Kumano Kodo with children. Newly opened SEN.RETREAT CHIKATSUYU accommodation report.
We interviewed guests who stayed at SEN.RETREAT CHIKATSUYU, a newly opened inn in 2022 on the World Heritage Kumano Kodo (an ancient road that straddles four prefectures including Wakayama Prefecture), to find out what itinerary they enjoyed on the Kumano Kodo.Located along the Kumano Kodo, known as the Nakahechi Road, Chikatsuyu is the perfect place to stay when visiting the Kumano Kodo, with easy access to places of interest such as the Kumano Hongu Taisha shrine!
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This article is a reprint of a family trip with children, so if you are considering a trip to Kumano Kodo with children, please refer to this article.
Customers we spoke to.
T.I. (29, female), Tokyo.She visited Kumano Kodo with her husband and child (1 year old) and a friend and her child (0 year old) who live in Kagawa.
Reasons for visiting the Kumano Kodo
We were considering a destination in the middle of the country, with us living in Tokyo and our friends’ families living in Shikoku joining us. Osaka was on the shortlist, but we decided on Kumano Kodo as our destination, as we wanted to relax in nature!
I myself had always wanted to visit the Kumano Kodo, which has been registered as a World Heritage site, so this was a great opportunity.
Schedule of stay at Kumano Kodo
We visited the Kumano Kodo on a 2-day/1-night itinerary and stayed at the SEN.RETREAT CHIKATSUYU.
15:00 Check-in.
We wanted to have plenty of time as we had two children, so we checked in at 15:00, the start of the check-in period.
All alcoholic drinks and food are provided at the inn, but as we were members of the group who liked to drink, we went to a supermarket called ‘A Co-op Kinan Kumano Kodo Chikatsuyu’ right in front of the inn to buy some food.
This supermarket has a section with locally produced delicacies, bread and vegetables, and we bought some ‘chikatsuyu miso’ and Kishu plums!We decided to dip our vegetable sticks in it for a snack.A Coop closes at 6pm, so we recommend buying your groceries early.
16:00 The evening meal is ready to begin!
Friends who are good cooks prepared the BBQ, pizza and cheese fondue, while the men built the pizza oven and bonfire.I was in charge of babysitting.
17:00 Dinner starts – pizza from the pizza oven and lava plate BBQ.
We baked pizzas in a pizza oven and grilled meat on a lava plate.We were able to enjoy ourselves while talking to each other.The two children were also excited to be in a different environment!
The cheese fondue was made adult with white wine, which was available at the inn, and one pizza was made spicy for the children to eat, while the other was spicy for the adults.
We were very pleased with the craft beer VOYAGER BREWING from Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, which was available at the inn!We finished it in no time at all.
The inn was equipped with a screen and projector to watch YouTube and other media.If the children get fidgety, it is possible to show them videos.
20:00 Bathing & putting children to bed
The accommodation has a bathtub as well as a shower, so you can take a relaxing bath with your children. There is also a washing machine with a dryer, so you don’t have to worry if your children get their clothes dirty.
It’s time for the children to go to bed. The six-person accommodation we stayed in this time has two bedrooms (one with two single beds and one with two semi-double beds), which was sufficient for sleeping with children.
21:00 Talking around the fire.
After putting the children to bed, the adults alone gathered around the bonfire to talk.We don’t usually get the chance to sit around a bonfire, but it’s nice to watch the fire while listening to the crackling sound…
It was a treasured time, as we were able to have in-depth conversations that we don’t normally talk about.
8:00 Morning with hot sandwiches
Breakfast was made in the hot sandwich maker provided at the inn.The children had a morning meal of toast and bananas that they had brought with them.(The hungover members had additive-free ice cream from Kurosawa Farm, which had been prepared in the freezer.It was very good for our hungover bodies…)
10:00 Explore the Kumano Hongu Taisha shrine.
We paid a visit to the Kumano Hongu Taisha shrine, a 20-minute drive away. Considering the children, we gave up climbing the 158 steps leading up to the Hongu-taisha shrine. We used the parking lot near the main shrine.
A short walk along a path surrounded by greenery takes you to the grounds of the shrine.The children were given original masks from the Kumano Hongu Taisha shrine.It was a moving experience to be able to pay homage to the Kumano Hongu-taisha shrine, which they had longed to do.
12:00 Back home
Friends and family from Kagawa Prefecture returned home by ferry between Wakayama and Tokushima ports. We flew home from Kansai International Airport.
We didn’t use this service because of the time difference, but it seems to be more convenient to use the Nanki-Shirahama Airport – Haneda Airport flight, as long as the flight times match.
Impressions after visiting the Kumano Kodo and Chikatsuyu
I believe that the best part of travelling is getting local food, so it was good that I could enjoy food and drinks at the inn that were made with local products from Wakayama.
My feeling is that you can enjoy the Kumano Kodo even more with children aged five or older. Our family would definitely like to return to enjoy pizza making, bonfires and trekking along the Kumano Kodo with our children.
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