Are you looking for a walk that is truly off the beaten path? One where you can walk through lush green forests, mountain passes, small rural towns and along the oceanside? The Iseji Route on the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Trail may be the walk for you. This trail which goes back hundreds of years has been used by emperors and many pilgrims alike. Along the way, you’ll have the opportunity to stay at guesthouses, try local cuisines and talk to the locals. Kumano Kodo is the sister trail of the Camino de Santiago in Spain.

Unlike the Camino de Santiago which hosts many pilgrims and can be at times very overcrowded, the Iseji Route is very lightly used. I only met only 1 other pilgrim along my entire week of walking and just a handful of locals along the trail. You truly have the trail to yourself. I don’t think it will be forever like this, so if you’re looking for a trail of solitude, reflection and beautiful views, this route may be for you.

This guide is fairly detailed, so I would advise reading this when you have at least 15-20 minutes to fully concentrate. If not, I may recommend bookmarking this guide for later viewing.

Why I Wrote This Guide

While there is some guides online for the Iseji Route, it is one of the least walked routes on the Kumano Kodo, so there is less information available than the other popular routes or to same degree as the Camino de Santiago. I’m including what helped me in planning and preparing for my walk on the Iseji Route, along with what I wish I would have known before embarking on my own. I feel there are still gaps of information out there and want to help make the trail more accessible to others.

During my planning session, I was a bit overwhelmed, so my goal is to include the essential details you need to get your planning started. However, I can’t claim to have all the details on this one guide. There are many other great resources online for the Iseji Route. As you’re considering the route, and even further if you decide to walk it, I would encourage you to review multiple online guides as each has different perspectives and additional advice on planning your walk.

The 7 Day Itinerary I Used

When walking the Kumano Kodo, I was already on a 5 month long trip through Asia, during my current gap year (learn more about what a gap year is here). I’ll be honest, I didn’t do as much planning as I probably should have. I started my planning literally a week before I embarked on the trail. I spent a morning literally planning an itinerary and making reservations for some of my accommodations. With planning this literally so last minute, I found a blog by the late Kat Davis called Following The Arrows. She had a detailed 7 day route, which aligned with my 10 day window of being in Japan. I chose to follow her route, as it allowed me to include a rest day if I needed, and still enough time to get back to Osaka for my departure flight out of Japan.

This is the route I took and the places I stayed. This follows the same towns Kat Davis’ trek, and found it to work well for my schedule. Some accommodations she used were not available, so these were the ones I used.

Itinerary Planning Tips

I included Google Maps Links, as some of these accommodations took me awhile to find and they’re not well-marked. Some of these guesthouses don’t even have websites! This is rural Japan, so some of these businesses only do reservations by phone. Not all can speak English either, so I would recommend trying to find someone there who can speak both Japanese and English to help you. I was lucky to get help booking some of these accommodations from people I met along the trail. The demand is not as high as other portions of the Kumano Kodo, so I think you would be fine if you don’t book months or weeks in advance. Some of the guesthouses I booked just a couple of nights before. You will still want to make reservations, as some guesthouses will offer to make you homemade dinners and/or breakfasts. They will want to know in advance to expect you and when you’re coming, so your food and hot bath is ready!

I walked in the month of March, and the temperatures were fairly mild, hovering anywhere from around 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) to around 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius). Weather can change on a moment’s notice in the Mie Prefecture. I was lucky to have sun for the majority of my walk, but also had 2 days in a row of rain.

What to Pack and Bring For Your Walk

Below is what items I would recommend bringing for your walk. This is from a male perspective, although this list in general is fairly unisex. For packing from a female perspective, I may recommend checking out the Adventures Around Asia Blog.

Since there is a high chance you may be carrying the pack with you for your entire walk, I would strongly advise packing as light as possible. I tried to packed as light as I could, and would I do it again, I would have packed less. The less weight you have, the more comfortable and enjoyable your walking experience will be.

Outer gear

• Backpack
• Pair of trekking poles
• Hiking shoes (only 1 pair of shoes)
• Raincover for backpack
• Waterproof cover for your smartphone – like this one that I use personally
• Small waterbottle

Clothing

• 1 Pair of hiking pants – convertible pants are great for changing weather conditions
• 1 Long-Sleeve Shirt
• 2-3 pairs of hiking socks
• 2-3 pairs of underwear
• Rain jacket
• Down Jacket for cold mornings and evenings (I’ve had a Patagonia down jacket for many years and have had good luck!)
• First Aid Kit, including Bandages and Antibiotic Cream (e.g. Neosporin)
• Sunscreen
• Bug Spray
• Deodorant
• Bear bell*

Electronics

• Smartphone with local Japanese SIM card (either e-SIM or physical)
• Powerpack**
• Charger

Optional

• Clothespins for hanging wet clothes
• Winter hat******
• Gloves******
• GoPro or similar equivalent
• Prescription medicines (if applicable)
• Journal

Not recommended to bring (I learned the hard way!):

• Shampoo and body wash***
• Towels***
• Laundry soap****
• Sandals*****

Some additional notes:

• *Bear bell- I personally didn’t have one, but many other blogs recommended to bring one. There was really only one pass where there seemed be the largest threat of bears. Hiking solo, I used my phone to blast music in the areas where I could have seen the most danger for bears to be. I felt it would have the same effect as you’re still making noise to make the bears aware of your presence.
• **Powerpack – Strongly recommended! If you’re using your phone heavily throughout the day to check the route, take pictures and general use, there’s a good chance your battery will wear down fairly quickly. The last thing you want is to be stranded on the trail with no power. I used this one by Uni-Yeap since 2018, but as of this writing in April 2023, it is no longer available. This one on Amazon appears to be very similar and has good ratings, although I cannot give any input on it.
• ***Shampoo, body wash, toiletries and towels – many guesthouses and hotels provide this along the way. Save your back and use theirs.
• ****Laundry soap – I wouldn’t recommend bringing laundry soap, as many of the guesthouses will do your laundry for you (sometimes not even for an additional charge).
• *****Sandals – I never used mine along the trail, as I used my hiking boots during the evenings or stayed at the guesthouse and did not have to walk. Some guesthouses and hotels will provide you slippers during your stay.
• ******Winter hat and gloves – Depending on what time of year you walk the Kumano Kodo, I would recommend bringing both a winter hat and gloves. I walked the trail in March and while the days were fairly warm, some mornings were pretty chilly. The gloves came in especially handy during the rainy days. They kept my hands dry and warm.

Top Takeaways

• Having a SIM card or e-SIM card with you is an absolute must, in my opinion. The trail is not always well-marked and paper maps are typically only in Japanese language. To allow for you to use the online map and to use essential tools like Google Translate, buying a SIM card when you arrive to Japan is best. I used Mobal Wireless and had no issues, although it was fairly expensive for 15 days of unlimited data (I paid around $36 USD).
• The Iseji Route is one of the least walked trails on the Kumano Kodo. There is a good chance that much of the time you’ll have the trail to yourself or with very few other pilgrims.
• There is no set itinerary for the Iseji Route. You can plan your walk to your schedule and preferences.
• Very few Japanese people speak fluent English. Prepare yourself by learning some basic phrases and use Google Translate to communicate.
• Luggage Storage Options: I did not carry all of my gear with me, while walking the trail. My accommodation, Ise Guesthouse, in Ise City allowed me to store my stuff there for a week for 1000 yen (roughly $8 USD). The train station in Ise City (as of this writing in April 2023) has luggage storage available.

What I Wish I Would Have Known Before Walking

After completing the Kumano Kodo, I had some things I wish I would have learned before walking. These are also some things I would have done differently.

• Much of the Iseji Route follows along the Japanese Railways (JR) Kisei Line. If you’re having issues with your walk, if you’re limited on time or if you want to expedite your journey, the trail runs along multiple JR stations. I was grateful that while the route allows you to get out into nature, it is still close enough to civilization if any issues were to arise, especially walking solo. This is also a nice fact, as in the case no accommodations are available in your town, you can ride the train to another town with availability (I had to do that one night). This is a lightly used rail line, so no reservations in advance should be necessary.

• No need to overpack on water or snacks. You’ll be passing through multiple towns along the way, where there are countless numbers of vending machines along the paths, and you’ll go by many convenience stores, including FamilyMart. The only time you would want to pack more water would be when you’re doing the mountain passes.

• I would suggest packing only 1 walking outfit to reduce weight in your pack, along with a couple pairs of undergarments and socks. I packed two changes of clothing for walking, and I washed my outfit each night at the guesthouses. I didn’t even use my 2nd change of clothing, so it added additional weight I didn’t need.
• If time allows for you, I would recommend to try to spend one full day in Ise City before starting your walk. This will give you time to see the Ise Grand Shrine and relax before starting the next day. I arrived in Ise City late in the afternoon, so I felt a bit rushed as I checked into my guesthouse, ate dinner and went straight to bed.

Additional Resources For Planning

These are some of the resources I used along the way for planning/while walking the route.

• Following The Arrows Blog – I utilized this blog to plan my route, as I had only 7 days to walk the trail. This is written by the late Kat Davis, who also walked the Camino de Santiago trails and other routes. She also wrote a guidebook for walking the other Kumano Kodo trails as well. Her guide provides not only the towns on the route and the distance for each day, but also the accommodations she used.
• Kumano Kodo Iseji Navigator Map – This is an online map that the local government created for following the trail. I would recommend to bookmark this on the home screen of your phone, to allow for easy access. Having data on your phone is a must, as it does not allow downloading for offline mode.
• “The Ultimate Guide to Kumano Kodo Iseji” by Adventures Around Asia Blog – This guide is tailored to those with a more flexible schedule, as this author spent 14 days on the trail, with rest days included.

During my time writing this guide, I found these guides that have more information I think could be helpful (and wish I found before my walk):

• 14-day Kumano Kodo Iseji Itinerary – a specific guide detailing 14 days on the Iseji Route, day by day.
• A Guide to Hiking the Kumano Kodo Iseji Route in Mie, Japan – GajinPot Blog – This guide is well written, including details on planning a route and what to expect along the route.
• Kumano Kodo Trail, Japan: A Complete Guide Answering All FAQs – Ottsworld Blog – This guide appears to be more focused on the Nakahechi Route, but has some good advice on packing and preparation.

Disclaimer

This guide is for information entertainment purposes only. The reader uses all information at their own risk.

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