My mom and I are planning our walk with my sister along the Nakahechi Route of the Kumano Kodo and are having trouble figuring out how to get from the Hongu Taisha Shrine to the Kumano-Nachi Shrine. Ideally, we would like to take the riverboat instead of walking (we don't have the time to walk that day, and will also probably be exhausted from the 24 km from Chikatsuyu to Hongu). Still, we can't find any information on how to book a boat ride or any services for doing so.
Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated!
Just for reference, I'll include our itinerary so far:
Day 1: Arrive in Tanabe City; stay overnight
Day 2: In the morning, take a bus to Takijiri-oji and walk to the Chikatsuyu-oji mini shrine (16km). Stay overnight.
Day 3: Walk 26 kilometers from Chikatsuyu-oji to Kumano Hongu Taisha. I believe this is the end of the main Nakahechi route (please correct me if I'm wrong). We have walked the Camino de Santiago, so would we get our dual certificate at the Hongu Heritage Center? We would also stay here overnight.
Day 4: This is the day we wanted to take the boatride to the Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine. I'm confused if this is even an option, and maybe I'm mistaken that it is possible. Is the boatride only from Hongu down to the Kumano Hayatama Taisha? If that is the case, then today we would take the boatride to the Hayatama Taisha and spend the night in Shingu. What website should I use to book a boatride?
Day 5: If we decide to spend the night in Shingu, then this day we would hike from Shingu to the Nachi Taisha and see the waterfall. We would then take a bus (hopefully) from the shrine to Nachikatsuura and stay overnight there.
Day 6: Leave Nachikatsuura and head back to Osaka!
If anything seems unrealistic or ridiculous, please be honest. Planning the logistics and accommodations for the Kumano Kodo has been sort of difficult, and I'm just trying to make the most of it for my mom, me, and my sister! 🙂
by ginger1009