There is no easy way to summarise this tour. Words like unique are not enough. You will enter into the world of a small collective of people making their own way of life in the mountains. They live with nature and fire and forego the normal comforts of modern life. Their everyday starts with a wood fire and ends in a hot bath with water heated over a fire. You will explore the natural area they live in and see the waterfalls and power spots that make up their daily lives. Along the way you can experience the process of roasting and brewing organic coffee over live coals. At the end you will feast on home-style cooking using local ingredients and a lot of love.
Details of Tour / Activity:
This tour begins with a trip into the mountains just outside Kochi city. Surprisingly close to the city you will feel as if you are far from civilisation, surrounded by mountains and citrus orchards. It is here, ringed by trees and with a hint of wood smoke in the air, that you will meet your hosts for the day.
As you enter their home-ground you will see their traditional houses. Old and a little dilapidated, these homes show how Japanese people lived in the past. Walking past their laundry drying in the sun, you can witness how they live with nature. Next to the house you can see their wood fired bath. Around the corner is the compost pile. As you begin to fall into the slow rhythm of life here, it is time to roast coffee!
Every week they take part in a local organic market where they sell their own self roasted coffee. You can participate in the process of roasting organic coffee beans. No gas or electric heater is used, only locally produced clean burning charcoal will do! Fortified with a delicious cup of coffee, now we head further up the mountain.
Just up from their houses you will see a beautiful waterfall and a powerful spiritual spot with boulders piled on the mountain. At their homes we were shown some of the practical details of daily life, but it is here that we can experience the less tangible mystical side of slow life in the mountains. Climb a boulder beneath a waterfall and send your feelings roaring down the valley with a primal scream! Feel the mist on your skin and let it all out! Make your way down among the boulders where they will chant a Shinto prayer of purification called norito.
Now purified and feeling the calm of mystical mountains and waterfall spray, it is almost time to say good-bye. But no good host would allow you to leave without first feeding you. This meal is simple and delicious and made with local produce. After eating you will feel satisfied in both body and soul. Head home with a sense of peace and calm!
