Japan 2010, Day 06 - Kumano Nachi Taisha, Shingu
Today we said goodbye to Ise-shi and Mie prefecture, and begun our trek through Wakayama. Wakayama prefecture encompasses the entire southern section of the Kii Peninsula, bordered by Mie, Nara, and Osaka prefectures. Much of the region is uninhabited due to the steep mountain range that makes up the southern area, with the majority of the cities being along the coast. The area is also considerably more rural, thus we had to plan the trains accordingly.
Though Wakayama prefecture is famous for sea food, ume, and other marine-related delicacies, the area also hosts a world heritage site - the Kumano Kodo (熊野古道) or Kumano Ancient Roads that connect the three grand shrines: Nachi Taisha (那智大社), Hongu Taisha（本宮大社）, and Hayatama Taisha（速玉大社）.
Kumano was hailed in ancient times as a place of healing, rebirth, and salvation; where people would go in their darkest hour to ask for help. Absolutely no one is turned way.
Whether you had a strong faith, a weak faith, whether you were sick, in despair, an emperor, a noble, suicidal, or a poor man, Hindu, Christian, you name it - the gods of Kumano welcome everyone regardless of who you are or where you come from. In the past, many emperors and nobles made pilgrimages to the three grand shrines of Kumano, to the point that many interconnecting stone roads were established throughout the mountains, often guarded by many stone Jizo. Because the roads connect the 3 shrines, it is thus named the ancient road.
This area also has a history of Buddhism and Shinto fusing seamlessly, as shown by all three grand shrines enshrining both a shinto kami and a celestial buddha. The disciples of Shugendo (the yamabushi) originate from this area, as does Aikido.
It is also thought that this was the land that the spirits of our ancestors would dwell after death (i.e. Yomi no Kuni), and believed to be a pure land upon earth. Because it is relatively untouched by civilization due to the steep mountains (with exception of the highway and small towns today), the renowned natural beauty of this area largely remains the same as it was thousands of years ago. Thus Kumano is also termed the 「神々の住む場所」, the dwelling place of the gods.
It also has a very old history going back to the foundation of Japan, when Jimmu Tenno (the legendary first emperor) landed here and went to conquer Yamato. Even today the numerous hot spring towns located deep within the mountains are still known for their healing properties.
Because of its importance to the ancient Japanese, there is a popular old saying, "Seven times to Ise, Thrice to Kumano" concerning pilgrimages made. With the influx of western culture in Japan, Kumano has become somewhat forgotten or even relatively unknown to the Japanese themselves, but because of its status as an important UNESCO world heritage site it continues to remain for later generations to appreciate.
Our day began with early departure from Ise-shi. We had an early yoshoku breakfast at the Piccolo cafe downstairs consisting of bread, salad, boiled egg, sliced ham, fruit, and coffee for 550 yen.
Because there is no direct train from Ise-shi to Wakayama, we had to take a commuter train west to Taki, then wait 30 minutes for the rapid service train.
The farmland area was really pretty, so I snapped a few shots.
At 9:23 we departed Taki and entered the Kii mountain range. Compared to the mountains around Aichi and Mie prefectures, these were very steep. There were also lots of tea farms along the way. Because we reserved tickets a few days prior, our seats were really comfortable.
We arrived into Shingu station around lunchtime and checked-in to our room at the Shingu UI Hotel. Since we were early, the rooms weren't ready so we decided to go eat lunch at the hotel restaurant.
Lunch was tonkatsu, goma dofu, tsukemono, salad/potato salad, miso soup, and ice coffee. After a satisfying meal, we walked back to Shingu station to catch the train to Nachi, however the tourist bureau recommended taking the bus to Nachi station, saying that the busy from the station to the shrine would arrive a little after we get there. At this point in the trip I was pretty much the sole translator, so I got a little worried that I might have screwed up translating directions, but it all worked out great. We got on the right bus and took a 20 minute ride south to Nachi.
The station was dead quiet, with a few merchants selling local vegetables. We had a few minutes to browse around until the bus came, then set out for Nachi Taisha.
After getting to Taisha-mae with the rest of the pilgrims, we looked around the stores a bit before hitting the stairs. The shrine was located up further up the mountain, requiring a considerable hike. I bought some shaved ice to cool myself down. We also borrowed a walking stick for my grandma since she HATES stairs. XD;;
Climbing wasn't so bad for me, but definitely a trek in its own for an elderly person. Fortunately there were lots of elderly there that day, and they were just as much huffing and puffing their way up! If you got tired, you could take a rest break at once of the shops on the way up the mountain.
Click to viewWe finally reached the shrine, offering incense at the Buddhist temple and then praying at the shrine itself.
I bought a magatama from this shrine.
A little further you had a gaping view of the entire valley. From the distance you could see Nachi Falls, including the famous shot with the pagoda.
Unfortunately the hike down was a completely different story. You could have taken a shuttle apparently, but we didn't find out until after we got to the bottom. The trek down was scary, even for me. We basically went down these old stone steps, and I had to help my grandma the entire way because it was REALLY, REALLY STEEP.
After about 15 minutes of wondering if we were going to fall off and crack our heads, we reached the bottom at Taki-mae. The picture with my grandma is after we made it down. XD;;
While my mom and gramda went to go browse shops, I decided to head down to the base of the waterfall.
The area down there was small stair descent, but was cooler due to the mist from the falls, but also because the trees blocked the intense sunlight that day.
Looking at the waterfall head on was something else… You really did feel like you were in a sacred place. Apparently the yamabushi of the area practice under the falls as well. In ancient times Nachi falls was called 「神が降臨する御柱」or the "Honorable Pillar from which the Gods Descend".
After heading back to the bus stop, I met an elderly man (in his late 50's), and we talked a bit… mostly about me learning Japanese in HS, and how he learned English in college but never used it, and also about my experience as a homestead student in Nagoya several years ago. XD;
We had a bit of a wait at Nachi station due to mom misreading the train times. The bugs in this area were preeeetty large and jumpy. x_x;
After we got back to Shingu, we were pretty hungry and started looking for footage. We found this one place on the way back called Ranvan, specializing in okonomiyaki.
The place was run by a married couple, with the husband as the chef. At first we were sitting at one of the tables, but moved to the counter in order to watch him cook.
It was a really awesome dinner. The speciality "Ranvan-yaki" was DEEELICCIOUSSS. The regular okonomiyaki was really good too. ;-;
Ranvan-yaki
As we started talking more, we found out that his grandfather was in the Japanese-American camps. Originally he worked in Osaka as a very successful designer, then retired back to Shingu (he really didn't look his age). He also went to Santa Cruz when he was younger as an Aikido exchange student - apparently Shingu and Santa Cruz are sister cities. O___O
I forgot what else we talked about, suffice to say we stayed there a lot longer than anticipated. Also exchanged contact info at the end.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel for sleep.