What’s the best way to really experience Japan – a road trip or a hike? | The Canberra Times

This is moving at its most moving. On the Shikoku trail, thought to be Japan’s oldest pilgrimage, your progress around 88 temples on Shikoku island conjures the spirit of legendary Buddhist monk Kobo Daishi, who first walked the route in the year 815. In such hallowed company, you won’t mind that the full 1200-kilometre circuit takes eight weeks. That’s the whole point. You could dip into the Kumano Kodo’s 370-kilometre network of pilgrim pathways over a couple of days, but how much better to spend weeks wandering through 99 shrines in primeval forests and communing with wonders like Japan’s tallest waterfall, Nachi-no-Otaki, where four rivers plunge together down a 133-metre vertical cliff.