Hot springs and heavenly hikes in Japan's Kumano region

about hiking an ancient pilgrimage route that makes physical discomfort a little easier to bear. Perhaps it's the knowledge that a deity somewhere may reward you for your pains further down the line.

At any rate, my first glimpse of the Ryokan Adumaya in the Japanese village of Yunomine is a sight for sore eyes, not to mention sore feet. My first day of hiking in the Kumano region is a challenge fit for an unfit journalist.

Extending over the lower reaches of Honshu's Kii Peninsula, south of the cities of Osaka and Kyoto, Kumano has been held sacred for thousands of years. Most Japanese consider it the birthplace of their nation's culture. Widely referred to as Japan's "Abode of the Gods", Kumano's three Grand Shrines - Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Hayatama Taisha and Kumano Nachi Taisha - have long formed the focal point of veneration.

"Kumano has always been a special place for the Japanese, a place of nature, worship, religious training and asceticism," explains Matt Malcomson, a fellow British hiker and Japan enthusiast, as he strides comfortably beside me. "Because of its remoteness, this region has so far escaped urbanisation and retains its earthy spirituality."

Awarded Unesco World Heritage status in 2004, the Kumano Kodo is a complex network of pilgrimage trails that criss-cross Kumano's picturesque rivers, waterfalls, mountains and forests. Despite the undemanding nature of the Kumano Kodo's moss-clad paths and shady stairways, however, my first day of less-than-strenuous hiking has brought on blisters and a bruised ego.