Ended up eating at the British Pub again last night as nothing else sounded good. It was not as good as it was the night before. We both went to bed again early but neither one of us slept all night. We were both up and dressed before 6:30 again. They don’t have daylight savings time here so the sun is up by 6:00.
We returned to the really good restaurant for breakfast this morning and it was every bit as good as it was yesterday. We decided we wanted one last good meal before we started the Kumano Kodo.
After breakfast we checked out and walked almost a mile to the train station. We have reservations for a 10:15 train but took an earlier one. They don’t check your tickets so it didn’t matter which train we took.
It took us a while to figure out which train we needed to take for our long ride of the day. We had reserved seats for this one so had to wait over two hours at the station. We found some chairs and did our best to stay cool. It is another very hot and humid day here. Heat index is 105 today.
The long train ride was very quiet and comfortable with nice A/C. Beautiful mountains and then a sea-shore to look at. We noticed the waves are very high and strong.
After the two-hour bus ride we went to the Kumano Kodo tourist center to find out where our hotel for the night is located. When we walked in we noticed a typhoon warning sign. We decided we better get bus schedules in case it does hit and the rain and wind is too strong to walk in. We got bus schedules for every day. It is to be at its peak on Monday and Tuesday. Hoping we can get a little walking in either before or after it hits.
We picked up our books to collect our stamps along the trail. I was given a special book since I walked the Camino. There is some special certificate and ceremony that happens at the end of the Kumano Kodo for dual pilgrims. Not sure I will be able to collect all the stamps needed to get the certificate though due to the weather.
I ask if the bus will run during the typhoon and the lady at the desk said maybe. Trusting the hotels will help us out and allow us to stay longer if needed.
The hotel we are in tonight is certainly not elegant like the last two have been. It reminds me of the hotels I stayed at on the Camino. Thankfully it has A/C so we can cool down.
The last hotel we stayed at was very fancy. The door men dressed in top hats and the women in beautiful kimonos at night and gave each guest a deep bow. We felt a bit under dressed at night as most of the guests were dressed up in the evenings. We had twin beds that were more like double beds. The room had a white leather couch and a big screen TV. The bathroom had a deep soaking tub with a separate shower.
This room has narrow twin beds. The tub is a half-size one with a shower above it that has the hand-held shower head. I had so much trouble with those in Spain. They would get away from me and I would get lots of water on the floor. You step up to go in the very small bathroom. Nicole barely fits through the door as she is so tall and her head almost hits the roof of the shower. We get to share the one bath towel. There is almost enough extra space in the room to open both of our suitcases and still have room to walk around them to get out the door.
Since we are here early we are going to go walk around Tanabe and visit some of the shrines. Might as well get out and about before the rain hits.
I gave Nicole the option of taking a bus back to the city and skipping the Kumano Kodo but she said that isn’t an option. Fingers crossed we will stay safe. Sounds like it will be an even bigger adventure than we had originally planned. Perhaps it will miss us though. We will stay informed and not take chances if we can help it.
Day one of the Kumano Kodo successfully completed. The bigger adventure begins tomorrow.