Nachi Taisha

Todays section of the Kumano Kodo took us from Koguchi where we had finished yesterday, to Nachi Taisha where we could expect a stunning Buddhist Pagoda, a swarm of (mainly) Chinese tourists and Natchi - no - Otaki, Japan's tallest waterfall - allegedly. The cypress and cedar forests on the route today were more open and the views were spectacular. We paused to watch a tree being felled at one point, but started to panic as it crashed in to another tree which fell towards us. We realised that we were directly in the path of the next tree in line, but luckily for us, the domino effect stopped there.
The last section of our route was truly worthy of it's Unesco World Heritage status. The path descended steeply with stone steps cut into the hillside and increasingly large, ancient, cedar trees lining the route. Nachi Taisha was swarming with Chinese tourists and it was easy to see why they had made the effort to reach this isolated & elevated town. The buildings and views were spectacular, the waterfall was impressive and there were splashes of cherry blossom around every corner. Our Ryokan was basic with a tatami room and no ensuite facilities. The onset was small with two stone tubs that could hold two european sized bodies each but fortunately we didn't need to share. The whole place felt a bit basic, but later our dinner proved to become of our best quality Japanese food yet. They either had a Michelin starred chef or we are becoming acclimatised to raw fish and sticky rice.