Sometimes modest accommodation can be the most satisfying. The Gran Hotel in Kumano is an older property, but it is clean, comfortable with spacious roomsand the calibre of their staff is excellent. Best of all, the price is right and it includes breakfast. We don’t some reviews criticizing brekfasts it included salads, boiled eggs, miso soup, rice, wieners, toast and the all important coffee or tea.
The hotel extends their hospitality to a nesting family of swallows. We liked that they have taped a newspaper on the ground below to catch any droppings.
It is hard to pass by a Konbini without stoping. Konbinis offer everything one needs to buy including bathrooms and ATM’s which work with our Canadian cards.
Jofuku Park is in the middle of town and it is delightful. It is a memorial park dedicated to Xu Fu from the Qin Dynasty with a traditional gate and stone statues.
The statue is of Xu Fu. He was a Chinese alchemist and explorer and he died in 210 BC. Xu Fu arrived in Japan as part of his explorations. He was sent out by the rulers of the Qin Dynasty to find the secret elixir of true mortality.
And by the front gate, this Kindergarten class were out for a walk with their teachers. They finally got the kids to walk hand in hand, but it took some patience. Barry had flashbacks to his time as an Elementary teacher on field trips. The colour of the hats are specific to the age of the children.
Koi are beloved in Japan and they are characterized by success and strength for a long time. We have Koi windsocks mounted on our flag poles. Locals are so proud that we have added them to our trikes. Koi fish stand for anything that is good: luck, prosperity, vitality and longevity…and is closely associated with the Japanese cultural identity.
These carp are in Jofuko Park. We bought a bag of dry Koi food and they were so excited…..new friends for Barry.
We are still in Shingu and are heading to a shrine that sounds incredible. This young man was excited to see us and jumped out from his vehicle to welcome us and chat. What a Funtime we had with him. He runs a local Hostel and had hiked and camped the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. Impressive…truly a feat of trench and endurance.
We have found the Shrine. Our route has been following the Kumano Koda pilgrimage route and we re seeing many of them at this Shrine. One way to find a shrine is to look for the Tori gates. The Tori Gates are at the road and walking in past the banners is impressive.
This is a Grand Shrine located at the mouth of Kumano-gawa River, where the sacred waters of the Kii Mountainss meet the Pacific Ocean. This shrine is one of the three great Kumano Kodo pilgrimage shrines in Wakayama Prefecture. The Sheine has been at this site since the 15th century.
Shinto priests are known as Kannushi. Priests perform an important role in maintaining the spiritual connection between the human world and the realm of the Kami (gods). He is entering the shrine to perform a ceremony. We first heard him pounding on the large drum.
These two tenuguis on display are available for purchase. They are a traditional Japanese decorative towel and can be used as a wall hanging. We have been accumulating them in our Japan travels. We treated ourselves to the one of the right.
We carry with us a special book called Goshuincho which is used to collect a special page of calligraphy and stamps personally created by a member of the shrine. Each page represents one shrine. This is where we come to get it done.
It took us awhile to get out of Shingu because there was so much to see. Now we are back on the road. We are very impressed by the consistent signage as well as the blue painted directional arrows on the road. We follow them faithfully.
As you can see, the organizers of the Pacific Cycle Road have done a wonderful job. One doesn’t need a map, but we love having it to keep track of our day.
We had lunch at the Michi no Eki. Barry had a bowl of tuna sashimi over rice, miso soup (which Barry tipped over ….they came running with more). Michi no Ekis are a cyclist’s best friend in Japan. These road side rest stations offer produce, crafts, local culture and customs of the. community to visitors. We always find a great place to eat here (including soft serve cones 😋). Almost forgot, the other big perk is great bathrooms.
We met Aya at the Michi. This Michi has a special focus on sea turtles which live along this shore. Their focus is on rescue and rehabilitation. The motto is “Rescue to revive”.
As we were approaching Kumano we met this man at a convenience store He later stopped at said that bicycles are not allowed in the tunnel doesn’t the road. He escorted us in the tunnel with his emergency lights flashing. We sprinted through the tunnel.
