Enter the Kumano Kodo

A fairly long and slow, by Shinkansen standard, rail trip to Kii Tanabe on the Wakayama peninsula overlooking the Philippine sea. We found a 7-eleven that sold those lovely triangles of egg mayonnaise sandwiches on white bread with no crusts that we are becoming addicted to, and waited on the local bus that would take us to Yunomine Onsen where our Ryokan was situated. Very rural with a slower pace of life though still well organised and quirkily Japanese. This Ryokan had it's own Onsen, the Japanese style spa that must be used with the formality and custom that has been refined through the centuries. No trip to rural Japan would be complete without experiencing one so we partook. In deference to my modest nature, we opted for a Family Onsen of which we had exclusive use, and found ourselves in a wooden Tub that held two western sized bodies just - or should I say" barely". It looked as if it might have been a hundred years old and had the eggy/sulphury smell of a volcanic hot spring that we had come to recognise and love throughout New Zealand's south island. It did wonders for my complexion though.
Our dinner was served on tatami mats, in our room, by an attendant who explained the contents of the food and the order they should be eaten. We were on a steep learning curve which hardened up when he later unrolled our futons and we spent our first Japanese night at floor level. We did sleep well but aren't sure whether that was an Onsen effect or an Asahi one.