Kumano Kodo : Akagi-goe route

Hello,
We will walk in one day from Chikatsuyu to Yunomine but we are afraid of the intensity of the whole walk. We think of spending one night on north of Yukons to kind of split the walk, but we aren’t sure yet.
Is the Akagi-goe route that goes from Hosshinmon oji to Yunomine easy? Apparently, it requires 3-4 hours to complete. Adding the 5-6 hours from Chikatsuyu to Hosshinmon oji makes it maybe a very long day.
Can you help?
Best regards

Iirc, it took me around 3-3.5 hours for the Akagi-goe route from Hosshinmon-oji to Yunomine onsen (after walking from Kumano Hongu Taisha to Hosshinmon-oji in the morning). But that was after years of being mostly sedentary. If you are reasonably fit, it will probably take you 3 hours at most, even after the hike from Chikatsuyu. But yes, this is going to be a long day of hiking.

There is a bus from Hosshinmon-oji to Yunomine onsen (12:35/14:48/16:23). My advice is, just try, and if you reach Hosshinmon-oji after 2pm or feel too tired to continue, take the bus instead.

Thank you. We need to decide wether or not we sleep not far from Hosshinmon oji before trying to catch the last bus on that very day 😅. We will go there in four weeks, so we need to book rooms now… Thank you for your feedback

Oh, I thought you had a booking at Yunomine onsen, and you were worried about reaching in time for check-in.

If I were you (and assuming there are still some reasonably priced lodgings), I would stay there. It would be sad to walk all the way through the mountains, and not spend some time enjoying the hot springs. In the best case (if you manage to do the full hike you planned in a single day) you could complete the loop to Hosshinmon-oji on the next day. Or if you finished by bus, do the reverse route on day 2 (Yunomine -> Akagi-goe -> Kumano Hongu Taisha).

Actually we are staying at Yunomine for one night at least.
Since we come from Chikatsuyu, we might only make the 5-6 hours trail and sleep somewhere around Hosshinmon for the first night before reaching Yunomine the next morning.
Staying two nights at Yunomine sounds great but we either have to do the full 9-10 hours trail from Chikatsuyu or manage to catch the last 16h40 bus at Hosshinmon to reach Yunomine around 6pm : both options seem like a bet today since we don’t know how hard and slow the trail from Chikatsuyu will be.

and sleep somewhere around Hosshinmon for the first night before reaching Yunomine the next morning

One night in Yunomine onsen should be enough. The Akagi-goe section is so short, after a good night's rest it will be a mere 2 hours walk. Anyway, I don't think there are any accomodations at a reasonable walking distance from Hosshinmon-oji, so you really need to make it before the last bus.

- Scenario 1
Day 1: hike from Chikatsuyu to Yunomine onsen
Day 2: visit Kumano Hongu Taisha, and maybe hike the section that goes to Hosshinmon and continue with your trip

- Scenario 2
Day 1: hike from Chikatsuyu to Hosshinmon, take the bus to Yunomine onsen
Day 2: hike from Yunomine onsen to Hosshinmon, take the bus or walk to Kumano Hongu Taisha and continue with your trip

Staying two nights at Yunomine sounds great but we either have to do the full 9-10 hours trail from Chikatsuyu or manage to catch the last 16h40 bus at Hosshinmon to reach Yunomine around 6pm

https://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/2024/04/18/12698/
With some calculations: Chikatsuyu to Hosshinmon is around 17.5km long, with 1020m elevation gain, and only one way, so 5-6 hours is a reasonable estimate. If you start your hike before 9am, you shouldn't worry about reaching the Hosshinmon-oji bus stop before 16:20 (and arrive in Yunomine onsen around 5pm).

Great thank you!

Actually, we found a guesthouse (at the Hongucho Oi area I think) along the Kumano River, East from Hosshinmon-oji and North from Hongu Taisha. It is about a 1 h walk from Hosshinmon-oji.

We thought about walking down Hongu Taisha to Yunomine the next day.

The whole thing here is about walking down the Akagi-goe directly from Hosshinmon-oji (after the walk from Chikatsuyu) or stop at this guesthouse in this Hongucho Oi area.

Hopefully, we could catch the last bus!!!

Ha! 1 hour is not my idea of "reasonable walking distance" when I worry about not being able to finish a hike :D

Hopefully, we could catch the last bus!!!
You always have the option of starting your hike earlier. If starting at 7am, that leaves you 9+ hours to get from Chikatsuyu to Hosshinmon-oji (before the last bus). Even if you do lots of breaks, I don't think you will need that much time ;)