The Kumano Kodo hiking trail ends in Nachi. From there you can reach Kii Katsuura with a 20min bus. Kii Katsuura is a great place to spend a night or two. It’s a quaint fisherman village well known for his fresh tuna and great onsens. A place where you can recharge and have an easy transition.
I got lucky to spend the first night there with some of my Kumano friends. We went to a great restaurant (more on that later) and celebrated that with a bit of Sake. Kanpai ! Let’s discover the village of Kii Katsuura.
The atmosphere is all super relaxed. Like any small fisherman village. It has an old school vibe. I dont think many young people lives here.
There is even a «foot Onsen» at the port with a nice view of the sea.
Theses little guys deserve some love , especially after that hiking.
Hiking in Japan is such a comfortable experience. The food you’ll find is tasty and healthy. There is a transportation system around the trail if needed. You can send your luggage if you wish. Japanese are very helpfull. Nature is untouched and best all there is Onsen in many places. Nature and people care for you and this make the experience even more enjoyable.
Some houses in Kii Katsuura. You can tell we are near the sea by the «rouille». Nothing fancy here but it felt very authentic. You can also find some modern big hotels where the Onsen are located. This village feels like a nice getaway , also it’s not easily accesible. From Osaka count 4 hours by train. You can also reach it from Nagoya I believe. Fisherman village also mean boats.
And boats means ? Fishes !
This is one of the main building where all the fish goes.
Just next to this building you can assist to some «fish surgery».
Look at the size of these fishes ! No wonder why Japan is a big seafood eating country.
There is this little covered market right there where you can actually try the fresh seafood. There is a sushi stand too. You can find other type of food as well. I had my lunch here and it was nice. I really try my best not to speak English with the locals. I think the shop seller find that cute because she offered me a tangerine ^^ Arigato !
At the port you can see the fishermans taking care of their fishing net. It’s Japan so it was clean and organized. And it didn’t smell rotten fish either.
I explored a bit the far end of the village. I have find a nice little walk to do along the sea.
I have also came across what seems to be an old «Onsen».
This village feels so quiet compared to what I have been used previously. If you think Japan is crowded go to places like Kii Katsuura and you’ll realize that your conceptions were’nt true. I think it’s normal to have pre-conceived ideas about a specific country. The media and youtube play a big part in shaping our conceptions. It’s only until you physically go to the place that you come to realize that the country is not even close to your ideas. Personally Japan goes beyond the conceptions I had about it.
Japan is home to gorgeous Nature but also dangerous Nature.
It’s a little scary to see panels like that but at least they are prepared for natural disasters.
Japan have encounter many disasters in history. Massive earthquakes , tsunamies , typhons and even atomic bombs. But this never stoped them to move on and to become better in that process. Japanese people are learning from history. Theses are pretty brutal lessons right. You can understand the present of a country better if you look at his past. It make me realize the Japanese way better.
I heard about a special Onsen in Kii Katsuura. It’s called Bokido cave Onsen. As the name says it’s in a cave just in front of the sea. I had to try this.
To go there you have to take a free shuttle boat from the port. It takes only 5 min. From there you reach the Urashima hotel where the cave Onsen is. It cost 1000 yen (8 euro) to go in which is more expensive than others onsen but this is a unique experience that it worst every yen .
Once you are inside you have access to different baths. The best bath for me was the one just in front of the sea. This was a powerful experience. Being nacked in that boiling mineral water just in front the ocean.. You could hear the sound of the waves crushing on the rocks. Also the cave gave a very special accoustique. I really enjoyed that Onsen. There is something very natural about theses outdoors Onsens. Being nacked also means a lot I feel. I’m loving it more and more 🙂
To finish that relaxing day i’m going for diner to the same place I was with my friends the previous night. This is called «Bodai».
From outside it looks like a very fine dining place. At first I thought It will very expensive but this is not the case. It’s actually very affordable for most dishes.
In Bodai fish is everywhere on the menu. I choosed to go for the same as yesterday.
Hawain bowl in Bodai. On the top it was fresh pieces of raw tuna , slices of avocado , sweet squared pieces of egg , ginger and seaweed. Underneeth there were a good portion of warm rice. On side it was a fish soup with a cup of Hojicha (roasted green tea). This was absolutely fantastic. I’m not a fish eater at all but this Hawain bowl was so tasty. There were some aroma of lemon. The all dish felt harmonius and pleasing. The avocado fat , the melty raw fish texture , the spicy ginger , the salty seaweed and the sweet eggs.
All the others dishes looked fantastic too. Make sure you try this restaurant.
I payed 1600 yen for the Hawain bowl with an homecraft Japanese beer. About 12 euro which is cheap condisering that it was a fine dining experience.
The Kii Katsuura chapter is coming to an end. It was a short one but I really enjoyed that little stop. Time feels so slow here , the seafood is fresh and well cooked by the locals. The Onsens are fanstastic. Two night here was perfect. My next destination is the artistic island of Naoshima. I didn’t planned to go there initially but I heard of it many times from artists mouth. This place must have something cool.
A long journey is waiting for me tomorrow. See you in Naoshima 🙂
Tabi 旅
Travelling
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