt wild boar. Usually, he hunts in a group, the dogs chase the boars towards to hunters range. If he can not join the group for any reasons, he let two dogs to join but not the most aggressive one, it is untameable for other people apparently. He was sort of complaining how strict the regulation and expensive to keep renewing his licenses.

He mentioned that they have to meticulously record the number of bullets they own and used. He also mentioned that it is not so profitable to sell meat in the market. They have to follow specific procedures and deliver the prey within the designated time to the licensed meat treatment centre.

18 km for the very first day, on top of not sleeping well on the night bus, I felt tired. So, I had to say thank you and good night to the very talkative owner of the inn, and then I went straight to my futon.

Kumanokodo Kohechi Section 1. 18.44 km Minsyuku kawarabi

熊野古道小辺路 Kumanokodo landscape vista mountains pine trees

このブログを書くのにだいぶ時間が経ってしまった。

2021年10月3日、日曜日、熊野古道を高野山から始める。四国八十八を高野山で終わりにしたのと東京から最も行きやすいという単純な理由からでもあった。

夜行バスで大阪難波6時20分到着、高野山行きの電車に乗り換える。私は典型的な東京の田舎者なので普段の生活圏以外の東京、日本をあまり知らない、大阪ともなるとまさに外国である。2回目であるのにもかかわらず高野山に行く電車は何処かと彷徨う。

熊野古道小辺路の入り口は小さな標識があるだけでひっそりとしていて目立たない。道に入ると歩くモードに切り替わる、なるべく速いペースを保とうと試みる。

小辺路は熊野古道の中では一番険しいとされるが、八十八を歩いた者ならば、それぞれの区間は20km以下なのでそれ程の事ではない。歩いてすぐに八十八とは違った明るい気を感じる。季節や土の柔らかさだけではなくその土地柄かも知れない。

歩いていると時々自分の後ろに気配を感じる、誰かが歩いているような、また自分の意識は少し先を行っているような、そうすると後ろにいるのはまた違った時間軸の私自身なのであろうか。そして時々だが進む先の角の向こうに何かがこちらを見ている様な。

午前中は快速、ほとんどがとてもよく整備された林道、正午ごろになると温度が上がってくる。道中でったのは対向者一人のみ、路が道路と交差する辺りだった。

その先でちょっと昼休憩、丁度3人のオフロードライダーも休憩していた、彼らは用意周到に蚊取り線香など持っていた。今まで虫のことなどあまり気にも留めなかったが。

15時過ぎに民宿に到着、差し掛かる前に犬小屋に繋がれた犬が激しく吠える。また民宿の脇にも二匹それぞれ犬小屋に繋がれて激しく吠える。風呂をもらう、洗った洗濯物を西日の入る窓に干す。

民宿の主に食事の準備ができたと呼ばれ食堂へ、その日の客は私一人の様だった、食事は牡丹鍋、初めて食べた。宿の主は私が食事をしている間近くの席に座り色々と話す。奈良県では鹿を獲れないので猪が主な獲物と、彼は狩人で外の三匹の犬は彼の猟犬であった、狩に出る時は仲間と行くらしい、犬が猪を狩人の射程内に追い出すとのことだ。何かの事情で彼が参加できない時は犬だけ出すらしいいが、最初に見た一匹はとても気性が荒く他人には手に負えないとの事、家から、また道から少し離れたところに繋がれていたのもそれが理由らしい。狩の免許を更新するのは七面倒臭いらしい、銃管理から弾の数まで事細かに報告しないといけないが、獲物もそれ程は高値で売れないとの事、仕留めてからの処理そして公認の処理場に時間内に持ち込まないといけないという事らしい。

初日の18kmの歩きと、夜行バスでそれ程よく眠れなかったこともあり食事を終わりにして、すぐに布団に入り眠りについた。