5 Days Trekking to Remote Onsens in Japan (Kunisaki Trail)

5 Days Trekking to Remote Onsens in Japan (Kunisaki Trail)

This has been our life for the last 5 days. [Music] But it’s also been this. [Music] Yay. [Laughter] [Music] Tada. [Music] Over the next 5 days, we’re tackling part of 
the 134 km Kunisaki pilgrimage 国東半島峯道ロングトレイル. We’ve left the tourist trail behind and landed 
at the northern tip of Kyushu in southern Japan. For over a thousand years, monks and pilgrims have   walked these rugged ridges and forested 
valleys, following the path of Minman, a monk believed to be the Buddhist reincarnation 
of Hachiman, the Shinto protector of Japan. Each day, we’ll hike 15 to 25 km through ancient 
forests, past shrines, and quiet villages. And each night, we’ll rest 
at a remote Japanese onsen,   soak our sore legs, and enjoy a traditional meal. “Super Oishī 美味しい” This is the side of Japan most 
tourists don’t get to see. Far from the neon cities, surrounded by some 
of the country’s most beautiful nature. [Music] Good morning from a very rainy place in Japan. I actually don’t know exactly where we are. We’ll 
put it on the map so you can see. But today we’re supposed to be starting the Kunasaki trail 
which is a 134-kilometre Buddhist pilgrimage. So yesterday we were in Fukuoka 
and we took a train to Usa station. ‘Man, where are we? Like there’s nothing here. Well, 
we’re here now. No turning back now.’ And then from there we took a taxi to this 
Japanese inn which we stayed at last night. Just open my first slate door. This is amazing. Hi. Nice to meet you. Hi. Oh my god, the room. It’s traditional. 
Traditional the bamboo. Oh my god, this room is beautiful. Oh my gosh. And this 
is amazing. The inn is gorgeous traditional Japanese hatami mats. We slept on futons 
last night. So silly question, but is this the bed? This is the bed. Are we sleeping on 
one? We each get one. This is our honeymoon. Look. Come on. We can easily sleep on this. They 
were super comfortable. We had an onsen before dinner and dinner was an event just in itself. It 
is the most traditional meal we’ve had. All the Japanese food is traditional, but it was served 
in the traditional way where they serve you like a plate of all little tiny bites and they just 
kind of kept bringing course after course. It was an amazing experience. Highly recommend staying 
here even if you don’t want to hike. But today   we’re supposed to be doing a 15 km track. So, 
we booked it through Walk Japan. They’ve been amazing. They gave us these really cool booklets 
that are so detailed. They have literally their step-by-step turns for the trail throughout the 
day. It’s incredible. So, super happy we booked with them. I’m excited to do the trek. I would 
be more excited if it wasn’t raining. [Applause] [Music] Okay. Honestly, I feel like every meal on 
this truck is going to be an event. All right. You ready? Okay. Oh my god. Oh wow. I don’t think I’ve ever 
hiked with an umbrella before. But hey, there is a first for everything. So just 
up ahead of us, that’s Maggie and Harvey, an lovely Australian couple that we 
are doing this hike with for the next   6 days. It’s so beautiful. It’s really 
pretty. Look at this. Absolutely amazing. So the stone steps that we are walking up now 
are said to have been carved by the oni. Oni in Japanese means demon or like ogre, kind 
of like monster. They’re very treacherous. [Music]   These are the tallest Buddha reliefs in 
all of Japan. They’re about 8 m tall, potentially also the oldest because they’re 1,300 
years old. So, one of the interesting things is that these sculptures, which are incredible, no 
one really even knows about them. They’re not on any of the list of things to see when you 
come to Japan, even for Japanese people. It’s uh they’re kind of unknown outside of this region 
of Japan. So, even though they’re such ancient, beautiful sculptures, no one knows 
about them, which is crazy. [Music] Welcome to Japan. So, it’s actually summer 
in Japan. And even though it’s raining, I’m sweating so much in this classic rain coat 
that I had. It’s technically it’s only like 22° today. But 22° in the wet is very different to 22° 
in the sun. So, I thought I would be cold. Anyway, for the first time ever, Max and I bought some 
electrolytes to drink along our hike. Now, I don’t know how hard this hike is going to be, 
but the last hike that we did recently honestly zapped our energy throughout the day so much. 
And so, we thought this time we’re going to have electrolytes every day to try and keep our energy 
up and keep us hydrated. And I’m already sweating so freaking much in my sweat box of a raincoat. 
We’ll start with one and we’ll see how we go. We have a lot of future outdoorsy 
plans in next countries, not in Japan, but in other countries. So, we definitely 
need to order to get something that we can   just shove in our bags and fill up whilst 
we’re doing crazy outdoorsy things. [Music] They’re strawberries. M. Yeah, they’re raspberries. Yummy. Am I going to die or am I going to eat the 
delicious raspberry? [Music] [Music] This is a rough terrain here. [Music] Anyone know what this fruit is? 
It’s actually pretty delicious. [Music] So, I think these guys are here because 
of the rain and maybe they want to protect what looks to be an electrical thing 
that’s about to be flooded. The rain is picking up big time and now there’s a 
bit of a wind. So, going to layer back up. It is raining so much. Oh my 
god, this is crazy. What the actual heck are we doing out here? 
Why are we not soaking in a hotend? [Music] [Music] Oh my gosh, he is so lit, you guys. I can’t even. It doesn’t matter 
how much we tell you. It’s just insane. [Music] It’s so far gone. It’s just so far gone. [Music] Oh my god. [Music] So, I believe this little shelter is 
the one and only shelter we’re going   to find for the entire day. The guide 
book recommends to have lunch here. And it’s probably our only chance to 
have lunch without eating a wet lunch. [Music] Wow, that is incredible. We’re so 
thick in the jungle. Yeah, this comes up out of nowhere. 
Out of nowhere. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Got [Music] to be a way to open that. This is much more fun. Hi. So, that was five and a half hours of hiking 
in the rain. Something we’ve never done before. 5 and 1/2 hours of very soggy shoes. Honestly,   walking in the rain is not that 
bad. It’s kind of like romantic. That was amazing. the entire day of drinking 
in the rain. Although it was we tried to make it romantic. Having wet feet all day not that 
desirable. So being able to have a beautiful warm onsand when we get home. Ah the best thing 
ever. Now because I’m alone in here for now I can show you. Tada. Look how gorgeous this onset 
is. this beautiful bar with this gorgeous window. They also provide some little like moisturizing 
lotion. I don’t know, toner, I guess, cleansing stuff. You know, just a few little things, a 
razor and whatnot. Hair dryers, of course. Just the essentials. Something very exciting is about 
to happen. I’m going to eat dinner. We have to go down. And yes, wearing the uh yucata. So, wearing 
the traditional yucata to dinner is a thing. So, we’re not just going down there in our 
robes. It’s not weird. Also, look at my feet. They make me so happy. All right, follow me. Wow. Wow. Oh my god. They’ve done it again. I didn’t think the soy sauce thingy 
could get any cuter. So cute. Oh my   gosh. And this just looks like Wow. 
15. There’s 15 things. 15 things. And I could probably tell you what about three of 
them were. Do you want anything? Vegetable. Biru. Biru. Biru. You want some? Is that 
going to say biru? You said you said hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Love it. Why is it so sweet? What 
is that? Oh my gosh. Oh wow. That is incredible. Max and I don’t eat like fivestar meals that often 
ever. This is like a fivestar meal. Like this is like a Michelangar restaurant quality food. Yeah. 
This is insane. Steam egg. Steam egg. Okay. Okay. You’re so cute. Steamed eggs. Oh, but I swear all 
of these dishes are different to the ones we had last time. They’re not 
the same dishes. Yeah. Soup. Soup. Okay. Long in the floor. We got to 
pick up the pace here. Yeah, I know. We’re so We’re like two dishes behind. Jiggly. [Laughter] Oh, some 
mushrooms in there. Oh my god, this is so good. Hold the spoon. This is so good. Potato. Potato. Oh, okay. Every dish in each 
courses is an experience and something we’ve never eaten before. Like the smell is tiring 
because there’s so much going on in my brain. Oy. Ooh. Oy. So oy. Super oy. Oy. Oh wow. So this lady, this amazing lady 
that’s been dishing up everything was   cooking for us. She just has a little cook out 
there and she just cooking for the four of us, the other people in the group. And it smells so 
good. It does. And that was some good looking beef. Oh my gosh. And they’re bringing 
another course. They’re bringing another   course. Oh my god. So bad. So bad. Oh my gosh. 
I can’t with how much food they really This is our fifth course. I don’t know. Who can do 
anything? Hi. So, [Laughter] this is the kind of place where there’s been a few in our 
3 years of travel that we remember and we go, “Oh my god, I wish we could go back there. 
Remember when that we stayed here and this   was amazing and that was amazing.” This is like 
one of those places where we would want to come back to just to eat an amazing meal here and 
have an onsen. Oh, flip it. [Laughter] Okay. Okay. Oh, okay. Too much. Our 17th course. did the best I could. This 
has got to be one of the best meal we’ve had in 30 years of travel. That is amazing. That’s a 
wrap on day one. We’ll see you tomorrow [Music] after about 1.8 to 2 km on the main road and 
now we’re back or soon to be back on the trail. It’s definitely better than there one. So yeah, 
let the sort of trail aspect of day two begin. So since I’m looking at the half notes for the 
day, there’s a vegetation note here that these are Suzuki silverrass which actually back in the 
day used to be made to make a roof for houses in Japan. This is a treacherous terrain here. Now 
we’re walking our way down the forest, but there’s a plenty of ribbon to guide us. There’s no way of 
getting lost, but it is a steep downhill on a very mossy area. So, the guide book said be careful 
on ankle twisting mossy rocks like this one right there. Dangerous. You like it? I feel like this 
is the best section we’ve had the whole time. Well, there was a few nice spots yesterday as 
well, but this kind of like foresty triangle. So nice. Spider webs, snakes, and mossy rocks that 
are going to twist our ankles. Yeah, that’s all we need to watch out for. It actually is so nice. 
It’s very pretty. And there’s an onsen at the end. That was the first one. So, we’ve reached the outskirt of a town or 
actually as per the guide a hamlet. But the water of this spring right here is actually rich 
in magnesium and say to provide energy and good health and many locals fills up the large 
jugs of water to take home as drink water. This is the Yama Ginger Shrine. Oh, and 
here we could pay respect to Yama Gani, which is the mountain god, which we should do 
cuz if this is your first time watching one of   our videos, definitely go back. We’ve done 
a lot of hiking. So, Yamagami has protected us a lot in our travels. Yeah, we’ve done 
some pretty cool and epic and adventurous   and almost dangerous hikes over the time. And 
thankfully, Touchwood, nothing’s ever happened. So the guide book says we should offer 
an auspicious 5 yen coin followed by the Shinto prayer which is two bows, two claps, a 
prayer and one bow. We did the best with it. [Music]   Curve left and pass the family grave 
site. Navigate your way through bamboo forest. [Music] Love it. Stop freeing. Follow the 
path to the right of the shrine to continue on. Just ahead, turn left at an intersecting lane. 
A sign points to Nameshi Dam at a family grave site soon ahead. Follow the curve of the lane 
left, then straight on as it descends. Do not climb the steps here to reach Nameshi Dam. 
And what’s at Nashi Dam? Lunch time. Also, we just made it. This is the halfway point 
for today. So, high five everyone. Woohoo. [Music]   Double shot. [Music] Oh my god, it’s getting prettier 
and prettier. [Music] So, we’re pushing on after our lunch and we’re 
making our way through a must stone forest, but is so enchanting. I think I’ve said 
this word like 20 times today. But yeah, I think having no rain but still the sound 
of streams almost everywhere really makes it enchanting. So I mean this the stream is 
actually the puff as well. I tell we have a full belly. We are way on time. So absolutely 
no rush. A really really pleasant section. [Music] [Music] As we’re making our way up this beautiful ridge, 
we’re following a sort of a ancient cobblestone path which is called Ishi Datami. And I’d love to 
know if anyone’s watching how old those structures are because some of them have like this this 
sort of built pool. And I don’t know if it was the water kept for fishes or I don’t know what 
the water was for. So yeah, if anyone knows, I’d love to know what the purpose of those sort 
of pools were cuz they look absolutely ancient and this forest looks ancient. [Music] I dare 
you to eat one. No. Now Jacqueline and I just set a competition of who spots deers the most. 
Now I’m sorry guys, we haven’t caught anyone on camera. We’ll get double points for this fast. 
But so far we spotted four. Jacqueline has spotted two. I spotted one. And we spotted one together. 
So the points are two and a half to Jacqueline, one and a half to be. But game is on. Game on, 
baby. Well, after this very enchanting forest, we carry on on a nice trail. And as you can tell, 
we came out of it. Not only that, in the distance, there is the ocean, which is not at all what 
we expected to see so early in the journey, but yeah, we’re getting somewhere. Cuz to think 
that the end goal is to get on another island that’s a tiny little ferry away sort of gives you 
the perspective that the progress we’re making. At our lunch spot, there was recommended that 
we eat these steamed buns which are supposed to be filled with red bean paste out. And apparently 
they are a local specialty in this area. Yeah. So, I actually love the red bean 
paste. I think it’s delicious. And now it is the best part of the day, 
the onen time. All for a hi. Hi. Hi. Hi. Wait. My hands. enjoy your oneness. So, obviously you can’t normally film this on. 
So, luckily there’s no one in the private on at the moment, but other guests could come 
in at any moment. I just wanted to give you   a little tiny glimpse of how beautiful 
and relaxing and peaceful the ones are. It is such a magical way to end a 
day of hiking to come to the onsen. [Music] Oh wow. Oh wow. This is a full table. Wow. This looks so delicious. Oh my 
gosh. There’s so much to look at. It’s okay. So cool. Yes. Good morning. It is day three. We’re very tired 
today. And look at that awful rain. Oh, we’re going up here somewhere, I think. Up there. Up up 
up up there somewhere. There’s actually a mountain that we have to climb first thing this morning. 
Anyway, we’re going to go downstairs and enjoy   breakfast. Dinner here last night. Incredible. We 
were kind of tired and we were eating with Maggie and Harvey, so we decided not to proper vlog it. 
But delicious. The food on this track has been so good provided by the hotels. Today is also a big 
day, but we’ll tell you more about that when we start walking. We’re going to breakfast with just 
our socks on because our shoes are still wet from yesterday and we don’t want to have breakfast 
with wet feet cuz that is so horrible. Oh, hi. Look at that beautiful sight right there. M rice. Okay. Okay. Big box for Max. [Music] I’ll see you tomorrow. Okay. [Music] Beautiful day. It’s raining still. Today we’re 
going to be hiking 18 km. Apparently the first part is the most challenging. It’s 4 km directly 
up a steep hill. I’m looking forward to it. Are you? Yeah. We haven’t had much of a challenge yet. 
That’s true. So far, the days have been like not   short, you know, 16 km days, but they haven’t been 
particularly challenging. So, today is according to the guide a challenging day. Oh, breakfast 
by the way. Divine. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Wow, this is so cool. Very cool. So, 
we’ve come to these red Tory gates, which are kind of somewhat like the ones that 
you have in Kyoto, but obviously those ones   are famous and have a million people. We’re 
in the middle of the jungle and there is no one here. This is so pretty. Really is like that 
pilgrimage aspect of all the shrine you’re seeing. Oh yeah. I just saw it. It’s in those bushes over 
there. And at 12:00 the went left. Oh my god. Oh, there’s a whole bunch of them. Oh my gosh. 
So, we saw like three deer up in the bush. But obviously they’re so quick. They’re so hard to 
capture on camera. But that means I’ve seen seven. If this is not the cutest toilet you’ve ever 
seen, I honestly don’t know what is. But also, they have this which releases water to 
wash your hands. How cool is that? And they even had tissue in there. So, thank 
you Japanese people. That’s so nice. Well, you just never know when uh you just 
going to need to practice your golf swing. Bang. Oh my gosh, it’s hot, guys. We’re climbing 
up so steep up the Mount Inomia this morning. Oh my god. Yes, I am wearing the same clothes 
as I wore yesterday. But just to let you know, we’ve washed everything thoroughly with soap 
overnight. I haven’t I did not wash Oh, she   didn’t. I didn’t anything. Everything I’m wearing 
is spanky clean, including my underwear. [Music] standing rock. [Music] Wow, this is kicking my butt. I knew we were 
going to have a challenge this morning, but little update on our electrolytes as well. First 
time we’ve ever used them on a hike and I honestly think that they do something. Uh yesterday I was 
feeling pretty lethargic and not really into it. And then we poured some electrolytes into our 
water, had a little bit, and I honestly within minutes felt so much more revitalized 
and energized. Could have been placebo, could have just been like the more we got into 
the hike, the easier it became. You know how it is   when you first start. But I I’m going to go with 
is the electrolytes and they actually do help. So, I think we’re probably going to start taking 
electrolytes for our adventures. I don’t know if it’s a good thing, but I felt less hungry, 
which gave me more energy throughout the day   without having to stop as much. Mhm. So, yeah, 
good point on that. Yeah, steeper and narrow trail condition persists. Remain close to mountain 
side and avoid stepping on the edge where it’s   possible. My calves on fire, but potentially 
we are about to reach the top. Wow. Oh my gosh. Look at that. Dang. Well done. Wow. That is stunning. Wow. Let me just catch my breath 
for a minute. So cute. Iukubu,   a place with a view. I love it. It’s nice to do 
a challenge. I mean, we had to hike. We not Yeah, that was honestly really good. I’m so 
glad that that was the challenge that   it was. And it was really cool in 
the forest there as well. [Music] Well, that is the biggest challenge of 
the day done. And it’s only 11:00 a.m. So, we have about another 13 km to go until we make 
it to our onsen tonight. The one thing to look forward to every day. I agree. We should remove 
our rain coats. It is so steamy. But also, shout out to Maggie and Harvey. They are in their like 
early to mid70s and they are killing this hike. And apparently they do hiking all over the 
world which is so impressive if we are still hiking like this in our 70s. And it just goes to 
show you guys that age shouldn’t hold you back. Wow. It’s mystical rain. [Music] I 
love the statues. They’re so cool. We also just saw another deer, our eighth 
deer that we’ve spotted, but every time they hear us way before and we just see them 
running away, so we can never capture them. [Music]   Time to see what’s in those magic box we got 
delivered this morning. What’s this? Oh my gosh, I dropped my chopsticks. But look how cute 
this is. This is like unwrapping a little presents. I know. That little bow is amazing. 
Wo! It’s many layers. Yes. Wow. Wow. Got layer number one, layer number two. Wow. And 
that’s for today and tomorrow. Yum. Happy. Mhm. Happy. And when we were at our hotel this 
morning, the wonderful angel came and dropped off these bento boxes for us. They weren’t 
provided by the hotel. And she told us that she’s actually going to be making our lunch 
for us tomorrow as well. So, we’re going to   have two of these amazingly delicious benjo 
boxes, which makes me very happy. [Music] [Music] The map says it’s a road less 
traveled. Definitely feels like it. warning the other deer. We got a head 
warning the other deer that we’re here. They’re calling to each other cuz 
they ran in opposite directions. That was so beautiful. We caught that. 
You guys saw it for the first time. Oh, that was the most beautiful part of this 
entire track. Like getting to watch them   eating and then look at us. We got 
it. I love animals. That is so cool. Well, this is either a terrible idea or refreshing 
idea. Look how cold this water is. It’s made like the condensation on the bottle. Bottoms up. 
Tastes delightful. Tastes good, huh? Yeah. Go. Oh my god. Wa! That would have been bad. 
Wa! Go. [Music] So, the last shrine we just passed marked the halfway point of the 
day, and that was 5 hours into our trail. So, it is a big day. So, I don’t know if it’s going 
to be as long on the back half considering the biggest ascends and descends we’re in the first 
half, but uh day three is definitely a big day. But we have an onsent to look forward to as 
usual, but still have another 9K to go. Yeah, some stuff living there for sure. 
Yeah, I know. Yeah. Oh my god. Oh, oh god. On the right. Hard to easy to miss, 
which we did. Which we did. So the trail is somewhere near. So this ah we missed the 
ribbon right here. Gosh. Lucky I’m here. I think the toll of the two previous day hiking 
and today’s pretty steep ascent. Starting to get take its toll on us. I’m exhausted. Yeah, I 
would love a nap right now. Yeah, but but we are doing really good. We’re about an hour and 
a half to almost 2 hours ahead of schedule. So, we’re obviously crushing it. So, we have no 
rush. Yeah. But we’ve still got like 8 km. We still have a long way to go. It’s okay. 
It’s fine. It’s totally fine. It’s fine. the river on our path. [Music] So, because Max has to carry all the camera 
equipment, it means I have to carry all of our water. But the difference is Max has a 
proper backpack with a waist strap and all I have is one that just sits on my shoulders. And 
the last two days it hasn’t bothered me much, but today definitely starting to feel 
a bit more tired because it’s just a tougher hike today. But if you plan 
on carrying a lot of camera equipment,   definitely get one with a 
proper waist strap. Wider. Oh my gosh. What shelter spots we’re enjoying our beautiful, 
you know, rest area. with a little snack. We know there’s a vending machine. We can see it 
since we sat down, but we haven’t had a chance   of having hot drink yet because there hasn’t been 
any surprisingly. And we think this one has it. And we’re having those delicious cookies 
we bought from that lunch yesterday. Yeah,   way more than we should be having. Yeah, way more 
we should be having. But it’s very exciting. They might have a hot coffee in there. So, let’s go 
investigate. That’s a milk tea sold out. Oh, you mother. Do you want one still? One. Yeah. 
No. Oh, this one’s a flat white. Try that one as well. Got one. Go one each. Why not? What are 
we doing trying to stinge ourselves? We’ve been bloody hiking all day. Share one. Oh my god. How 
lame is that? Oh, by the way, guys, if you want, you can buy us a coffee. A bag. Just in case 
you’re wondering what the bathrooms look like, look how clean and nice they are. And they have 
toilet paper with more toilet paper. Amazing. Honestly, some of the best public toilets. 
This is just in the middle of nowhere and I very much appreciate it. So the goal now 
is to push on for the last 5 and a halfk and make it at the onsen or the hotel by 4:00. 
The only reason why we want to make it by   four is so we have enough time to appreciate 
the onen. It’s not a race. It’s not a race. [Music] He’s like, “What are you doing? [Music] When you’re like in a place like this, we’re in 
the valley. We have those beautiful temples. We got these beautiful rice patties over here. I’ve 
got an umbrella. Walking in the rain is just like it’s not that bad. It’s kind of peaceful and 
meditative. Okay, that’s the trail that you ignore. that we’re supposed to ignore cuz we 
have to go find our accommodation. So, it seems like there’s a couple of times where we have to 
go off the trail for this hike. [Music] Super. That’s so adorable. [Applause] [Music] 
Wow. They view right at the end is just look at that. Oh my god. How epic is that? [Music] We have powered through this last 
5k and we’ve just made it. 408, baby. Oh yes. What a day. Eight 8 hours. We 
crushed it. Are we left? Yeah. Exactly 8 hours. Just after 8. Wow. Just after 4. 8 hours. 19k. 
And now you know all what time it is for. [Music] Oh, so adorable. I am so in love with the Japanese 
style rooms. They’re just so quaint. Magnificent. This is nice. This is amazing. This is 
such a great reward at the end of a hike. I’m so glad we’re not in a tent. 
And now it’s time for the best part. [Music] Another amazing onsense tonight. This one is 
an outdoor and it actually has a cold plunge pool. So, I’ve been alternating cold water to hot 
water. When I first arrived, there was a lot of people here. It was actually so busy. So, I don’t 
know if the hotel has a lot of guests or maybe I’m thinking the village that we walked through 
to get here might actually a lot of people come here to use the onen because it’s available. 
Uh, so yeah, very busy. But now, once again, I’m completely alone. So, I took this quick 
opportunity to show you what it’s like. Um, they even have a sauna in this one, which is amazing. 
It’s been so nice. But now it is time for dinner. [Music] Raining again and uh packing again. 
and uh blow drying our shoes again. So, today is an interesting day. We’re actually going 
to be taking a ferry across to another island, a tiny little island, which is going to be 
where we’ll be sleeping tonight. But first, we have to hike there. And before we do 
that, we also need to get some breakfast. I have been looking forward to 
taking one of those Japanese taxis.   They always open up the door. He was so cool. Grandpa Joel. Hello. [Music] Well, 
a very misty morning to start, but at least it has stopped raining, which 
is nice. So, we don’t have to start off with   our rain jackets and everything on. Oh my 
gosh. right into it today. Starting the day with a spicy little uphill. I’m already 
out of breath. We’ve only hiked 100 m. So, our total distance today is supposed to 
be about 14 km. The challenge is that we have to make it in time for the 355 ferry. 
to get across the Himashima Island. Oh, great. That’s only 6 hours to do 14 km. 
Ah, okay. It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine. It’s all this cloud. This should 
all be the ocean with a view. A view where we’re sleeping 
tonight. Very nice. [Music] Today I feel like I’m on set for the Twilight 
movie cuz you know how in the movie they’d always go into the forest and it would always be 
misty and like a little bit of drizzly rain in that movie. That’s exactly what we have today. 
It’s like I mean if that’s not Twilight. Wow. This is the five tier pagod. Now the guide says 
something about this. Let me read it. So the gorinto gun the fantastic collection of pagoda 
like gravestones is testament to the power of the original temple complex. Each tier has a 
meaning. The top one is space. Then it’s wind. And it’s fire and it’s water and it’s 
earth. This is so eerie with the mist. So, but it’s also beautiful. It’s eerie and beautiful 
at the same time. You could never find something like this unless you go to some crazy destination 
like this. So, can’t recreate that anywhere else. Look. Oh, cat. There’s an owl. [Music] Okay, so now we have an optional detour 
to a cave. It is another 3 and 1/2 km in the opposite direction that we need to 
go and then we’ll be coming back past   here and heading onto. So, it says it’s 
not too challenging, although it is a bit of an uphill. We have time. It’s still 
pretty early, so we’re going to make that [Music]   This uh 1 and 1/2 km to the cave feels like 
further than that. Even though today isn’t necessarily hard, it feels more difficult 
just because we’re a bit tired, I think. [Music]   Ah, and we finally made it. 
Sketchy. Oh, this is super sketchy. Oh god, I don’t like that. That 
wasn’t fun. [Music] [Applause] [Music] We made it. Look at this. Look at this guys. 
Look at our view. So beautiful. [Music] So it’s almost lunchtime. So, I think that 
this beautiful view from the cave here is the perfect spot to have lunch. And the same 
lady that made lunch for us yesterday actually brought lunch to our hotel again. Tada! But it’s 
totally different this time. This time we’ve got some little snacks. This one is delicious. 
I’ve already eaten it. That’s Max’s obviously. Can’t see in there yet, but there’s 
something in here. And then she made   us these massive sandwiches. We got two of 
those, but they’re different flavors. Oh, looks like a burger. And we also have this 
cute little packet of fruit. So nice. [Music] Okay, let’s go to the port. Ah, Maggie and Harvey left us a little a 
little treat and a note that says if you need sustenance. No carrot. Don’t have any 
carrots though, Maggie and Harvey. Where are we supposed to? I think we’re just going 
to follow this route of exploring [Music] this one. Let’s crack it open. M. So good. Japan 
honestly just cracks me up. The fact that we’re in this tiny town in the middle of nowhere and we 
get an ice cold coffee from a vending machine for two bucks. There’s no bar, no restaurants, 
nothing. But they are vending machines. Woohoo! We made it. There’s Alan. Oh my god. 
Is that the island? Wo, that looks eerie. Wow. It does, doesn’t it? Cuz it’s like shrouded in 
cloud. Uh well yeah that’s it. Off to the next excursion and fairy ride which uh for two people 
uh there and [Music] [Applause] [Music] last crazy. We were in deep forest just 24 hours 
ago and now we’re here at the boat. [Music] Wow. Sometimes I wonder when Max and I travel like 
how do we end up in these places? [Music] Welcome to Himashima. Wow. And apparently there’s a lot 
of specialtity. It’s actually quite a busy little island. Surprisingly, apparently there’s a lot of 
cats on this island and it’s much more built up than we had expected. So very eager to see a bit 
of this island. We have like less than about 20 hours. So, let’s make the most of it. I’m going to 
make the most of that onsen. Hello. Hello. Hello. This is just amazing. This bag 
system is just wow. So pretty. This is probably the most 
traditional looking home of them all. [Music] Oh my gosh, I love it 
so much. Wow, how cool is this? So, where we’re staying tonight is probably the 
most unique stay yet. It’s actually a homeay. So, we’re staying in a traditional 
Japanese home of a family. So, tonight, Max and I actually get to onend 
together. So, instead of one of the big communal onsens that we’ve had at the ins that 
we’ve been in, because this is actually a home, we have this little private bath. So cute. So, 
you might think that a bath together is super romantic, but we’ve just spent 4 days with 
each other walking. Just walking. And now we’re really tired. So really, we both 
just want to fall asleep in this bath, and it’s not romantic at all. It’s more like, 
“Don’t touch me. You’re taking up too much space.” Anyway, we have probably another amazing dinner 
at this guest house. Apparently, the prowess, the cooking progress of our proprie is renowned. 
So very finish our onset and go to dinner. Since we arrived a little early at the accommodation 
we got itchy feet and uh after on before dinner we decided to go let me let me get Max got eat. 
I was very happy relaxing in my Yakata. This is actually a very beautiful island and I it would be 
nice to spend a full day here. If you were going to do this trip, if you’re watching this video 
as a guide, uh we would recommend maybe taking the latest ferry possible tomorrow and doing 
that or just spending an extra night on the island so you could actually cycle around and see 
everything. Unfortunately, tomorrow we’re going to be making a very long trip to Kyoto, so we won’t 
get to see as much as Himosima as we would have liked. But this small little taste is quite nice. 
I think we’ll earn ourselves a couple bruskies. [Music] So good. [Music] Good one. This be such hot win. Actually, 
it’s really good. Good morning. Final day. Final rainy day. We actually considered 
yesterday climbing that mountain this morning. I was pretty set on just not doing it 
today, but uh then we woke up. It’s raining. Our last traditional Japanese thingy. I 
know. We also have to pack our explosion. So, now that we are done with the actual hiking,   we have to try and fit everything back to where 
it belongs, which hopefully will be easier. Well, beautiful people, that was a long one. 
Thank you for watching. We have loved this hike with Japan. It was absolutely amazing. It’s 
just that you would never get anywhere this remote without doing like a trek or something like 
this and staying in those little traditional ins and the local hotels and trying like the really 
traditional food and seeing all those shrines without a single other person at the shrine 
was amazing. It was so much more than a hike. We obviously loved walking with our compatriots. 
So, thank you so much for this as well. Maggie and Harvey were great. They actually made the 
trip really enjoyable and made it better. Yeah,   if anyone of you is interested, we’ll leave a 
link. We highly recommend. They do tracks all over Japan. They don’t just do the Kunasaki 
Trail. They also do the very famous Kamanoo Codoro Trail as well. So, honestly, they 
made this trip so seamless and easy. and I would highly recommend doing a trip with 
them if you’re a little bit confused about how to trek around Japan and you just want a little bit 
of support with them. Yeah. Yeah. It was great.   We’ll put a link in the description below to them. 
Anyway, but we’re not done with Japan today. We are making our way all the way up to Kyoto. So, 
if you are curious about what to do in Kyoto, uh stick around, subscribe. It’s free. And 
we’ll see you in Kyoto. Bye bye, guys. Sayanada. Welcome to Japan. Come out. 
Okay, come in. Welcome to Japan. [Music] I thought I got bit by a 
snake if I just trot on a stick.

Join us on one of Japan’s most magical and underrated pilgrimages, the Kunisaki Peninsula Minemichi Trail. Over several days, we hike ancient mountain paths once used by monks, visit hidden temples, discover giant Buddha carvings in the forest, and pass through timeless countryside villages.

🥾 Link that exact hike: https://linkly.link/2BcCB

This is a side of Japan few travellers ever get to see: raw, spiritual, and deeply rooted in history.

🗺️ Expect stunning nature, fascinating local legends, quiet moments, and a lot of rice paddies.

Huge thanks to Walk Japan for making this unforgettable journey possible.

🎬 Episode 304 | Kunisaki Trail – Japan 🇯🇵

🎥 Subscribe to follow our time across Japan 🇯🇵

🎥 Filmed June 2025

📍 Next stop: Kyoto ⛩️ 🇯🇵

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