So part of the trip to Japan included 2 days on the Kumano kodo Pilgrim trail ( yes we are those crazy people that hike on vacation) and I have to say it was quite the experience.
Here are a few mistakes we made:
Make sure to take care of your feet before the hike. Are our itinerary didn't put us on the trailer until after Osaka and Kyoto. Needless to say we had blisters on our feet going into the hiking part of our trip. This ended pretty badly as the second day of our hike we were basically walking like old men the whole time.
Don't carry too much , and book accommodation with a washer/dryer. My day pack was completely full and was heavy so put even more stress on my feet I could have carried a lot less had I known that our accommodation had a washer and dryer.
Don't worry about how much water to carry unless your hot. I was carrying 2 liters and that was way more than what I needed since it was the November season and quite cold.
Our route was:
Day one – ukegawa to koguchi
Day two- koguchi to Kumano nachi Tanisha
Day one was relatively nice and easy going, we saw deer and it was a fun time. Day two was a trip to the hells of hiking , that echizen pass was no joke. Three miles of steep up hill with crappy stone steps. I already was hurting from blisters, and by an hour in , walking like a old man. Thank God they had bamboo canes , that literally saved me more than once.
Bring a blister kit.
Triple check your shoes fit correctly.
Use city Walking friendly shoes for itineraries before the hike.
Koguchi is a super small town, the store in town is relatively small and has very few things.
by Vinophotography