Seven days on the Kunisaki trail.
The forgotten peninsula of Kyushu, its Tendai temples hidden in the forest, a whole day of aizome dyeing with Tanaka-san, and a secret onsen in Beppu, the one where you pay 200 yen to a lady.
The points that matter.
A peninsula that the classic tours ignore, with no other group on the trails
Six nights in minshuku and ryokan, every dinner included
A whole day of aizome dyeing with Tanaka-san, and you leave with your own cloth
The Saiki fish market at first light, lunch chosen and prepared on the spot
A neighbourhood onsen in Beppu, the one where you pay 200 yen to the lady at the door
From one to eight travellers, on the date of your choosing, with no imposed departures
Seven mornings, seven dinners.
Arrival in Oita, dinner with Mariko-san
Direct flight Paris → Tokyo, then the Shinkansen to Kokura, then a local line. We meet you at the station with a thermos. Family dinner at the minshuku, grilled fish, local rice, and a long bath.
First trail: Futagoji
Thirty kilometres on foot through the Tendai temples hidden in the forest. We walk slowly. Midday break with a monk who makes his own nattō.
Aizome dyeing workshop with Tanaka-san
A whole day learning indigo dyeing. Tanaka-san is 78, has no internet, and will let you leave with your own cloth, dried in the wind.
Secret onsen in Beppu, the local version
Not the onsen from the guidebook. A small neighbourhood bath where you pay 200 yen to a lady who hands you a towel. A nap in the afternoon, izakaya dinner in the evening.
The Saiki fish market
Up at 5 am. We cross paths with the fishermen coming in, we choose lunch on the spot, and a cook prepares it for us as sashimi at 10 in the morning. Free afternoon.
Forest bathing on Mount Tsurumi
Gentle walking, six hours, a meditation break in a clearing. Evening meal at the ryokan, seasonal kaiseki, nine small dishes prepared by the owner.
Back to Fukuoka, a last kissaten
We make our way quietly back to Fukuoka. A last coffee in a prewar kissaten run by the same gentleman for 47 years, and that is that.