分類: Wakayama Maigo 和歌山迷子

Last day. There was not much difference in breakfast menu from the first day. That’s one other thing Super Hotel had over others, their breakfast tended to have more variety to not be off putting when staying over a few days. It was less crowded, was expecting Saturday to see more people. I was able to enjoy the breakfast in much better quiet.

There’s almost a full day till flight out from Kansai in the evening. There’s a few choices within Wakayama city. The castle area, down south is a Toshogu shrine, and even further south is a marina city and Kuroshio market. None are first rate attractions and are mostly useful to pass time.

The first would be the castle, the rest to be decided later. The castle opens around 9am and I caught up on some sleep before needing to check out, leaving my luggage for safe keeping.

Wakayama’s city is laid out such that both stations, Wakayama-shistation which is the terminus for Nankai railway, and Wakayama Station which is a major interchange for JR, are not the centre of town. Buses run frequently between the two stations through the city centre where Wakayama castle lies. 

The bus is tap on and tap off with a Suica and the bus stop information display rotated through multiple languages. The city has a vastly different feel from the night before, the seediness replaced with typical clinal order.

The bus stops right in front of the eastern gate to the castle precint. Wakayama used to be ruled by a branch of the Takugawa family, the castle grew to be quite large with extensive complexes and gardens. Much of them are lost now, only the stone foundations and some of the walls remain and a concrete reconstruction of the keep built after the war.

I didn’t study the layout of the castle ahead of time like I normally would and wandered by signage. Over the mat and through the outer walls, the sign pointed to two different ways to keep. A main appoach and a back approach. Under the main approach also pointed to the zoo, and back approach side the Momijidani garden, literally red leaves garden. 

On a whim I headed to the back approach, since the gardens was also there it felt like the path with more things to see.

On the nothern side the grounds was where the old living and administrative quarters for the daimyo used to be. The small hill the castle was built on proved too small and difficult to administer the day to day tasks from so the daimyo moved them down here, on flat lands but still within the moat and outer walls. Only some block of raised land and some foundations remains that pointed to something bigger in the not so distant past.

Portions of the old gardens remained, as well as a slanted long wooden corridor running across the waters. It once connected the inner and outer cloisters and was only accessible by the daimyo and other members of household.

Nothing remained of the complexes on either side, just a lone corridor like a bridge over the water. Visitors can cross it after taking off their shoes. 

The path enters the garden. A lone teahouse stands by the shore of the pond, its thatched roof overcast with red of the morning light dyed by the canopies.

There’s a few tour groups enjoying the picturesque scene as I am, most seem to be Taiwanese as well. There must be a popular tour itinerary for Wakayama at the moment.

From the garden path turns in a steep climb up to the castle keep. The hill Wakayama castle is on is unique in having two peaks, thus also called the Crouching Tiger mountain. Originally the keep was built on the smaller peak in a pentagon shaped complex. That peak proved too small and a separate keep was built on the current top, and the original keep was repurposed as the Ninomaru. 

All of the castle complex were lost in history and the Ninomaru was never rebuilt. Currently it’s used as a lookout to view and photograph the main keep.

In the main courtyard at the foot of the keep is a small teahouse and gift shop. There’s a row of vending machines, a few shelves of gifts, and teahouse selling dango and udon. 

It requires purchasing a ticket to go up further into the main keep complex. It’s 410Y and the ticket includes a visit to the exhibit at the nearby history museum. 

Right in the entryway they’ve used white pebbles to create a heart. Cutely people stepped carefully around it.

Like many castles rebuilt after the war, Wakayama castle was made of concrete due to the difficulty of sourcing timber at that time. There are three internal floors, 2 used to display various artifacts, weapons and armour. The tallest floor being a lookout, able to walk all around the exterior and look out over the city.

There are some displays about the castle’s history, however it will really take visiting the history museum to get a better picture, as I later found.

As it stands the castle is difficult to capture interest, due to the lack of background information to give the items on display the proper context. 

After the keep I grabbed a coffee at the teahouse. It’s one of those cup vendings where the coffee is made on demand and one can adjust the intensity and sweetness.

The courtyard and teahouse has a constant flow of people without feeling crowded. It had to be different tour groups from the ones before, it must mean there are 3-4 tours at least that morning visiting the castle alone.

Since I came up the back approach I descended using the main approach. There’s some attempt to make the stairs more friendly for the less mobile with ramps attached to the stone steps. Not all sections have the ramp to allow the keep to be wheelchair accessible, and the ramp is steep at sections. A little bit still helps.

I took a long loop around to check out the free zoo also located within the castle’s ground. It’s a very small zoo, with mostly kid friendly animals such as capybaras, rabbits. I’m not sure what to really feel about it. The kids seem to really enjoy seeing the animals, while also it’s clear the place is in dire need for more funding and provide better enclosures. 

The zoo takes me to the west side of the castle ground. Turning north once more I completes the loop around castle. The Wakayama History Museum is located by the castle’s carpark, the building’s first floor acting as a gift shop and tourist information.

There’s a drive to rebuild the castle’s old complexes and the museum is raising awareness. Upon entering the attendant took my ticket and gave a quick introduction of the exhibit areas. One side was the history of Wakayama and the castle, the other side showcased  notable Wakayama people in recent history. There’s a theatre room showing video introducing the old castle complex and how it may have looked in the past.

The history exhibit side delightfully highlighted the intriguing past of Wakayama. For an area not far from the centres of political dramas and maneuvers of Nara and Kyoto, Wakayama never seemed to play much role in public consciousness. 

From the exhibit, I gathered that up until the times of Nobunaga, the closing years of the sengoku period, Wakayama enjoyed relative freedom, the local people taking part in the sea trade and raiding.

In the sengoku period the local lords threw their support behind the Ikko Ikki and was instrumental in supplying the rebellion by sea and withstanding Nobunaga’s siege.

The are was ultimately brought under central control and established the Kii domain and daimyo rule. The boundaries of the Kishu domain closely covers the Wakayama today, with 50k koku it was one of the largest domains.

Up till the start of the Tokugakawa Shogunate, the area was still ruled by local daimyos, however it was taken over by the shogunate and given over to one of Ieyasu’s son Yorinobu to rule. It was during this period the castle was greatly expanded and the culture of Wakayama flourished under Tokugawa’s prestige and attention.

The domain continued under the rule of the Tokugakawa branch family, so called Kiishu Tokugawas. Under their care tea ceremonies and many other activities flourished, otherwise little seemingly happened till the Meiji era.

Perhaps away from any major centres of societal changes, whether political, economic, or religion left the domain to its own peaceful devices.

It was not yet 12. After the morning’s walk I was tired and hungry. Checking the options nearby, near Wakayama-shi Station and Wakayama Station, I settled on a place called Migiwa Standard. A rather brave choice because of the way it served its food. 

From the menu it suggested that there’s a few choice of mains, then you get to pick 3 sides. But 3 side of.. what? It was not clear at all. But the photos all looked really good so I decided to give it a go. 

The staff was very kind and helped explain that I get to pick 3 dishes from the front section almost like a buffet bar, but they’ve already prepared them in small portions and into little wrapped dishes. A small dish may contain a croquette, another may contain some stewed veges. It’s quite a clever idea and different take on the two choice three choice window food bar, because the food can be so much better prepared and plated. The rice also have a choice of plain white rice or red bean rice, at least I think that’s what she meant.

I ordered the Taiwanese style sesame oil chicken, Mayuji with plain rice. From the front bar I returned with egg custard, fried prawn and a cream puff for dessert. Honestly there were so many choices, there were at least some 20 odd dishes to choose from all up. Vegie stews, salads, meatballs, cakes, pickles, soups, all dishes one would usually find as sides for a teishoku and more.

The taste was great too, easily an 8 out of 10. The sides are not necessarily the best qualities, the prawn was probably not freshly fried and those pre-packs. But it’s not a big deal. The place is clean and modern as well.

For the afternoon I have the choice of just wonder around, check out the shops. Or to go down to Kishu Toshogu which is about 30 minutes by bus, at least one hour to and back. A significant investment for a single shrine. 

Given that I headed to Wakayama-shi station. I will have a look around there, take the JR train back to Wakayama station, then check out the station shopping and department store.

Wakayama from a city development perspective is quite peculiar in that it has 2 stations apart 3 km apart, not really walkable between. Wakayama-shi is the majority Nankai terminus (though JR’s branch line go here too), while Wakayama station is the main interchange for JR for its trains toward Shirahama and further south, and the line up toward Nara pass Koyasan and Yoshino. Both roughly as import as the other, each having 15k daily passengers. Yet neither are the city centre, which is nearer to the castle and where Donki is. Wakayama station is arguable the more retail relevant given the Kintetsu department store presence. All this is to say Wakayama lacks the dense core that other city have, it’s spread around between 3 smaller cores. 

The Wakayama-shi station building has been rebuilt as a multi-purpose complex called Ki-No. There is a hotel, public space and library, restaurants and shops.

The first floor of the library is also a Tsutaya bookstore with Starbucks, a double dose of Japan’s favourite fashionably cultured brands. 

On the top floor of the library is a public outdoor space for people to sit around, have a meal, for kids to play in the middle, or to study beyond confinement indoors.

In the other wing of Ki-No is a fancy grocer. On the second floor a restaurant street of around 10 restaurants, from izakaya to desserts. This makes it a good hub for people staying near Wakayama-shi station as otherwise the Wakayamashi’s immediate surroundings have less options compared to Wakayama station.

I caught the train from Wakayamashi back to Wakayama station. As it’s a branch line there’s only one every hour, every thirty in peak hours. This is very much a Nankai station, puzzling why JR even bothers with maintaining this branch. 

Perhaps more puzzling still there’s a decent amount of people taking it, admittedly I am also taking it so perhaps it should not be that puzzling, but I am just a tourist. I count close to 15 people in the carriage I’m in.

Back at Wakayama station, I decide the best use of the next two to three hours will be to check out the station area then go take a break at Doubtor with a mug.

The station complex of MIO, Kintetsu and MIO North is quite confusing in how they interconnect. Above the main concourse MIO can connect to Kintetsu over an airbridge. Then Kintetsu connects to MIO North, a separate annex unconnected to MIO itself. MIO North is mostly a restaurant street, same with MIO’s B1 floor. The second and third floor of MIO has Daiso and Animate, an interesting mix of tenants.

Daiso itself occupied most of one floor and had its premium sub-brand Standard Products also. 

The Animate here was not very big and Animate has mostly transformed into a character goods shop anyway but only for the most popular series, there was not a lot to see.

I found some pre-packed decaf filtered coffee in Seijo Ishii supermarket in Kintetsu to great excitement. It seems like decaf coffee is becoming more widely accepted. It may mean I can find more decaf coffee next time I’m in Japan if I looked.

I got some more sweets from the gift store in the station building, then settled into Doutor with a latte. 

Doutor always gave me comfort in Japan. It doesn’t even taste very good, but it always feels comforting, having been my go to place on my first trip to Japan.

After a 20 minutes break and feeling ready, I picked up the luggage from Comfort Hotel and jumped on the train to Kansai Airport.

It’s a local train of about 40 minutes to Hineno, then transfer to the Kansai Airport line. The train at Hineno split into two here, and is what almost got me on the first day. The train comes as one from Osaka, then the front carriages goes to Kansai Airport and the back half goes to Wakayama. It’s important to check which carriages go where and make sure to not get on the wrong one. 

I was at the airport early and first in line. It may mean waiting a little bit at the start but once I drop off my luggage I have all the time in the world to do what I like.

Kansai Airport has undergone a major renovation in recent years. Phase one has been completed which saw a new restaurant street (Tasty Street) on the 2nd floor ground side. The air side also saw major renovations and half has been completed with another half due to open in 2026.

The Tasty Street is a major step up in food experience and between this and Narita, I will have to give Kansai the edge.

There’s a good selection of well known restaurant chains, from the ubiquitous golden arch, Tonkatsu Wako, Kaneko Hannosuke Tempura.. Sukiya?!

The gyudon budget eatery got my attention. Right away I knew what I was having for dinner. 

In very Kansai fashion the Sukiya is having a Kansai Airport limited Okonomiyaki style gyudon. The Japanese love their limited menu items and knows it is my weak spot.

As it is an airport the Sukiya is run a little more similar to a fast food style serving than a regular sit down Sukya. They do still have the water and tea machine, which is always appreciated.

The okonomiyaki style gyudon is basically a gyudon with extra seaweed, mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce, and soft boiled egg. Definitely not worth the extra money over a regular gyudon with egg.

Gift shops on other hand are strangely lacking, perhaps they are still to be done in a future renovation. Unlike the food choices which are extensive, there are just 2 small shops selling Japan themed goods. 

The customs security went fairly quickly. There’s a few people that could not figure out how to use the automatic gates which held the lines up for a short while. It did not take long for the customs officers to jump on it and direct them in typical Japanese efficiency.

The duty free and gift area that past security checks open right into was a traumatic experience. It was not a shop for browsing, it was a shop to go right into ordering and picking up. Massive lines formed for cosmetics, alcohol, and the longest of all sweets and snacks. 

People used self ordering kiosks to put in what they wanted, to join another queue to pick up at a later counter. 

The mayhem was loud and intimidating. 

I thought things would be better once I escaped the duty free zone into the main concourse. It was not to be. 

The main concourse area has also been renovated. The main foyer is circular with a pop up branded bag shop at the centre. Surrounding the circle and to either side were high fashion jewelry and apparels. Then further to either side, at the temporary end of the corridors (the corridor was walled off for next phase) were perpendicular grids that rejoins the window side concourse, and it is at these islands at the end where restaurants were situated. 

There isn’t a great selection in the current phase yet, there’s sushi, burger, and Japanese sets, only a handful and overwhelmed by the amount of travellers. It was good I had dinner outside already.

Killing time, I checked out the pharmacy and picked up a few items. 

The gift shops were a disappointment with how limited their range of sweet and snackers are. It feels like with the influx of tourists, many of them having never or only been to Japan a few times, have drove demand to be concentrated around the few popular sweets, the “must” gets. To the removal of other less popular sweets. 

Whereas before I might find many different kinds of sweets tied to much more different locals, now it’s limited down to just a dozen lacking any ties to the region or city.

There’s some more variety at the gift shop in the north wing near the gates. Kansai airport has positioned two small clusters of shops along each wing of the terminal, ensure there’s available food and drinks for people waiting for the planes. 

Backtracking to the middle of the north wing I am relieved that Family Mart is still around. I got some alcohol and curry bread for later. I also got a coffee from the Pronto cafe stand but the coffee was unexpectedly awful. How coffee can taste so different when it’s machine made by the same brand?

Our aircraft arrived late and for initially the staff announced that they could not say for sure when we will be boarding, with a hint of uncertain if we will be boarding at all.

There was some unease and after some agitations, people disbursed to look for food and drinks, anticipating a long delay. It was already late, the nearby sandwich bar is still open with scaled back operations. The choice of food was limited.

I sat down and ate the bread from FamilyMart. Slightly worried about the airport pickup I had booked, or what to do if they actually cancelled the flight.

To my surprise, Tiger Air announced not long later that not only will they be flying tonight, they will only be just 40 minutes late. That’s serious impressive turnaround.

It was my third or forth time flying Tiger. Your typical budget airline. There were problems with finding rooms to store people’s handhelds luggages. A few having to be stored separate by flight attendants far down the plane. 

Back to Taiwan, the luggages took forever to show up on the turnstiles, thankfully the airport pickup went smoothly.

I woke up early again and had the croquette burger bought the night before. Cold bread breakfasts are never that fun but they will suffice until there are shops open. 

The onsen bath opens at 6am, to make use of time I half packed the luggages while the clock ticked by. 

Shade by shade the skies grew bright. I was the second one at the bath, the morning fresh and chill, the air full of steam and scent of undisturbed vapour. 

The window glass was fogged up and I could not see anything outside still. I focused on the sensation of the hot onsen water, letting it unwind time and space. I don’t know if onsen or kakenagashi makes any difference, perhaps the effects would be the same with normal hot bath, it was because it’s an onsen I spent time having a bath in the morning. 

There’s two ways of scheduling the morning. Head to Nachi falls early to get ahead of the crowd, then spend more time walking around town before lunch. Alternatively I can go to the tuna auctioning then head to Nachi falls. 

Tuna market it is. It’ll allow me to check out a bit later after I’m back from the auction. I made sure the luggages are good to go before heading out.

I parked at the Katsuura Pier Park Parking, a man made pier in the middle of the harbour that had free parking. It was still several hundred metres from the fish market which was covered in a brisk walk. 

The harbour front was a fishing harbour first and tourist destination second. The footpaths went behind open courtyards by the piers. Nets were laid out and strung up to dry. Fishermans worked to repair nettings and moved equipment and gears to and off the boats. 

At the centre of the harbour was the fish market and processing facilities. There were many tourists already about, crowded around screen nets draped on all sides of the facility where tuna auctioning was happening. 

Hundreds of tunas laid out in rows on the ground, similar in size to the one I saw in Toretore market. Workers gathered in various groups over sections of fish, pointing and discussing.

On the other side of the floor, tunas were being loaded into boxes of various kind and size. Some were loaded into giant plastic buckets filled with ice, others onto wooden trays. In a few hours the tunas would be on the plates somewhere in Tokyo, perhaps even across the oceans in Korea and Taiwan, or even the world. Do they get trucked to the nearest airport in Shirahama and gets flown out? Does that mean there are trucks full of tuna on the road. How many trucks does it take to ship the day’s tuna?

To right of the auction hall was the second fish processing hall, between it and the first was a small entrance way that leads up stairs to the auctioning observation space and tuna fishing information space that explained the history and ways of fishing of Nachi Katsuura. 

Fishing in Nachi Katsuura follows the long line fishing methods, where a very long line is dropped by the boat floated by buoys, attached to the main line are branch lines where baited hooks are attached. These can stretch out for ten of kilometers, I can only imagine to be herculean efforts to recover and pull out the catches.

When leaving I spotted a signboard with map across the street, something about parking. Upon studying I discovered that the building right opposite the fish market where I now stand, an old ice packaging factory that looked to no longer in operation, has its parking spaces in front marked as temporary free parking. Which would have saved me a lot of time walking from and back to the mid harbour pier parking.

On the plus side, I now know where to park when I come back for lunch. 

I ran back to the car. The fishermans were still fixing their nets.

I went back to the hotel and checked out after one final scan of the room, tables and safe. I felt a longing, after checking out it means I’m officially on the return leg of my trip, and by evening there will be the familiar sights of Wakayama station.

Nachi falls is a religious mountain precinct about 10 minutes drive from Katsuura. There is the third Kumano shrine, the Seigantoji buddhist temple, Hiryu shrine. 

The multi faceted intermixing of multiple religious faith and practices is easy to observe here. Since the introduction of buddhism into Japan there has been adaptations and mixing of it with local shinto worships. The Kumano gods have a buddhist facet to them, associated with different buddhas and temples are erected together with their shrines to worship together.

Most of the joint buddha and shinto gods were forcibly separated in the 1800s following the Meiji restoration, shrines and temples had to choose one or the other and elements from the discarded faith removed. Kumano was one place where the duality survived and the Nachi Taisha and Seigantoji temple exists within the same precinct.

The free visitor parking is located at the visitor center at the foot of the mountain. There are other car parks up the mountain that are either paid or require spending at the restaurants and shops there.

From the visitor centre one gets to climb the Daimonzaka up to the shrine, a well maintained part of the Kumano Kodo and not to be missed with a drive directly up. There’s a stamp along the Daimonzaka as well.

The information guides say it should take around 40 to 60 minutes to climb the Daimonzaka, around 600m. From experience it means I can make it in under 30 minutes.

Before the climb formally starts the path goes past a few houses and shops. An old man was collecting oranges from a tree full of round tennis ball sized fruits. Outside one house laid a table with several baskets. Persimmons, 100Y a bag of 6. And a money box to put one’s coin in.

The bargain seeking side of me got the better and I got a bag, and that’s when I realised I was still carrying the mandarines from the night before. Now I’m faced with two extra bags of fruits I really did not need for the climb.

I soldiered on. A few houses up was a Heian kimono rental shop, for the thrill seekers amongst us the opportunity to climb the Daimonzaka and make the pilgrimages in style. 

The climb really starts from a pair of tall cedar trees, so named husband and wife, and enters dense ancient forests that have seen countless millions comes and goes in search of spiritual cleansing.

The path was well maintained, paved with solid, good sized cobble stones easy to find footing on. Through the use of a bamboo hiking stick freely provided in a giant bin at the start of the trail I was able to make good pace. These bamboo hiking stick bins are all over the precinct to help people get around.

I took the trail in one go, stopping only to snap a few photos and sip of water. The trail ends in a landing at the edge of the built up mountain side precinct before going up a few further flights of stairs to join the main road and visitor center. About 20 minutes of solid uphill hiking.

The main district can be looked at in a few sections. Situated halfway up the mountain side, the area is full of steep climbs, stairs and zig zag roads. Facing the mountainside the main street lies on the bottom, consists of several shops and restaurants. The main street slops down to the right, where at a 180 bend starts the path down to the Hiryu shrine and Nachi waterfall. From the left side of the main street starts the main approach to Nachi Taisha, another steep climb up steps with small shops at the side. 

Between Nachi Taisha and Hiryu shrine in a sloping arch is the Seigantoji temple and the postcard famous three storey pagoda, rejoining the main road at the same 180 bend and forming a triangle.

There’s no order to follow when visiting the three places. I took the road down to Hiryu shrine first, thinking I may eventually take the bus down to the carpark, in which case it made sense to catch it from the starting point at the top near Nachi Taisha.

From the 180 hairpin bend the Hiryu shrine path goes down into regal forests, the trees gently spaced, sunlight filtered through in serene calmness, bright and sheltered. The sound of falling water roared louder and louder, till the landing came into view. Either side of the landing were wooden buildings, at the center an incense holder, behind it the torii, and peaking through the trees was the silvery water of the dragon, its long body climbing up the cliffside in majestic motion.

There’s a special wonder to be in the square in the presence of the mighty waterfall, the tallest in Japan with a 133 meters drop. Perhaps it’s the volume of water, or the closeness of the square to the waterfall, or the presence of the trees and the ridgelines. The waterfall’s impact is much greater than other ones I’ve seen despite others being almost twice as high a drop.

There’s a very cleansing effect being in the square, the mind constantly awash with the thundering water, the fragrant incense and burning wood, the fresh and cool mountain air. It’s obvious why people became so enamored and came to worship here. There’s a very deep connection to the surroundings felt in every fibre of the body and soul.

A foreign girl asked me to help take a photo of her which I obliged, then we traded place and I had mine taken as well. 

There’s an inner worship platform closer to the waterfall requiring an entry fee; I skipped that and headed back up, but not before taking photos after photos and collecting a stamp.

Back to the 180 hairpin, I ate some of the persimmons both to lighten the load and to fill the stomach until a better opportunity for a proper meal.

The climb from there to the upper levels was less fun after all the climbing in the morning already. There were so many forks in the paths I had no idea where I was going to emerge, merely keeping the general direction of the big temple hall visible above. 

I stumbled into the courtyard of Seigantoji, out of breath and not thinking. I decided first to be rid of the hiking bamboo. Not thinking, I wandered into to the adjacent Nachi Taisha shrine while looking for a barrel to put the stick. The temple and the shrine separated by only a wall and doorway. 

The Nachi Shrine has a different architecture yet again from the other two, having more buddhist influences with its karahafu roof. The stamp for Nachi Taisha is located here at the prayer hall. The main halls hosting the deities were not accessible. 

There’s a sacred camphor tree said to have been planted to Taira no Shigemori in the end of Heian period. The tree can be entered and if one gets a prayer stick from the shrine shop, can write down one’s wish and place it at the dedicated spot within the sacred tree’s trunk. Then up a flight of steep steps and climb out of the tree at a fork of the branch. 

The Seigantoji consisted of several smaller halls and bell tower. The main worship hall was built in the 1590, the wall and pillar adorned with buddhist chants like many other temples. Inside was the image of Nyoirin Kannon, and also the stamp for the Seigantoji and completes the four stamps for the area.

Slightly downhill from Seigantoji was the three storey pagoda, famous for photos with Nachi falls in the background, as the quintessential landmark of Nachi Taisha.

The pagoda can be entered with a fee of 500Y, an elevator takes one to the forth floor lookout. Surrounded by net for safety, and it was definitely needed as the wind almost knocked the people ahead of me off their feet. 

At the corner facing the waterfall the net has a square opening to offer an unobstructed window for photographs.

That concludes the tour of Nachi Taisha. I headed down the main approach to the shrine, checking out some of the shops, some were old styled shops, such as one selling wood carvings, and a modern cocktail and coffee bar. A few shops had buckets out front under running mountain spring water, stocked with canned drinks. A natural cooler. An irrefusable offer for weary visitors that had just climbed up the Daimonzaka and approach. 

At the main street there was finally the opportunity to look for something to eat and have a break. Up in the upper levels there was only an ice cream and sweets store.

Wakaya Mochi was an omiyage and mochi store of much higher standard than one might expect for a rural area. The fixtures and lighting were in modern Japanese styling. In the basement were modern and spotless toilets. On the upper floor was a free public rest area with great views. 

The ground floor was split in two, half was the omiyage area selling the shop’s main ware, taki mochi, and various other local specialities. The other half is the dine in sweets teahouse.

I ordered the mochi set with coffee and sat down. They offered regular tables as well as raised bench like platform seating. Might be called Koshikake (腰掛)?

The staff kindly pointed out to me and another pair of foreigners at another table that the water here is self service, she points to a tea serving machine that have options of serving hot and cold tea. 

I got a hot tea while waiting for the mochi. Had I saw they had hot tea, perhaps I could have skipped getting coffee.

All the climbing up and down had completely worn me out far more than I realised, perhaps even dehydrated which the tea did much to alleviate.

The mochi was in long strips in the image of Nachi falls. The set came with two of them, stuffed with sweet sauce and was quite delicious. They sold them in the shops, but these were quite difficult to carry in luggages so I did not get any.

The coffee was of good quality, though not spectacular was better than I expected.

I checked the timetable for the bus. It’s about 8 minutes for the bus to go down to the carpark. Add the waiting time for the next bus. I figured I can make the descent about just as quickly, and have an opportunity to see the trail from a different direction.

I bounced down the steps. My estimates were fairly good, I got to the bottom about 2 minutes behind the bus, and I spent some time taking more photos at the husband and wife cedar trees. The Heian kimono rental was quite busy with people after their appointments.

On the drive back to Nachi Katuura I detoured for three further stamps. One in particular, the Fudarakusanji temple had two stamps in one location. The temple itself is a branch of the Seigantoji and thus also a part of the UNESCO listing. It’s a shame I was getting really pressed for time and could not afford time to explore the temple properly.

Noon. I parked the car at the defunct ice factory and headed to the chosen lunch place. Magurotoya, the place seemed to have opened recently using some extra space at a tuna direct distributor and processed tuna manufacturer. 

The place must gets a lot of foreigners, the old woman working both kitchen and front tackled her lack of english with proficient use of instant voice translator on her phone. She spoke in Japanese and her phone translate and read out in English to foreign customers. 

It’s run with a very lean operation. Just about everything was self service, from pickup, self service to the soup, and of course returning the tray afterward, which might be why it was able to sell the tuna bowls so cheaply. They also only sell tuna bowls, no fancy sides or other dishes. You’re here for tuna and you will have tuna.

You do get a few choices of tuna bowls. Yellowfin, albacore, and half and half. On there’s extra portion too for 100Y, technically making 6 choices to pick from!

I went with the half and half 1200Y, curious if I can taste the difference between the two different kinds of tuna. 

Oh all bowls come with aforementioned soup. It’s miso soup with tuna bone cutoffs, and they’re very very generous with the meat on those. Goes without saying, the soup is fantastic and full of umami.

The fishbowl was served with generous tuna portions. Half the bowl had tuna that was slightly redder, the other half paler. The paler one have a firmer texture. I have no idea which was which tuna kind or which I preferred. They’re both good in their own ways. 

I appreciate the place for its simplicity. Though I’m not one to go crazy for tuna, it’s very satisfying to be able to eat this much, essentially to one’s heart’s content.

I took one last walk around the harbour front and the Maruguru market, the local mini version of Toretore where one can buy seafood bowls, tuna portions and grilled seafood and corns. 

There’s a lot of people making use of the onsen foot and hand baths, and quite a few customers in the market. The seafood bowl here was a fair bit more expensive than my lunch, without seeing the actual products it’s hard to say if they were worth the price.

Most of the people here seems to be foreigners, there’s little doubt that the popularisation of the area recently has given a much needed injection of tourism money on weekdays when local Japanese tourists are few. That’s one aspect that people often misses when looking at tourists numbers.

Foreign tourists are much less sensitive to weekends and holidays. Obviously foreign tourists will also plan their trips to take advantage of weekends as much as possible, that their trip will generally be for a few days means there’s a high likely hood they will visit on the other weekdays, especially Fridays and Mondays. There’s a smoothing effect that makes better utilisation of resources, both public and for businesses. Instead of having to hire 4 staff on weekends and then have one or two of them standing around doing nothing on weekday, it may be 3 on the weekends and one or two making business, even if not super busy, on weekdays. The same for local buses, hotels. That businesses don’t need to rely on weekends to cover for empty weekdays have a massive impact on profitability and viability of the tourism industry.

I also like how Nachi Katsuura has organised their facilities with what must be very limited resources. Rather than pushing out the fishing industry to make way for tourist facilities, they’ve incorporated it, letting the foreshore remain dedicated to the fishing boats while having like the foot baths and outdoor seating of the Maruguru markets face direct at the harbour and fishing boats. The view is the fishing industry. There’s no fear of the fishing boats and nets make for poor scenery. Indeed the foreshore is quite tidy, perhaps with some efforts from the locals to keep it clean as they go about their regular work.

Finally, it was time to say goodbye. It’s about 2 and a half hours drive back to Wakayama, with rest stops close to three hours, and I want to take a detour to the southern most honshu island point too. 

There’s no expressway for the first half of the trip, a windy local coastal road down to Kushimoto. The coastline was rocky and full of peninsulas and bays. Dotted with small fishing harbours, there’s not many spots worth stopping.

The first rest stop was at Kushimotohashiguiiwa roadside station. Hashiguiiwas is a notable geological feature of the Nanki Geopark. A straight line of peculiar rocks that stretches into the sea, some large, some small, like the fins of a dragon’s back. The line of rocks was formed by magmas that flowed underground million years ago forming straight lines of hardened rocks. As the earth was pushed up to sea level, rocks around the magma tube were eroded by waves, leaving a straight line of rocks standing like a bridge or wall.

The road passes by the rock formation and between the two the shores someone took advantage and built a roadside station, giving a space to park, get up and personal with the rocks, and pick up some snacks and gifts.

Being pressed on time I didn’t go down to the rocks. The roadstation have a lookout on its second floor which gave a good view of the peculiar landscape. I was also on the lookout for some gifts to bring back and saw some Nanki limited goods, or so they say anyway. I saw a yuzu jam and was tempted, but the bottle was about 300g and I wasn’t sure about buying that much.

The southern most point lies on a weird peninsula hanging off the main land. It was actually an island at some point in the past, built up sediments between it and the mainland eventually connected the two and the land became Kushimoto town.

The area around the marker was an open grassland, perhaps due to the high winds. There’s a dedicated observation building in the grassland, a singular lonely block with glass walls toward the seaside. A worker worked meticulously making sure that glass was absolutely spotless. Inside were seats and tables designed to allow visitors to sit comfortably while looking out to the sea.

The weather was good today and the building may seem odd, on an even windier day or in poorer weather, I can imagine this building being much appreciated. 

The back half of the room had several information panels explaining the Nanki geopark and how many of its most notable features were formed, such as the Hashiguiiwas and the landbridge connection of Kushimoto. 

Further in was a geopark education centre. A big gift shop and eatery. An observation tower with a coffee shop on its ground floor. 

The observation tower have a hefty entry fee to to up. My interest lies in the coffee shop.

In contrast to the rest of the obserservation tower and gift shop that screamed Showa era, the coffee shop was something that felt more at home at Azabudai Hills. 

Large window panes framed by white exteriors. The interior was minimalistic smooth concrete, the space was balanced by two islands, one a curved island counter where the cashier, cakes and coffee machine sat, the other an island where following its contour was bench seats paired with various types of tables, suited for singles, couples or groups to sit and enjoy the view.

The google reviews strongly praised the cheesecake here, to such degree I felt I had to try it out. 

Sadly the basque cheesecakes I had my eyes on were already sold out. I settled for a white chocolate cheesecake then found a seat around the island and lied back.

The cake was very smooth, not too rich or too strong in flavour. It reminds me of 15 Cenchi in Sydney. While I don’t think the cakes are as good as the reviews made them out to be ( could be the best cake already sold out), there’s no doubt it deserves some of the praises.

There was still a long way to go till Wakayama. Was it worth stopping anywhere else, perhaps sunset in Shirahama? The car isn’t due till 7:30pm.

After some thoughts, it was best to head back directly and if I still have energy left, there may be time to go to Donki after dinner.

Back onto the road now it’s non-stop to Wakayama, the only pause being at Inan service area. Road conditions were good and easy to drive with cruise control, with the exception of a slow car that kept slowing down in the tunnels everything went smoothly.

Returned the car, haul the luggage across the station and check back into Comfort Hotel. It was past 6 by the time I was ready to go for dinner. 

Taking the easy way out, I went to Marumi Shoten, a popular chinese soba wakayama ramen shop that’s in B1 of the station mall.

Their most popular menu item, the tsukeman was already sold out. At least there was not a line. I got the basic chinese soba ramen. The flavour is much more layered compared to Seino and I much better prefer.

After dinner I walked to Donki, on the other side of the river. Much of the shops were already closed as expected, what did got my attention was how many night entertainment shops there appeared to be. 

For what felt like three entire blocks, there were just neon signs of very colourful venues, massages and bars. It’s not the intensity of Kabukicho in Shinjuku, but the area and number of venues I seemed to pass felt disproportionate to Wakayama’s population of 300k. 

Donki here is on the smaller end. They don’t seem to be too tourist focused, there’s just 3 floors and the foods section focuses more on daily grocery such as sauces and curries and less on snacks and other weird Donki specialties. 

The world outside was still dark. It was about 3am. 

Breakfast is always difficult in Japan and doubly so in these rural areas. Infinitely so when it’s a town as small as the Hongu area. 

I had bought some bread back in Wakayama on the first day, plus some more bread the day before near Toretore, and there’s two cup ramen in my supplies. I pondered, then realised I will likely need both bread and ramen by the time it’s ready to head out.

The bread first as it’s more stale, I reasoned. I went downstairs and heated up the pizza bread in the microwave. Savoury bread getting more traction in Japan is something I can wholeheartedly throw my support behind.

I rechecked the schedule, the location of the stamps. Was it worth visiting the few extra locations in Shingu city that I had not planned before? I have a car, so it seem like it won’t take that much longer to do some run around. The pretty stampbook dedicated to Nakahechi, with its description and map of all the stamp locations got my hooked. 

I fell asleep and woke again. This time it was near 6, time to get ready to go. I ate a bowl of ramen this time for breakfast, feeling weird and right at the same time.

After that I packed, got ready and headed out, both earlier and later than I want. Earlier as I had thought I’d need till close to 8 in my scheduling. Later as the sun was already coming up and too late to catch the best shot from the vantage point by the time I get up there.

I reached the Hongu area and started my climb to the vantage point. On top of the slopes behind the shrine, along the trail coming in from the Nonaka side, was a vantage point that offered a perfect view of the giant torii and the surrounding mountain ranges. The entrance was behind a row of houses, a flight of stairs climbing up from a fork of the road, quite well signed if one knew what to look for. 

I wasn’t sure how long the climb would take. On the Japanese blogs someone said about 30-40 minutes up and back. That turned out to be fairly accurate. I found myself at the intersection of the detour loop track that goes to the vantage point in what must be close to 15 minutes. 

Being a loop the trail has two ways up, one that is steeper and closer to Hongu where I am, and another more shallow one for what must be further up the trail. For the steeper one there was also two paths, one that goes directly up the slope and another that takes a more gentle but longer zig zag. I took the direct way up and the zig zag down, and regretting the direct way as it was very very steep and the footholds quite tight. 

At the top was a small clearing. A few thoughtfully placed benches had been erected, and down slope past the line of trees was the valley below, the giant torii rising like a sumi ink painting against the backdrop of ridges and mists. 

I stood there for the longest time in awe, feeling what pilgrims from centuries past must have felt when they came over the mountains and saw the shrine below. What people today who walk the Kumano Kodo must feel after eight hours of ruthless hiking and a fire for me to walk this trail myself. 

Hongu was getting lively by the time I descended. I offered my prayers to the mountain deities, thought about getting some charms but really held back due to the prominence of the yatagarasu. A black bird feels out of place on what’s supposed to bring luck. 

I decided to leave the charm for the other shrines. I was ahead of schedule and felt adventurous. I could fit in a quick bit in Yunomine Onsen. As the Onsen is a vital part of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage since ancient times, it’s also included as part of the UNESCO registration, in particular the Tsuboyu public bath in the middle of town. 

Before I start the car I took out the other bread I got, some raisin butter bread and it turned out to be heavenly. The rich butter just melts in the mouth mixed with the sweetness of the raisin, it was all I could do to not wolf down the entire pack. 

It’s about a 10 minute drive through a narrow winding back road. The onsen town isn’t very big and looked run down in several places. The town sits in a narrow valley where a steaming stream runs through. The visitor parking is downstream of the valley, the whole town isn’t very big so it’s no trouble walking back.

The onsen town, if it can be even called that, consists of a few score of buildings stretched over two hundred metres, tightly packed on either side of the stream. The town centres around Tokoji temple, the public onsen bathhouse, the tsuboyu and where the bus stop is. A mini townsquare with little else outside of it. It’s early and far as I could tell no shops were open. Ironically there’s a few more bars open here compared to the Hongu area. A line of foreigners huddle beside the bus stop waiting to continue on their journey.

There’s a onsen cooking basin one could put eggs and it’ll be perfect onsen egg in about 12 minutes, supposedly. The shop supposed to sell the eggs is closed.

Behind the tsuboyu is the path toward Hongu. About 5 minutes climb to get my stamp for Yunomine. 

On google map I found a cafe on the way to Doro Kyo, and before that I realised I could make a further detour to the detour and drive past Kawayu onsen, where onsen is along the riverbank themselves, all one had to do was to dig down. Ryokans along the river dig out their baths right there on the bank of the river. In winter the town builds a public bath called sennin buro where a huge outdoor bath is constructed in the middle of the river, large enough for a thousand people to bath in.

At the fork where the Kawayu onsen road rejoins the main road, I stopped at one of the only morning cafe in the area. At the confluence of two rivers and where the roads joined from west, north and east, a small village had grown out of the traffic, perhaps been so since ancient times. 

Cafe Aimi’s sits close to Utagawa bus stop where the Nachi-Kumano side of the Kumano Kodo starts. The location must have given it a stream of foreign customers. The cafe has menu in english and many reviews were left by foreigners. 

I was the only one there. It’s a small family run cafe with a row of counter seats and Showa era family seats. I shuffled into the family seat by the window and ordered coffee and french toast, which was a common praised mention in the reviews. The cafe mostly served toast and sandwiches. There are also curry rice and pilav (and kind of fried rice), that’s about as complex as the menu gets. 

The quiet was broken by two locals who entered and gave the place a very cozy chatter between them and the owner. It’s hard to imagine these days where a shop exists more than just a shop but a local fixture, where it exists to provide more a service to the community than to make money. My thoughts go back to this video I’ve seen of a snack shop outside a temple which has been selling grilled mochi for centuries. The owner kept the price exactly where it was for the longest time despite the shop’s popularity, they felt it was their duty to continue on the shop that has served worshippers for centuries and make sure it can carry on for centuries more. 

The toast was good, to be fair french toast is not a common dish in Australia so there’s some bias there. The coffee I can authoritively give opinion on, is very good, I always appreciate a coffee that I can drink black, which so far has only been found in Japan.

The vibe of the place was so good I overstayed and found myself pressed to make the next stop, an 11am booking for the boat ride at Doro Kyo. 

Doro Kyo is a scenic gorge to the north east of Hongu area. It sits in a bend of river and a messy administrative area that are exclaves of Wakayama, surrounded by Mie and Nara prefectures. 

The area used to be associated with Shingu in Wakayama more due to the presence of the river and its traffic, at the time of boundary redrawing the locals asked to continue be placed with Wakayam so the exclave was created. With the popularisation of cars and newly constructed roads, the area no longer has as close ties to Shingu as before, there are more direct roads to other cities in Mie, but the village remains a part of Wakayama.

The Doro Kyo, meaning a deep and gentle gorge. The stratified rocks were hardened by magma, as the river erodes the rock walls proves too hard for the river to erode horizontally and could only continue eroding downward, forming very deep gorges. The deep gorges slows the currents, creating a calm, almost mirror like surface that reflects the cliff walls. 

Originally I was meant to have lunch here. The area used to thrive with timber logging and logs have been floated down the river for hundreds of years. An old inn Doro Hotel used to serve the timber logging workers of the area remains atop the cliff, and has been re-purposed into a cafe that looks out over a bend of the gorge. 

Sadly the hotel was closed that day, so I will have to have my lunch later. 

During summer the gorge has much more activities, November was toward the end of the season, after that everything ceases for the winter. The Kumano river boat company offers two separate boat rides, one that follows the old pilgrim route down Kumano river to Shingu, and the other a tour of the Doro Kyo gorge. 

The one down the Kumano river can be booked via the Kumano travel english website, not the one for Doro Kyo though. Originally I didn’t give it much hope but tossed an email when I was still planning. Surprisingly I got a response. They wanted to confirm I would be able to access the boat boarding area as there’s no public transport. Once I confirmed I would be driving they booked me in. Simple and painless.

The road to the boating area follows the Kumano river through beautiful pristine wooded ranges. There are several long tunnels, the turn off to the boat area was just outside one of the tunnel exits, thankfully there is plenty of signage giving warning ahead of time. 

The boat ride is 3000Y, expecting to take about 40 minutes. There were a good number of people, 12 including myself, enough that they prepared two boats, 6 in each in rows of 2. The number on the side of the boat suggested each could hold 12 in rows of 3 if they needed, which would be quite cramped in that scenario.

I got put in the second ship, toward the back of the boat as well, which ensured I don’t get too many water sprays as the boat navigated the rapids. The staff checked if I could understand Japanese and I assured them I can understand basic conversation okay. During the boat ride I was able to catch what the boat operator who was also the guide said about the gorge and various rock formations, at least I think I understood him right. 

The staff had a fairly casual approach to things, likely due to how out of the way this was everyone that was here was here for the boat, and they knew exactly how many people was supposed to be there. They handed out straw hats sugegasa so we can feel like the travellers of old. On the boat they also gave out blankets to keep our legs warm which was definitely needed as it was very chilly in the gorge where the sun could not reach.

We depart from a shoal in a bend in the river where the water was shallow and gentle. The boat was fashioned with resemblance to traditional crafts of old, powered by a motor in the back. The draft have to be incredibly shallow as the operator guided the boat up shallow rapids that could not be more than a foot deep. He pointed out fishes swimming in the crystal waters. Ayu, sweet fish, he said, a mix of pride and excitement. 

The waterway narrowed and the cliffs rose on either side. The emerald waters became still and unknowably deep. An odd emotion swelled, a surreal feel of gliding across the surface of a mysterious void that was halfway up swallowing the cliffs and mountains. The verticality of the cliffs had no beginning nor end, plunging straight into the water and into nothingness.

We progressed up the S shaped bends of the gorge, occasionally the operator lined the boat up next to notable rock features and pointed them out to us, often named after some resemblance to animals and people. 

Around the bend the Doro Hotel came into view, a silent watcher atop the cliffside. Nearby was the yambiko suspension bridge, a few small figures shifted down its length. I studied the bridge and any paths between it and the hotel and could not see any. I will have to figure out how to get to the bridge later, hopefully it’s from the hotel.

The boat turned back upon reaching the other end of the gorge where the river became a set of rapids again. The way back the guide pushed more power to the engines and turned the boat halfway into a river jet, even taking the boat through a spin around some rocks.

Finally we were back at the boat landing. The sun was high up now and the mountain sides were lit up with gold and colours. 

A decent bit of fun and the boat ride was well run, though the investment in time and the access and required detours presents a challenge.

I then drove to the Doro Hotel, found the way to the Yamabiko bridge. There’s a sign that said go down the left and keep going. There’s also a post office and a police station here, that must be a relic from the days when the area had more residents from the timber industry. As it is I cannot imagine them seeing much demand. 

Beyond the Yamabiko bridge should be a pathway that leads further up to a lookout. I turned back at the end of the bridge. Lunch awaits, and there’s more stamping in the afternoon.

I made a mad dash to the Kumano Boat River Cruise centre. It’s the departing point for the boat that goes down river to Shingu. There’s a stamp here, a recognition for its part in continuing the pilgrimage tradition. 

Next to the centre is a small eatery where lunch is available but only till 2pm, hence the dash and managed to get there by 1pm. There’s quite a few foreigners on the Kumano Kodo there, less clear if they intended to catch the boat downstream or to continue on by bus. 

The eatery specialises in mehari sushi, a local dish that’s rice ball wrapped in salted takana leaves. In the past it served as easy portable food for workers and travellers and was much more plain, unlike the modern adaptations which can be filled with a variety of stuffings. Mehari literally means eye opening, which may be referring to how delicious they are, or needing to open one’s eyes and mouth wide to fit the big rice balls. Modern mehari sushi tends to be much smaller, that second explanation probably doesn’t apply so much.

Though the first definitely does. The salted leaves combined with the rice was incredible. The set menu also came with sides which one picked between croquette salad or stewed vegetables. I picked the croquette, taste was nothing special. 

Just the mehari sushi themselves were worth it.

The afternoon involved 3 shrines, Kamikura, Hayatama and Asuka. The first two are part of the Kumano shrines while Asuka was slightly more distant but still a part of the Kumano faith, with the Kumano gods said to have been invited to visit the shrine.

I first stopped at Kamikura, making the wrong turn and having to navigate a very narrow alley with the parking sensors blaring every metres of the way, as if I was not stressed enough. There’s parking right in front of the shrine, thankfully there was still a spot. A downside with driving is definitely having to worry about parking, which are not exactly plentiful in Japan.

Kamikura’s shrine is atop a flight of very steep stairs. The steepness would have been manageable if not for the steps. Made of a chaos of uneven rocks, it’s like the gods let a bunch of bowling bowl sized boulders tumble the mountain side, kicked a few off to make some indentation which made for steps, then poured concrete and affixed them all in place. It required constant careful placements to not trip or slip, angling from one side of the steps to the other for better footings. 

It took around 10 minutes to make the climb, for the first time I genuinely thought a temple’s steps were dangerous. 

Those who brave and survive the steps are treated with a wide view of Shingu city, the mouth of the Kumano river meets the sea. The realisation I was now seeing the ocean on the eastern side of the Kii peninsula, was as if I drove across a continent. 

The shrine presents a rare opportunity to be up close to a shrine’s object of worship, usually these objects where the deity dwells are hidden away from view. In this case a giant round boulder sitting stop the mountainside, said to be when the gods of Kumano first descended to earth. 

The stamp was nowhere to be found. I looked around for the little mailbox like stamp stands I’ve gotten used to the sight of. Not here, not even a table where the stamp could be placed.

It could be down below, in fact it probably was, with how exposed the terrain is up here. But if it wasn’t. I decided I had best verify before making the next move, there was no way I was climbing those steps twice. In fact I should have looked it up before heading straight up.

I pulled out my phone and sure enough, it was one down below at the shrine’s admin building. 

It was close to a waste of time. No, I decided. Even if I had found the stamp below first, I would have climbed up anyway. 

Getting down was a lot easier than climbing up, though not any safer. I carefully stepped in a zig zag fashion to give myself better footing on the narrow steps. 

At the bottom I found the admin building, on the opposite side to the main path upon entering across the bridge. I smashed the stamp firmly onto the page. There.

After this it’s the Hayatama shrine, the second of the three Kumano shrines. Being on flat grounds and in the city, it’s the least dramatic of the three and the smallest in scale. It has a very different vibe with its bright vermillion colours. 

There’s a giant bayberry tree in the courtyard, the largest in Japan. Said to have been planted by Kiyomori in gratitude after the Kumano gods protected his son in battle. 

I dwelled only long enough to offer my prayers. As I was about to leave I saw the treasure hall was open for visits. The treasure hall at Hongu is closed on weekdays, not so here. The building was not very large, it was doubtful they would have a vast collection on display. The sign does say there are several national treasures and my interest was piqued. When I think of national treasures I usually think of the buddhist statues of Kohfukuji. What could be on display here? I handed over 500Y entry fee and was in turn handed an A4 printout, not even a proper brochure. 

The seemingly lack of professionalism and efforts in presentation aside, the materials was fairly interesting. Sadly no photos allowed and no english translations available. 

The exhibits largely falls in 3 groups. One are the replica images of the Kumano gods, with explanations and photos of how the process was carried out. Second was the worship boats and floats. Third were the most numerous, varied and contained several national treasures. Kumano was highly regarded with pilgrimages from many nobles and even emperors. When these people of high position and wealth visits, they would dedicate various objects as offering to the Kumano gods. These objects of fantastic craftsmanship and artistic values are then passed down through the centuries in the shrines’ keeping, until modern times. 

On display were some very fine artifacts from the Heian and Muromachi periods. Bronze mirrors, metal combs with teeth so fine it’s like a baleen whale’s mouth, jewelry boxes and fans. There’s an interesting dimension to these objects not being personal possessions but property of the divine, given over to the gods, a small window into the past for what people deemed worthy for powers beyond comprehension.

The treasure hall was definitely worth the money and time. Ironically had the hall been bigger I would probably have skipped it with me pressed for time.

Asuka Shrine was maybe 5 minutes drive away. At first I could not find the stamps, yet again. I wandered into the adjacent folk history museum, the attendant there upon asking told me the stamp is right there in the main hall of the shrine. 

I returned to the shrine once more and found the stamp right where the attendant said to be. I had mistaken the stamp and tables to be something related to making shrine offerings or omikuji. 

While not yet sunset, it was definitely past time the sun held any warmth and was falling west rapidly. I jumped back into the car, with the goal of getting to Nachi-Katsuura with enough time to walk around the foreshore for a bit. There’s a small island not far from the shoreline, Bentenjima, with a small shrine on it. I’ve seen photos that at low tide it’s possible to walk to the island. Maybe I would get lucky. 

My accommodation at Nach-Katsuura is Hotel Ichinotaki, the first time I’ve stayed at a place like it. It’s a… traditional hotel. Not traditional like a ryokan, but a traditional old style hotel. But also not a traditional business hotel where it’s dark and full of cigarette tar. Old style, tour group focuses, tatami roomed, old style hotel. Except it’s not anymore. 

It’s really really hard to describe. 

I found it by luck on Rakuten. On first glance I thought it was one of those plain stay, no meals offering of a ryokan style hotel. But no, actually the place does not offering meals even if one wanted to. 

It also has onsen, and I thought it might be a small sized guesthouse up-convert with piped onsen for a small bath since Nachi-Katuura has plenty of onsen water. But it actually has a huge onsen bath. 

Huge onsen bath, tatami styled rooms, sea views for every room, no meal service, no facilities, no upselling services. The only conclusion to be drawn was that it’s a Showa era hotel that used to cater to tour groups in the booming 80s, then after the bubble burst it had to downsize and scale back to the absolute barebone, eventually finding a niche as a no-frills onsen hotel that makes the best use of the existing building and offering little else to save costs.

There’s some validation to my theory, after I checked in I found some empty space that would have been used in the old days for conferences, entertainments or mass dining.

My room was on the ground floor, the only room on this wing of the building, the other spaces had been closed off. At an angle opposite the shared toilets. 

The room is exceedingly large, divided into 3 sections in the proper fashion. The entry area where one could take off one’s shoes and step up into the room proper. The main tatami area for living and sleeping. A window facing engawa area where seats and western style tea table are placed, also in this space is a sink and a bar fridge. The three sections are separated by shoji so a family can avoid disturbing others when utilising the spaces.

The key was linked with a plastic crystal baton engraved with the room number not seen since the early 2000s. I tossed it onto the tea table and sat down on the tatami. It was half past 3 and although I really wanted to go out and take advantage of the remaining daylight, I realised I was quite drained, physically and mentally.

Giving myself till at least 4pm, I put on the kettle and settled down for tea. 

A pack of chocolate was rummaged and found in the corner of the luggage case, lost there since the first night when it was bought. 

The sweetness of it went well with the bitter tea, I feel the mind open and a dryness in the back of the neck ease.

Bentenjima sat outside the window, the waves cresting over the reefs between it and the foreshore. The island was really close, what feels like a stone’s throw away. A few fishing boats bobbed at anchor. Between the hotel and the island the foreshore was a dock where fisherman actively worked.

Feeling rested I headed out, walking along the docks closer to Bentenjima. 

There were perhaps a score of tourists about, walking to and fro all along the shore. The path took a turn and continued around the island, leaving behind the docks and into a small path paved along the edge of the rocky shore. 

The path was built after the various breakwaters and erosion prevention slopes had been built, seemingly makeshift at times, narrowly skirting halfway up the concrete foundations of a massive carpark that had been built on reclaimed land over part of the foreshore reef.

It was quite an adventure, following on and on guessing at when the path ends. 

Finally at the far end of the carpark the path split into two, one onto the rocks and the other up to the roads. 

I ventured down to the rocks and peeked around the rockface. The waves were wild and breaking over jagged rocks. At the bottom of the cliff face it had carved a deep pool and there was no traversing any further, at least not with the tide. Far in the distant I spot one of the supposed pirate caves. Eroded archways through which one can see the sea on the other side.

I took the same path back to the hotel, the setting sun and the sea breeze on my skin. 

Almost time for dinner. 

Nachi Katsuura have a good number of dinner choices for a town of its size, perhaps due to it being a tourist destination. 

There were a choice of ramen, various tuna cuisines being the most famous port in Japan for its tuna haul, and some western cuisines such as pizza and pasta, unsure of why the cosmopolitan vibe.

Tuna seems like an obvious choice. I decide to leave tuna for tomorrow when it’s warmer, and have something different for a change. 

Going full retro on this trip.

There’s a western diner. Western as in what Japanese considered western back in the 80s and not what westerner actually eats. Gurume, the place was aptly named.

I walked to the city centre, it’s about 800m from Hotel Ichinotaki. 

When I entered Gurume I was beyond delighted by the adorable decor and exactly what I imagined a retro diner in Japan. The glass and mirror alcoves behind the bar counter. The various english words and western looking items, random patches that said California, a wall telephone from the 30s, a coffee poster in retro style art and font.

I ordered pork cutlet with curry. The curry was a touch sour and gave a nice tangyness, not sure if they added lemon or vinegar. Price was well under 1000Y and was very good value. The coffee was 500Y, same price as their highball.

A good experience. I wouldn’t line up for the place but if one was not in the mood for izakaya or tuna, it’s a good place for variety.

I took a detour through the town’s shopping street on the way back. Randomly buying a bag of mandarins that were on sale. These were early harvest mandarins that haven’t fully ripened yet, the sign promised no sourness. 

At the Lawson on the way back I went in to get something for breakfast. Landed on a meat croquette burger and got lured by the milk pudding with big multi-language sign saying it’s the most popular item. Since they insist…

Back to the hotel it’s time for some onsen. The change area is overly large, the change area had little amenities, there’s even just two hairdryers. Everything has the passage of time on them, very well kept and there’s no question around cleanliness. 

There bathhouse has large windows facing the sea side. It was dark out, the scene would be better in the morning. There are two baths, one hot and the other warm. 

There were maybe 4-5 others, the baths were plenty large, plenty of room between everyone.

Other than the shared toilet which was very ancient and too dimly lit and small, the place was very good for the price. 

I sat by the window eating the pudding.. I actually feel like I’ve done this before on previous trips, even having the same thoughts that the pudding is nothing special. 

Rolling on the mattress in the massive room I had the best sleep of the trip.

Comfort Hotel breakfast sits somewhere on the low end between Smile and Super. Comfort Hotel Wakayama neither disappoints nor surprises. 

Some day I’ll find out just how much better Dormy is. The other chains aren’t as consistent and can’t throw a dart on how good the food is by brand alone. 

The line was huge, there seemed to be a few extra tourists that morning, a tour perhaps, that had everyone rush in the moment breakfast opened. 

Even with the delays I finished eating in no time and was back in the room getting ready to go. I had already pre-packed half of it when I woke up in the middle of the night, the rest was just sweeping away the face wash and tooth brush. 

I was out the door after 8. The Toyota Rental Car was on the other side of the tracks which I had discovered the underpass the day before while looking for Kishigawa railway. There are elevators on both side and there was no issue lugging the luggages. Toyota was right outside the underpass exit across the road, something I had not planned but worked out in my favour with Comfort Hotel’s location, both were essentially on the underpass side of the station. 

I was at the store by 8:15, did the usual stuff and was out before 8:30. The staff did not prep the rental materials in English, nor the car’s nav systems, which was weird, considering even a little dink in Ise managed to do that for me. The attendant went over the usual, petrol station location, emergency call number and sent me on my way.

The car was an Aqua again which I was glad to see. I had figured its quirky controls from the trip to Kusatsu and didn’t need to familiarise myself with a foreign layout. 

The rental store being on the east side put its fairly close to the expressway interchange. It’s a straight run down the main thoroughfare then a few turny windy navigating the extremely confusing Japanese interchange that love putting both directions behind the same set of toll booths so they didn’t need to build two. 

It was just an hour drive from Wakayama to the first major stop, Shirahama.

A short stop at Inami Service Area to stretch the legs. There’s a small eatery attached to the combined small groceries and omiyage shop, it’s basic, tiny compared to the one on the way to Kusatsu, barely could be considered a Service Area station and closer to a PA. I picked a mandarin cheesecake with the plan to collect different ones throughout the trip.

Back on the road, I reached Toretore market in Shirahama around 10am. Toretore market is a seafood market that sells fresh seafood, and also offers service to cook them. There’s also a eatery that sells sushi and seafood bowls. 

Wakayama with its long coastline and close to the Black Current is famous for seafood and there’s quite a few of these seafood markets around. Wakayama city has one as well called the Kuroshio Market, though that one is hard to access by public transport. Not that Toretore is but if one is in Shirahama, one is probably driving already.

Before I got my bearing of the great halls and the varied stalls, the tuna stand where they put on tuna cutting show caught my attention. A sign said cutting show starts at 12 noon.

I checked the time. Almost two hours. I could skip the show and stick to the schedule, though I am almost an hour early since I got the car early. Or I can tour Shirahama and come back by 12. 

It was doable. Tight, but doable. 

As quickly as I entered thus did I exit. The first stop was to Banshoyama park, an outlook near Shirahama’s well known sights, the Engetsu Island. 

Wakayama is dotted with numerous curious rock formations and islands along its coastline, Shirahama is no exception. I noted a few that were easy access and plan to play it by ear based on the time. 

Banshoyama park covers a small peninsula that rises to the north of Shirahama beach. It has 3 lookouts, a lookout tower and hosts a museum dedicated to a local biologist Minakata Kumagusu. There’s a few steep slopes but overall fairly easy to get around and took about 30minutes for a loop. The lookout tower gave a full 360 view of the surroundings and jagged coastlines.

On the whole a spot that’s just a bit above average, a decent spot to visit if there’s time and acceptably missable. 

A quick hop nearby is the Engetsu Island vantage point. The Engetsu Island is rock island with a large archway at its centre. When the weather is right one could see the sunset or the moon lined up with the archway, even through it. 

The vantage spots are along the road that circled the waterfront, with a large painted green buffer for people to crowd along. There were few cars around and I could park right next to the main vantage area, there is a larger parking lot a few hundred metres further down. By the parking lot is a shuttered building that might have once sold something to busy tourists.

Shirahama is a typical tourist area that grew out of Japan’s economic boom up till the 80s and never fully recovered since. A combination of shifted market, altered tourism style, too much locked in capital and infrastructure around coach bus tour based visits, outdated thinkings often made these tourist areas difficult to renew. The efforts needed to replan, rebrand and rebuild the industry to modern individual freestyle instagram focused tourism is beyond what the local governments could achieve on their own. 

The first step would be to knock down old dilapidated buildings and reshape a more condensed easily accessible core area. As seen from Atami, Kinugawa and other areas, just the matter of knocking down old abandoned buildings is a major task by itself with matter of property rights, costs, adverse incentives, much less building something new in the vacated space. 

The feeling did not change once I parked my car at a convenience store near the main beach. I got a drink and took a quick stroll down the beachfront. 

A flock of people were busy cleaning the beach, picking up trash, making sure the sand was pristine. A few hotels dominate the beachfront, the main street is set back from the waters, there’s a smattering of restaurants and shops. There’s a strange claustrophobic feel to the area, perhaps it’s the inset bay shape of the beach and narrow frontage of only a few hundred meters, not helped by tall buildings on both ends of the crescent. 

For a popular beachside the sparseness of the main street was surprising and understandable. In the old tour group tourism style, people would mostly meet all their needs within the hotel themselves, removing the need for restaurants or shops outside. It led to scattered formation without a cohesive or concentration of retail experience to hit that critical mass. Now it’s difficult to redo the layout of the town for a better experience.

In a country with few good beaches, there’s no doubt of the draw Shirahama has. To be fair I’m spoiled with beaches that stretch far as eyes can see.

South of the main beach is the Sandanbeki, a cliffside with distinct sandwich layered rocks that points into the water. At the base of the finger is a large cavern eroded by the waves, a network of caves and tunnels, perfect for hiding ships and utilities by pirates and other coastal forces in the past.

To enter the cavern involved a hefty fee and being pressed for time, I was happy to look at the waves from above. There’s a short walk from the road to the cliffside, a small handful of shops plying produce and snacks to visitors. The main Sandanbeki building where the entrance to the cavern also has a cafe, in front is a foot onsen where one can bite into soft serves and drinks and enjoy a great view of the sea.

A small trail leads down onto the flat rock tops, relatively flat, one does need to watch one’s footings to not trip on unevenly eroded and painfully sharp surfaces.

This is one of those tour bus friendly spots and I passed several tour groups, most were Taiwanese surprisingly enough, with maybe one mainland Chinese tour group.

After the fast paced circuit I rush back to Toretore, perfectly timed for the tuna cutting show.

The staff placed two tunas on the table, each about a metre long. I’m not confident but gathered that usually on TV the massive specimens tall as a grown man are bluefins, here in Wakayama the tuna breed caught are closer to shore and smaller. 

The tuna cutting turned out to be just as much as a sales as a show. The fish master deftly cut into the tuna, carving up the head and filleting it into various portions. As he plates each portion, an attendant would take over and excitedly call out the uniqueness of the cut and present it to the crowd, exclaiming what a bargain it was. 

Aside from tuna which was the star of the market, there were plenty other seafood. Other fish, shellfish, live crabs in giant tanks. There are ones sold as a whole suitable for taking home and others cut in smaller portions, suitable for cooking in the BBQ corner. Toretore market has a BBQ corner where for a table fee, one could cook up all sort of ingredient bought throughout the market. Not just seafood, meat and other vegies also.

Being by myself I put no thoughts to using the bbq service. Thankfully the place also has a sashimi and seafood bowl corner. 

I got the fisherman’s meal, supposedly a weekday only special and only in limited quantities. Not entirely sure what sets it apart from a regular sashimi bowl, perhaps it’s the variety of fish it has in it which was quite a few. Sadly I could not name any other than tuna, and at that not sure which cuts of the tuna.

Into the afternoon it was time to head onto the Kumano Kodo. Before that though some bread and snacks from a supermarket one slight detour over. I was headed into very sparsely populated mountain areas and don’t expect much opportunities to resupply, even convenience stores I have doubts on having a full inventory. 

Kumano Kodo is a set of several pilgrimage routes throughout the Kumano area centered around the three Kumano mountain shrines. The most popular one is the Nakahechi, running from Tanabe through Hongu to the other two shrines, Hayateyama and Nachi. The other ones include the Kohechi starting from Koyasan, less popular but also decently travelled and signed. The inconsistent Ohechi that runs along the coast and overtaken by modern roads, Iseji that runs from Ise, and the very sparse and potentially dangerous Ome Okugake that runs from Yoshino through some of the wildest and untamed terrains. 

I’ll be following the Nakahechi by car, covering the journey in two days in what would normally take 4-5 days on foot. 

The road roughly follows the same course as the trail, intersecting at several points usually at villages that served as rest stops or overnights for those on foot. The road winds through and under mountains, the trail climbs up and over the ridges, until finally meeting Kumano Hongu at a bend of the great Kumano river. Pilgrims have walked for hundreds of years on this trail, with deep beliefs in mountain worships. 

Along the trails are Ojis, sub-shrines that guide and protect the pilgrims on their journey. A major one of these and the first stop for me is Takijiri Oji. 

Takijiri is where the trail begins for most people. Although the 4th stamp on the Nakahechi which starts in Tanabe, the UNESCO Dual-Pilgrimage stamp collection for Nakahechi begins here and mostly where the wilderness trail starts. The standard trip has people taking a train to Tanabe then a bus to Takijiri.

At Takijiri is also a Kumano Kodo Centre where one could pick up a stamp book, and if one found they forgot a piece of gear, the centre also sells hiking gears and weather gear; hiking poles, gloves, coats and others.

There are many starting the trail, which is surprising, it’s already past lunchtime and it takes 2-3 hours to get to Takahara, the first major stop in the next valley. 

I got my stampbooks from the Centre. There are two type of books, the UNESCO dual pilgrimage (the other one being in Spain) is printed on plain paper and is free. The other is the Nakahechi collection that comes as a small booklet, complete with maps and little descriptions for each of the stamp locations. By completing a stamp collection one can get a certificate as demonstration of one’s enduring hardship.

I got both stamp books, for fun.

To complete the stamps requires actually walking the tracks, I figure I can still pick up a few where they are near the roads.

The next stop is not related to the trail at all. The Ginkgo tree at Honsenji. A very large Ginkgo tree on a slopeside. Since it was autumn the leaves were expected to be a beautiful gold. 

The road to the tree was extremely well marked. There were two signs warning the turnoff was coming up then a big sign at the turn off. No missing the tree. I thought it was just a random tree people thought looked nice and threw in google map.

And there were heaps of people there, at least a dozen and any given time. At least 20-30 people for the few minutes I spent there.

The tree was over 400 years old and absolutely massive, dominating the slopes with its perfectly plump bulb shaped foliage. One of the times I felt the tree had its own spirit that watched over the land.

Next stop, Nonaka, a common overnight stop on the mountain slopes along the trail. Here there are 2 stamps in close proximity, Tsugizakura-oji and Hidehira-zakura Cherry Tree, both related to the same folktale. The story went that there was a couple going on a pilgrimage when the wife gave birth at Tsugizakura Oji. They cannot continue the pilgrimage with a new born baby, when the spirits of Kumano appeared in a dream and told them to leave the baby in a nearby cave and continue on with their pilgrimage. Concerned with where they left the baby, the husband stuck his walking stick made of a branch of a cherry tree into the ground a marker. On their return after visiting the shrines they found that their baby was alive and well and the branch had sprouted into a cherry tree.

It’s a weird one to modern sensibilities, I try to put some sense to it with infant mortality in the past (the baby isn’t really seen as important yet with how likely it was to die) and how sacred the pilgrimage was seen to be. 

The area has a stretch of well paved tracks and a traditional teahouse that offered refreshments to travellers, as if a scene out of the old days. There were two women sitting on the edge of the tatami having some tea and sweets, chatting with the owner. It was how Kumano Kodo was meant to be experienced. The connection to the local people, the hardship endured and the relief of each small break, sip of tea and sweetness and warmth. 

After this it’s the Hongu area. A brief tour today will make the timing easier tomorrow as I need to do a climb up to a lookout in the morning.

The Hongu area is quite subdued, without line of shops and soba shops one usually found outside major shrines. There’s a few scattered food places, quite a few guest houses, a general store selling the obligatory soft serves. 

The Kumano Hongu Heritage Centre acts as the foci of the area, serving both as a museum, a tourist centre, a bus station and waiting area. 

The north building has a multi use auditorium, art gallery that was showing a local artist’s drawings of Kumano Kodo, and the general permanent exhibition showing some of the history and culture of Kumano Hongu. 

The Kumano Three Shrines were originally separate and unrelated, over time the area developed a mountain worship religious identity, together merged and spread out all over Japan and how Kumano has many shrines throughout Japan. 

The origin and lineage of Kumano worship is best as I can make it, very confusing. Japanese shinto is a mish mash of various local religious worships cludged into the Yamato mythologies. I sorta understand the Izumo myth, Kumano has extra layers of local spiritual worship and buddhist influences, intertwined with the Sunano and Amaterasu myths. It feels like a separate mythology that has tacked on elements to incorporate into the wider shinto orders.

In any case, the shrines gained prominence during the Heian period as nobilities and emperors made pilgrimages. The unique practices and religious intermixing of Kumano became recognised by UNESCO as a world heritage. 

The South Hall of the Heritage Centre is the tourist help desks, the bus waiting area with big TV screens showing the timetable for the buses. There were many people, mostly foreigners, daddling about and waiting to continue with the next leg of their journey.

Dominating one side of the hall was the Kii area world heritage display showcasing the whole of the world heritage area in Wakayama, including Koyasan and Yoshino, and each of the pilgrimage routes. Throughout this trip I’m often reminded that Koysan is in Wakayama prefecture, despite it being more closely associated with Nara and Osaka due to its buddhist temples and more accessible from Osaka with Nankai’s express trains than from Wakayama city.

South of the Heritage Centre is the Oyunohara, where the original Hongu sat before a major flood washed everything away in 1889. The new shrine hall was rebuilt on high ground in its present day location, not all its halls were rebuilt and only the open grounds hints at the complex’s former scale. 

Standing at the entrance to the former grounds was the tallest torii in the world. Made of concrete and standing 33.9m tall. It stood vigilant and still, its long shadow a silent witness to the timeless worship of the mountains. 

There’s a stamp at the grounds of the former shrine, highlighting the void in the empty clearing amidst the trees. I made a loop and came back up the main street, checking out where I was going to have my dinner and spotted the sign pointing out the carpark behind the restaurant. A good find, I didn’t want to have to look for parking in the dark.

The path up to the main shrine was a well paved path requiring fair effort climb. Banners flanked the steps, fluttering. At the top of end of the climb Kumano’s three legged crow greeted visitors. The yatagarasu is a divine guide and a symbol of Kumano, of the three shrines Hongu display them most prominently. 

Only a quick walkabout today, I would pay my proper respects tomorrow. The shrine has three main halls hosting four different deities. A sign by the cloister gate explains the manner and sequence to worship each.

There’s a black postbox here with yatagarasu standing atop. One can send yatagarasu enma as postcard here. 

The sun sets early in the mountains. I make for the accommodation tonight, Guesthouse Hatenashi located a few minutes north of the Hongu area. If I weren’t driving the owner does offer a pickup service.

The guesthouse is next to the roadside station that also doubles as the local grocery store. I was the first one there it seemed. On the desk laid out a form for each of the staying guests. I was halfway through mine with a lady turned up to show me about the place.

As a guest house the bathroom and toilets are shared, so was the kitchen and laundry. In the kitchen there were teas and coffee as well as cup noodles and other snacks one can have for some donations. 

My room was upstairs. It’s very spacious, it even has its own wash basin. It’s a common feature for older style accommodations and I was surprised to see it here. The guest house building is fairly new, or at least newly renovated. 

As the first one there I was more than happy to use that fact to be the first to use the shower. For a shared accommodation with 5-6 rooms, it was worrying to see only one bathroom for each gender. At least it’s not one I have to worry about in practice.

I had just finished and enjoying a cup of coffee (made from a 2 in 1 satchel I bought day before) when a group of other guests showed up.

They had come from the Kumano Kodo, quickly sat down around the table and dug into some beer and snacks. 

The group was a bunch of online hiking friends all from different countries, gathered to hike all around the world.

We had a bit of chat about the Kumano Kodo, their experience in Japan so far, before I had to head out for dinner and bid them well.

There is only one restaurant open at night in the Hongu area and I didn’t want to turn up late and end up waiting in line the cold. 

Sure enough, when I entered the Miya-sushi was full. The place was packed, every seat taken, even the counter seats. My heart jumped a beat. 

The staff checked with someone in the back then thankfully showed me to a table upstairs. Also upstairs were two other groups of hikers, probably from Taiwan. 

Sushi and other sashimi are the place’s specialty. On the menu also are various rice sets with tempura and grilled fish, oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl) and gyudon (beef rice bowl).

I had fish for lunch, and expect to have more after getting to Nachi Katsuura tomorrow and day after. The stomach demanded something more substantial so tempura set it was.

I allowed my thoughts to gather after the days running about, and reflected on the town and the trails. Japan was full of eccentricities. With how popular Kumano Kodo must be getting, the accommodations booked out months in advance, the area ought to be prime for investments. New guest houses, new restaurants, new shops. Miya-sushi was the only restaurant that opens at night here, how was that possible? With how packed the place is, surely there’s opportunity for a second shop, even if one that does a light service with some bento or udon. Even the only convenience store here closes before 6; its google entry says 1900 but it was already closed when I passed on the way to Miya sushi. 

Deep in my mind a thought scared me. It was possible to starve here in Hongu area. Miya-sushi isn’t open on all days, it’s closed two days of the week! If one had not organised dinner with one of the guest houses or didn’t buy something ahead of time if staying at one without meal service. Being left without any access to food is a real possibility. 

My tempura set arrived and it was very well made. The choice of side dishes, the miso soup, the vegetable and prawns fried just right. The taste wasn’t anything to write about but I appreciate and respect how well made it was for the only dinner restaurant in town.

After dinner I tried to do a small stroll, try because the street lights were far too dark and I wanted a casual stroll, not a night adventure. I did notice the large warehouse neighboring the parking lot, sadly not directly accessible with its fences, was lit brightly and was seemingly still open. A shop open, at this hour when even the convenience store is closed?

I drove out then turned right back around, which took no more than 30 seconds, parking right in front of the warehouse. Stationeries, daily consumable goods, electronics, household general goods. And alcohol. Ah hah! The last item caught my attention. All the other signs seemed to suggest it was more like a general homeware and goods store, but if it sold alcohol, then it was probably selling more things that goes into one’s stomach.

Indeed, immediately on entering I found it had three isles of food and beverages. Non-perishables only, but I’m sure hungry travellers wouldn’t mind water, crackers and if they have access to a kettle, bowl ramens. While not a super nice dinner, it would be something.

Feeling I’ve discovered a treasure, I happy left and drove back to the guesthouse. 

I was doing some scheduling for the next day but sleep overtook me and it was early morning when I next came to.