18 November 2016
After visiting Kumano Hongu Taisha and staying a couple of nights in the onsen villages at Hongu, we took the traditional river boat down the Shingu River to the city of Shingu where the second of the Kumano Sanzan (Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Hayatama Taisha, and Kumano Nachi Taisha) was located. We arrived at Kumano Hayatama Taisha at about noon time.
Compared to the Kumano Hongu Taisha (see earlier post), the Hayatama Taisha is brightly coloured in vermillion red. Although its buildings were rebuilt recently, Hayatama Taisha has occupied the same spot on the Kumano riverbank since at least the 12th century.
The deity associated with the Hayatama Shrine is the Yakushi (The Buddha of Healing and Medicine). We bought some more souvenirs and lucky charms at this shrine, especially those related to healing and good health.
Pilgrims enter the shrine through the Torii Gate and clean their hands and mouth at the purification well. To pray at the altar, put a little change or offerings into the big red box at the entrance of the honden, or the main building, and ring the bell to greet the deity.
When visiting any country, it was also good to observe and experience some local culture and show your respect by saying a little prayer at the shrine.
Bow twice and then clap your hands twice to signal your presence to the local deity.
Say a little prayer for good health and healing of loved ones at home at the Hayatama Shrine.
After you say the prayers or have a moment of silence, bow one last time.
An ancient Nagi-no-Ki tree (estimated to be over 800 years old) is located inside the shrine compound and is considered sacred.
Ema tablets at the Hayatama Shrine featuring the Yatagarasu or 3 legged crow.
There were shops located just outside the shrine. We bought a bag of local oranges for only 100 Yen (cheaper than if we were to buy them in the cities) and two more Kumano Kodo souvenir T-shirts from a small store. This area also had a lot of sour plum products and wine for sale.
There were a few restaurants in Shingu and I had already planned to have lunch at the Shikaroku (鹿六) Unagi Restaurant. Unagi is a fresh water eel and one of my favourite Japanese foods.
The restaurant was not very prominent and I was not sure if I was at the right place even when I was standing right in front of its entrance.
Shikaroku (鹿六) Unagi Restaurant.
There was only one way to find out which was to slide the door open and go right in. As we went in, a group of three Japanese walked out, so we got a table immediately.
We ordered the premium lunch set for 2900 Yen. It came with pickles, soup and two layers of unagi on rice. After eating the top layer of unagi, there was another layer of unagi buried in the rice below.
The soup came with small pieces of unagi liver. It tasted like chicken liver with a smooth texture. I would highly recommend this restaurant if you like unagi and are in Shingu.
From Shingu, we travelled by local train to Kii-Kasuura where we would be staying for two nights. Taking a bus from Shingu to Kii-Kasuura could be an option too but the local train was the cheaper option (240 Yen per person).
Interesting decor inside the Shingu Station. Fishes hanging from the ceiling.
More pictures of the Yatagarasu on the walls of Shingu Station.
The local train travelled along the eastern shores of the Kii-Peninsula, providing views of the islets and ocean, as well as a few small villages. Tsunami evacuation signs on the train reminded us that we were travelling across a dangerous, earthquake and tsunami prone area.
Short scenic train ride from Shingu to Kii-Katsuura along the east coast of the Kii Peninsula.
Kii-Kasuura is a town on the south-eastern coast of the Kii Peninsula, best known for its onsen (hot springs) and its fishing industry, especially tuna. It is also a short bus ride away from the Mount Nachi (Nachisan) where the Kumano Nachi Taisha and Nachi Falls were located.
Our hotel in Kii-Kasuura for the first night was the Charmant Hotel. Charmant is a small and charming hotel located very near to the train station. Somehow, the hotel’s lobby gave me the feel of a hotel or B&B in the UK.
Windows that opened to a black wall. No views but it provided some ventilation.
We had booked an ensuite Western style room with only breakfast included. This allowed us the opportunity to sample the local restaurants in Katsuura.
The room assigned to us was on the ground floor, with windows but no views. The friendly lady who did our check-in does not speak English but the enterprising owner had provided printed instructions and useful information in English language for her to communicate with foreign guests. Although it is not the most luxurious, the relative inexpensive Charmant Hotel is ideal for a short overnight stay while visiting the Kumano Shrine or Kii Katsuura.
One must eat tuna when visiting Kii-Katsuura. There were many restaurants in town serving tuna and some even offered whale meat. My pre-trip research on tuna restaurants suggested that we should eat at the Katsuragi. The restaurant opened at 5 PM so we spent a couple of hours exploring the town and port.
I enjoyed walking by the wharf and photographing the boats in the warm rays of the setting sun.
We got a view of Urashima Hotel, a luxury hot spring resort that features six different types of hot spring baths. We would be staying at this resort the next day after walking the Daimon-zaka trail to Nachi Taisha. Although located on a peninsula and not strictly an island, the Urashima Hotel is only accessible by ferry boats that were modelled after cute turtles or whales. There is a similarly grand hot spring resort called the Nakanoshima Hotel, which is located on its own private island in Katsuura Bay.
Guests of resort hotels walking into the belly of a “whale” ferry.
Locals’ favourite past-time in Kii-Katsuura - fishing at the wharf.
Public hot spring foot spa next to the wharf.
Another good way to spend some time – soaking feet at a public hot spring foot spa next to the wharf.
Many sea eagles circled the sky. They knew that where there were fishing boats, there would be scraps.
By 5 PM, we were waiting outside the Katsuragi. There was also a couple from San Francisco waiting for the restaurant to open. They helped to snap a photo of us. This restaurant had an English menu, but with limited items when compared to the Japanese menu. The waitress does not speak English. We ordered the set dinner from the English menu to make things easy for everyone. The couple from San Francisco sat on the next table and did likewise.
Waiting outside the Katsuragi restaurant in Kii-Katsuura.
There were two options of set dinner.
One that included a maguro-don (tuna slices on top of a bowl of rice) and one without the maguro-don. We ordered the set without the maguro-don and a couple of local beers.
The sashimi (centre) was good. The brown tuna (right) is like those we got from a can but this was better tasting, sweeter and fresher than canned tuna. The tuna karaage (left) were not very tasty.
We were to cook the tuna slices on a hotplate using a piece of butter.
It was good that we came early. Shortly after, more diners came in, a mix of locals and foreigners and soon, there were no more empty tables.
The set meal was not very filling so we decided to order an ala-carte dish to supplement our set dinner. We ordered the Maguro Kama Sioyaki (Grilled Tuna Cheek with salt) although we were not sure how much it would cost.
This humongous piece of tuna cheek came. We never thought that it would be this BIG. We were guessing that it would be burning a big hole in our meal budget. Final bill was 1600 Yen x 2 for the set dinner, 600 Yen for the beer and 1300 Yen for the tuna cheek.
I think this is value for money after all. Where else can we get to eat the freshest tuna but at a tuna fishery port where freshly caught tuna were unloaded from the boats and auctioned off every morning.
