Not-So-Happy Chikatsuyu Village on Kumano Kodo Route

The first time I saw Chikatsuyu Village, I stopped on the track and couldn’t believe my eyes.

We were on the second day of our Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage. Having had the last snack we brought for the hike, with a depleting water supply and a 7 km hike behind us, it would be great to see our pilgrimage pit stop, the destination for the day. But that wasn’t why I froze ━ in front of us, deep inside a valley, a village looked so picturesque, like nothing I had seen before, except maybe in Ghibli movies.

“Is that the village?” I tried to keep up with Fafa, who was descending the hill. “Must be” he replied. “Must be…” I echoed back, while what I meant to say was, “OMG, PLEASE LET IT BE!”.

It took us another half-hour to reach Chikatsuyu Village, but I didn’t mind. It was such a beautiful day, with the bluest sky and freshest air ━ nothing could go wrong. At least not until we reached Happiness Chikatsuyu, the cottage where we would stay the night.

Not so Happy Chikatsuyu

Once we reached the road to the village, we found out that our Happiness Chikatsuyu was just a few minutes away, so we decided to go there first to drop our heavy backpacks before exploring the village.

From the outside, the cottage looked beautiful. It was well-decorated and filled with blooming flowers.

Since we reached the accommodation an hour earlier than check-in, we followed the instruction notice pasted near the door and called Ms. Takao to inform her we had arrived. Again, as per the instructions, she answered the call, and after a brief intro and words from me, she yelled in Japanese into the phone and hung up.

Minutes later, Ms Takao arrived on her Vespa and, without any greetings, very angrily typed on her translator device and shoved it in our faces.

It read something along the lines of her being very annoyed with foreigners who never follow the rules and don’t come on time, and she has to drop everything she was doing to check us in.

And I was thinking: but isn’t that what the notice said? Isn’t that a part of the service? Isn’t that what we paid for? After all, we were day hikers and wouldn’t know when to reach the village. Moreover, it was never mentioned anywhere in the extensive booking process and website that we need to inform our arrival time ahead of time.

Thankfully, Fafa took over, and Google translated back to say that we were sorry to trouble her, to which she responded with a scoff before opening the door and gesturing for us to go inside. She then showed us around the cottage uninterestedly and asked when we wanted our dinner and the next day’s breakfast before leaving with the same Vespa.

Once the drama was sorted, and we were left alone with a promise to bring dinner at 5 PM, we decided to check out the village and look for a light lunch.

Paying Respect at Chikatsuyu-oji

Our cottage was slightly up the hill and a few minutes away from what looked like the village centre. We passed beautiful houses and crossed the bridge atop the beautiful Hidakagawa River. Right beside the bridge, there was a small shrine ━ Chikatsuyu-oji.

Chikatsuyu-oji is one of the oldest Oji shrines and a major site along the Kumano Kodo. Centuries ago, during the peak of the imperial pilgrimages to Kumano, they performed cold-water purification rites in the river before worshipping.

We went inside to pay respects to the beautiful village and its spirits. Also, to add another chop to our Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage stamp sheet.

Foreigners are not Welcome

There was a small cafe beside the shrine, which I was initially excited about, only to find out it was closed with a big sign that said: “Foreigners are not welcome“.

I was taken aback and wondered why they would include Chikatsuyu as an overnight option for the pilgrimage on the Tanabe Tourism website if it emits foreigners’ not-welcome vibes all over (we experience this and Ms Takao’s perception of foreigners within an hour of being in Chikatsuyu).

Alas, I tried to ignore it, and we walked a bit more, bearing the blazing sun. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anything open except for a Minshuku, which I googled and learned on the spot was not an eatery. It’s another type of Ryokan—generally less fancy, like Hotel and Motel in the West.

We then got a drink from the vending machine opposite it before going in the other direction, where a fancy, out-of-place building stood.

Kumanokodo Nakahechi Museum of Art

The fancy building turned out to be a museum ━ the Kumanokodo Nakahechi Museum of Art. We decided to check it out and maybe score some food in the cafe or gift shop inside.

Unfortunately, there was only one small hall exhibition inside the museum, which we got a private viewing. And it was still good to see, even in hunger.

We then asked for directions from the museum curator for a lunch place, which apparently was none nearby. He suggested the supermarket at the end of the road. So we continued our journey.

On a normal day, I’d very much enjoy walking and exploring a new place, but that day, the heat was unbearable, and Fafa was ill, so we walked side by side in silence for what felt like a long time.

A Co-op along Highway 311

Eventually, we reached the end of the road and spotted a supermarket where we got instant noodles, snacks, a bento box for Fafa, and a sandwich for me. I also bought three bottles of fancy Umeshu blend, rationalizing I might only get them here. In short, we were so hungry, got greedy and bought too much food.

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Back in the cottage, we changed into our home clothes, and I opened the Umeshu bottle. It was so easy to drink, and I started to feel relaxed and continued with the second one while Fafa was having his late bento lunch.

Before getting into the third bottle of Umeshu, someone rang the doorbell. Another hiker who was staying in another guest house under the same name. He then saw the instructions and said he would call the number instead. I was too tipsy to warn him, so I said good luck and got back inside.

A few minutes later, another doorbell. This time, a local plumber came to give a warning that at 5 PM, the water would be stopped for 3 minutes. That was quintessential Japan for you.

Soon after, yet another disturbance to my intoxicated state. This time in the form of loud knocks. It was the unfriendly Ms Takao! She came to drop the food ━ she placed it near the door, and left without any pleasantries. That was the very opposite of Japanese hospitality.

But Ms Takao was quickly forgiven, thanks to the delicious bento she brought for dinner. It was pork katsu and beef potato croquette served with Japanese rice, with a side of four different local vegetable dishes, pickled carrot and cold salad. We demolished the whole meal almost immediately, even though we had eaten lunch a few hours earlier.

After dinner, I walked around the well-kept cottage and sat in the outside garden for a while, doing some light reading and journaling.

Meanwhile, Fafa stayed inside as he felt even worse than before (we suspected it was food poisoning but can’t blame it on Ms Takao’s as he has started to feel ill since morning).

It was still bright when I returned inside and went to soak in the bathtub. The soak made me feel even more relaxed, so I urged Fafa to try it. But the man settled with just showering while sitting down on the Hinoki, the Japanese shower stool. He claimed he loved it so much and suggested we get one for our bathroom in Melbourne. I chalked it up as delirious words from his rising fever.

Restless Night in Chikatsuyu Village

We spent the evening setting up the futon by ourselves (which was unusual for a Ryokan equivalent in Japan), following the YouTube videos.

I also wrote postcards for my future self, my parents, and Jik before researching our hiking trails the next day and retiring to the futon.

I had such a bad night’s sleep that after 3 AM, I just gave up sleeping altogether. Maybe I was subconsciously worried about Fafa, whose body temp was warm to the touch. Maybe it was the family pictures hanging above the room we were sleeping in that made me feel like I was being watched while sleeping. Maybe it was the Yukata that I had no business wearing to sleep. Maybe it was the sour encounter with Ms Takao. Or maybe it’s just Chikatsuyu.

Eventually, daybreak. We showered, packed our belongings, and walked to the village centre to have our breakfast, following the directions from Ms Takao the day before.

Guess where it was? The same cafe (maybe the only cafe in the village) with the “foreigners are not welcome” sign.

I contemplated skipping it altogether, but Fafa was sick, it was raining, there was no other option, our bus came in less than 20 minutes, and we had a long hiking day ahead of us. So, I gritted my teeth and walked to the entrance. We were greeted by a fake smiling lady (the feeling was mutual lady) who showed us a table with breakfast plates waiting for us.

A single piece of toasted bread, half scrambled egg, sad salad, two pieces of sliced apple and coffee each. It was truly the saddest breakfast we had on our Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage.

We finished it so fast (the tiny serving portion helped) and basically bolted out of the cafe.

A short walk later, we reached the main bus stop (maybe the only bus stop in the village). There, we met the woman we met at the Takahara kiri-no-sato the day before and her friend, Jane. We chit-chatted briefly and learned that we were on the same Kumano Kodo route. They also shared how lovely their Minshuku stay was. Oh well, I guess it was just our luck ━ or maybe it was Chikatsuyu, which I was happy to leave with the bus that arrived sometime later.

Next stop: Yunomine Onsen Village.

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