A Seaside Town and Hotel- Nachi Katsu_Ura

24-27 March 2018

Katsu_Ura is a small fishing village on the southern most tip of the Kii Peninsular in Wakayama Province.

Over time, villages have merged so that the area in this photo is now called Nachi_Katsu_Ura.

Photo: a view from Nachi-san (mount Nachi) - one of the sacred pilgrimage trails collectively called the Kumano Kodo.

A series of islands protects the harbour - the largest has a hotel resort/spa called Ura-Shima (Cove island).

From atop Ura-shima you get a panorama of the world famous Kumano Kodo Pilgimage Trail - which I hiked.

It is the home port for boats delivering daily catches to the fisheries co operative wharf for auction and processing into yummy Shashimi and Sushi.

Hotel Urashima Resort & Spa

Hotel Urashima is a famous hotel in Nachi-Katsuura town. The best hot spring inn in the town can be reached by a dedicated ferry or shuttle bus. Built on the vast, scenic grounds of the Noroshiyama peninsula, the hotel comprises of four buildings, the Mountaintop Building (Sanjoukan), the Sunrise Building (Nisshokan), the Water’s Edge Building (Nagisakan) and the Main Building, each with views of the sun setting behind the mountains of Kumano.
One of its attractions is that guests can enjoy a spa tour of various, top-quality hot springs right within the hotel’s domain, starting with the Boki-do cave bath which literally translates to “the cave that makes you forget about home” and was named so by Lord Yorimichi Tokugawa who found the hot spring so comforting that it made him not want to return home.
After enjoying a tour of the hot springs to their hearts’ content, guests can indulge in a variety of buffet meals using Nachi-Katsuura’s local ingredients such as raw tuna or kaiseki cuisine (traditional multi-course meal) prepared by the head chef. Hotel Urashima has a long history with Nachi-Katsuura and is an inn that every visitor to the area should stay at at least once.

Photo (above): Hotel Urashima - on a penninsula with acsess both by road and ferry. Three buildings make one complex
Photo (below): ferry vessel

Access to the resort is by quaint ferry - a 10 minute transfer from the mainland.

Staff greet you on the pontoon with profusive bows.

Then you are then taken to Reception and on to one of the four residential locations on the island.

We chose a room with a view looking back to the harbour lights and the Kumano mountains.

In the above photo, you can see a Space Walker cut into the mountain slope.

It is a series of three enclosed escalators - that just go up ... and up ... and up!

At the summit, there are observation lounges with coin operated drink machines, sauna, restaurant, rooms, catwalks, parks/gardens/parks, temple, viewing platforms.

Alternatively you can go from the ground floor to the summit by fast Lift - a shaft has been drilled to ground level where interconnecting tunnels take you to all the facilities.

Very James Bond -ish!

Photo (above): Ocean side View

Only two caves have been converted as Onsen:

Bokido
Genburo

The restaurants offer splendid views

Photo (above) : Taken from an observation-rest area mid-point along the Space Walker

Photo (above): The view you get from the Space Walker observation platform.

The set of peaks - top right of the picture - are intergral parts of the Nakahechi Imperial Route - which I walked.

Photo (below): Maguro Tuna on the auction floor at the Fisheries Co-operative

Photo (above): Small in the co-operative's shed truck ready to transport fish to local enterprises

Photo (below): View fro the visitor observation platform - Auction on the floor of the co-operative

Photo: Across the road from the Fisheries Co-operative, the townsfolk take advantage of one of the many Communal Foot Baths.

I spent an hour here after my Nakahechi trek across the mountain range - endeavouring to sooth an in grown toe nail, sore feet and aching calves and ankles.

Click here for the official website's Photo Gallery.

Here some photos - of ourselves enjoying the facility.

In a tunnel sitting down watching guests traffic to-from the caves

Photo (above): A happy Carmel (12 months post cancer diagnosis) & Paul at cave entry to a hot spa

Photo: Carmel and Paul in traditional yuka and vest

Photo (above): asking a little Japanese boy to give us some context

Photo (below) A glimps or the mouintains I traversed to get to this location. Caption is Carmel questionning wheter in deed dis I just catch a bus? Well partly!