First of two parts
"Once you cross Tonda River, you're entering the Land of the Dead," says Brad, a tousle-haired, bespectacled, Japan-loving walking encyclopedia from Canada and also our chief guide on this venture into Kumano — the spiritual heartland of Japan, located on the Kii Peninsula, Wakayama Prefecture.
Land of the Dead? Mordor-like or Mordor-lite? I'm decidedly not scared at this point, but . . . that's down to naivety. I will almost die, and fall in love in the process.