Ignoring the Omens

 Only a short week to go before we head off to Hong Kong and then on to Japan for some hiking and cultural education and immersion.  As time grows closer, the omens continue to pile up!

So, violent protests in Hong Kong continue to heat up and shut down transport.  A typhoon in Japan floods Tokyo and blows through part of our second hiking region . . .  Bad omens?   Or just getting the bad news out of the way before we come?  We're thinking positive and getting excited about the trip!  Packing is a bit of a challenge as we'll have towny visits in Hong Kong, Kyoto and Tokyo and heavy duty hiking on the Kii Peninsula along the Kumano Wayfarer hike and along the Nakasendo Way.  It's always the shoes....a girls got to have shoes!!!!

We are down to our last day and we are still repacking...I will stop soon and we'll be off!  I can hardly wait to arrive in Hong Kong....I am sure there will be plenty of pictures to follow.

Now a bit on the bulk of our adventure....two hikes and three major cities!!!!

Once we reach Japan, via the city of Osaka, we begin a 7 night/6 day hike referred to as the Kumano Kodo Wayfarer Pilgrimage.  The Kumano region of Japan lies in the southern peninsula  of Japan's main Island "Honshu"  A mountainous, densely forested area often shrouded in mist, it is considered a mystical and spiritual area inhabited by gods.

The Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage routes are registered with UNESCO World Heritage as part of the sacred sites and pilgrimage routes of the Kii Mountain range.  The only other UNESCO registered route is the Camino de Santiago, the majority of which is in Spain.

The map of the route overview is the section of Japan lying south of Kyoto and Osaka.

The second of our tours follows 3 days in Kyoto...think Geisha...and begins with a Japanese Bullet Train from Nagoya to Ena.  The difference in our two hiking tours, other than location, is the second follows historic merchants routes past rice fields and quaint farming villages.  The first is  a pilgrimage from temple to temple.  The second hike is also a guided one...we might just learn a trick or two!

So.... we are now busily learning required Japanese etiquette, from the shoe shuffle (no shoes indoors, only slippers, with another set of slippers for inside the bathrooms, to be left there for your next visit) to chop stick protocol and the receiving of business or name card......when do I bow???????

Look for the pictures to come!