Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine February 2018 | Page 85

Travel | Kumano Kodo
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1 Kayaking on the
Kumano-gawa River.
2 Ryoei Takagi, a monk
at the Kumano Nachi
Taisha shrine.
3 The Nachi Falls, close
to the Kumano Nachi
Taisha shrine.
4 Traditional slippers
on the Kumano Kodo.
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The development of tourism along the trails of the Kumano Kodo means
more and more young urban Japanese are returning to settle in Kumano,
injecting the region with fresh lifeblood.
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here to move to Osaka about eight years
ago, eventually decided that I’d had enough
of urban life, and came back to my birthplace.”
Nakamine needs a bountiful harvest of rice
to feed the growing number of people staying
at Café Bocu, her recently opened café and
guesthouse. One of the trails of the Kumano
Kodo passes right by her back door.
“It was the increasing number of tourists
hiking past that led me to start my
business,” says Nakamine. “It’s funny to
think that this old path could change my
whole life direction.”
Encouraging a mass ‘U-turn’, the
development of tourism along the trails of
the Kumano Kodo means more and more
young urban Japanese are returning to
settle in Kumano, injecting the region
with fresh lifeblood. With many Japanese
rural areas suffering the effects of rapidly
ageing populations, this has been vital in
reversing social decline.
Shiba Yasuo, an energetic 90-something
hat maker, is certainly feeling the benefits
of the Kumano Kodo’s renaissance. Yasuo
makes minachi-gasa, or traditional conical
hats made of cypress tree shavings.
Once worn by pilgrims, they are now
proving popular as souvenirs and
sunhats for hiking.
Yasuo’s simple yet practical headwear
is emblematic of a region where the beauty
and bounty of nature has long underpinned
culture, commerce and spirituality.
Thanks to the revival of the Kumano
Kodo, a hike here today still offers
a transcendent Japanese experience.