#Eda85DaysInJapan | Chapter 2 (Kumano Kudo Part 5):
🗓️ 1 May 2026
📍 Kawayu Onsen ➔ Kii-Tanabe ➔ Shin-Osaka Station
The Mountain Bus
Our final morning started at Kawayu Onsen. Leaving with an organized group had its perks—while a massive line of independent travelers was backing up at checkout, we cleared out early and got right onto our transport.
The 3-hour bus ride down the valley was pretty bumpy. The bus was completely full of trail-weary hikers, so having guaranteed seats for the whole ride down to the coast was a huge relief.
Kii-Tanabe & Tokei Shrine
We got dropped off in Kii-Tanabe, a quiet town on the coast that acts as the starting hub for several Kumano Kodo routes.
Even though our legs were completely shot from days of continuous walking, we walked around town and stopped by Tokei Shrine (闘鷄神社).
I got a good laugh out of the Chinese name—鬥雞神社 (Fighting Cock Shrine). But despite the funny name, it’s actually a UNESCO site built in 419 AD. It’s famous for a 12th-century Genpei War legend where a priest ran a cockfight between seven red and seven white roosters to divine which samurai clan the Kumano navy should fight for.
It was a nice, quiet stop before getting back on the train and heading back into urban Japan.
Train Back to Shin-Osaka
From Tanabe, we caught the JR train for the 3-hour ride back to Shin-Osaka.
Leaning back into the seats with sore legs and watching the countryside turn back into city buildings gave us time to process the last six days. On the train way back to the city, I even caught sight of Tony again, perfectly camouflaged in the clouds! Arriving at Shin-Osaka officially wrapped up the pilgrimage and Chapter 2 of the trip.
Realizations & What's Next
Looking back, what I miss most is that incredible forest smell on the early morning trailheads. That damp, pine-and-cedar scented mountain air was my absolute favorite part of the entire hike—a grounding scent unique to Kumano Kodo that actually inspired me to consider becoming a forest therapist one day.
The tour itself was surprisingly hardcore, but meeting the group was the best part. Most of my tourmates were 50+, but insanely fit—we had veterans who had done Nepal, the Camino, Taiwan peaks, and long cycling trips across Japan. Keeping up was a great test for my own fitness, and we’ve already dated our next hiking trip together in Taiwan!
The concept of Yomi-gaeri (rebirth) really made sense by the end. Hiking until you're totally exhausted feels like burning off your old self, and hitting the onsens every night felt like a genuine reset ritual.
Plus, I managed to collect every single stamp for the Kumano credential. The plan now is to head to Spain eventually for the Camino de Santiago, get the Compostela certificate, and come back to Wakayama to do the Dual Pilgrim ceremony at Hongu Taisha. For the return trip, I’m thinking about either the full Nakahechi route from Takijiri-oji or the Iseji route starting from the Nagoya side.
(Also, 65+ km of rain and slick rocks made it very clear that I needed to buy a proper pair of hiking shoes and upgrade some gear before the next big mountain trek haha which I did).
