This week I've been hiking the old pilgrimage roads of Kumano Kodo in the Kansai region, south of Kyoto. Because of my weakness (a cold that refused to give in) we had two rest days in Tanabe, a little seaside town, before the start of the hike. My friend and colleague Sven is here with me. Sven had a dip in the Pacific and got away without a cold - the water was 24 degrees.

Finally, on Sunday we took an early bus to the start of Kumano Kodo. I wasn't sure if I was 100 % ok but we were to find out very soon. The start of the hike was a steep ascent with an elevation gain of 250 m. The path was basically a long, winding staircase. Fortunately, my cold was gone. The rest of the day was pretty easy going up and down slopes of misty mountains. Very atmospheric and very rural. We hardly saw anyone. Actually, before the hike we asked the extremely helpful guy in the reception of our hotel if he had any other guests who were going to walk the Kumano Kodo. Oh, he said, yes, this is a very busy weekend. How many other guests? Two. It was a bank holiday weekend and we had expected hundreds of people, but probably only met about thirty over the four days we were out. So I think that even though there are a lot of people in Japan, it's easy to get away from the crowds.

There is a new photo album "Kumano Kodo" which I hope gives an idea what this hike was like. We were tired at the end of each day and full of admiration for the pilgrims who walk in traditional shoes with wooden soles. We stayed in little minshukus, Japanese style bed and breakfasts with tatami mat rooms, futon beds (very hard), and common hot baths. These hot baths were a real life saver. They soothed our aiking muscles and the next morning we were pretty much recovered and ready for another day. The second day we staying in a proper onsen (hot spring bath) village. It had an outdoor thermal bath that had been used for 1800 years and is still in use. It was a pretty special feeling to sit in that bath and think about who might have used it before, and what the world might have looked like around them.

Right now we are in Shishikui, a little surfing village on the coast of the Shikoku island. We had our first lesson today and are going again tomorrow. A typhoon passed a few days ago so the waves are impressive. Sven has had a few lessons before and managed to surf a wave standing up for a little while. I was mostly trying to stand up but haven't really gotten the hang of it yet. Good thing the water is warm!