The other interesting thing was a result of the train cancellation, as we were waiting in the station when in walked a group of people - some officlal looking, one a photographer. After greeting each other and chatting, it transpired that they were the people responsible for developing the Michinoku Trail and the manager of the trail website doing some kind of promo. Anyone who can create a trail from scratch in under 10 years has my undying admiration. It was a real honour to meet them and have a chat about the trail.

The mountains behind Miyako

We were still feeling pretty good about the whole encounter when we checked in to our hotel in Miyako. Tomorrow we would take the bus back to Taro to commence another two-day section, one which the trail developers had promised was as spectacular as the cliffs we had just walked ..... though also including a lot of climbing and descending in the process. One should expect no less on this rugged coastline - every reward should come with some effort.

It was an early breakfast in order to catch the 7.52am bus from Miyako back to Taro, from where we set out for our two-day next stage of the MCT. Under a clear blue sky and no wind, we headed off from Taro bus-stop, following a quiet back street out of town, before picking up a country road that led up into the forested hills. This soon changed into a foot track that led gradually up through the dense fir forest before assaulting the slope directly in a series of short sharp zig-zags.

We were now on a narrow ridge heading towards the sea - the only problem being that once we reached the cliff edge, the track decided to take us down a steep flight of stairs to tiny Taro Beach, where the waves rattled the stones as they surged in and out. It also offered views back towards the Taro seawall.

We now knew that being at the bottom of the cliffs meant only one thing - a steep climb up steps and zig-zagging path to the top. We weren't there for long before the next big descent, down into a creek system in the dark fir forest, that led out onto Tothinai Beach. This part of the coast did not have as high cliffs as Kitayamazaki, but here the deep valleys ran down to sea level resulting in longer descents and ascents to cross them.

Tothinai was a larger beach than most in this section - a broad stretch of grey sand and pebbles surrounded by tall cliffs. It was pleasant, not only for the scenery, but to feel a bit of flat sand beneath our feet as we traversed the length of the beach to reach the next steep ascent.

This brought us out onto the forested tops yet again, but very quickly the footpath met up with a road and, for the next kilometre, we wandered through the small village of Kashinai where every house seemed to have an immaculate vegetable plot. It was a nice change strolling along in a more open landscape after the forest.

That ended at the far end of the village, where once again we found ourselves heading steeply down a narrow winding foot track beneath the firs. The track spilled out onto the flats behind Kashinai fishing port, hemmed in by cliffs on both sides.

On reaching the rocky shore with waves washing up against the cliff edge, it appeared for a moment that we may be dead-ended, However, edging around the cliff base, we saw the way out from a small cove. It was the perfect place for a break in the sunshine, watching a few of the boats come in from a morning of fishing.

A muddy trip up the ascent gully ...

Then it was time to move on, up of course, this time following a foot track up a very damp and dark gully, its sides blackened with fallen fir needles. The series of small foldable temporary foot bridges in wetter areas was a big help. As usual, though, we didn't stay long at the top before dropping steeply (what else) on a series of steps into a broad scrubby valley.

... but the views were worth it ...

... except afterwards it was down again

On Shogetsu Beach

The good news though was that the way out of the valley was a one-lane asphalt road that headed gently up .... that is until the point where a foot track left the road and headed steeply up. Such is this section of the MCT. Even more unexpectedly, the track led us to the clubhouse of the Miyako Country Club golf course, with its immaculate gardens and fiery autumn-red maple trees. It also had some comfortable seats and a vending machine - it was time for lunch while watching some golfers practicing their drives.

From the club, we had a very pleasant wander through the golf course, with its immaculate fairways and greens, separated by the coastal pines. I'm sure that some of our golfing friends would be envious of this course. The course led us right down to the coastal cliffs, getting lower by this stage, and we re-entered the natural coastal vegetation to turn back alongside the golf club before descending through bamboo groves and deciduous forest to the flats below.

We were now at the back of Onnayuto Beach and around a large rocky promontory lay Yado fishing port. This time we were in luck as a pair of short road tunnels took us through to it without having to climb. In between the tunnels there used to be a camping ground - Nakanohama - which was obliterated by the tsunami of 2011 and now forms part of a Tsunami Memorial Park, with the shattered ruins of a couple of buildings and a large memorial wall 17m high - the height of the incoming wave. It really gives you a sense of the power of the tsunami, as the wave travelled another kilometre inland before stopping.

Near the seawall of the port, a foot track led off to the right for one last steep zig-zagging climb up to the cliff-tops on the southern side of this inlet to arrive at Kyukumura National Park Resort - our accommodation for the night. It had been another long day of walking with lots of steep climbs and descents, but compensated for by the great scenery. A bonus for the night was that we had beds not futons - our tired old bodies really appreciated not having to get down to floor level and back up again.

Not long after that, we found ourselves steeply descending a set of steps to cross a stream before steeply climbing out of the valley on another set of steps. We had hardly got to the top when the pattern was repeated. This part of the coast has many of these deep gullies running out to the ocean and we were in for a series of steep descents and climbs mostly with high steps, which I find more tiring than a good old zig-zagging dirt path.

One such descent brought us to the Shiofukiana Fountain, a blowhole which in a big swell can shoot a jet of water 30m high. On this perfect autumn day with hardly any swell, Shiofukiana deigned to provide us with the occasional 2m squirt of water vapour.

A puff of spray from Shiofukiana blowhole

A couple more stepped gully crossings brought us past tiny Hinodejima fishing port and then up again and down to the narrow mouth of a babbling stream. It was time for a change in the pattern, as this time instead of climbing straight up the opposite side, we followed the stream up its mossy-rocked course beneath tall firs. It was much gentler and more pleasant ascent that brought us out at the highest point of the day, a saddle on a wide ridge beneath a broadleaf forest.

The track down was equally pleasant, easing us towards the sea beneath the trees and bamboo thickets to reach Osawa fishing port with its large tsunami wall. That was the end of the gentle part, as, on leaving the village, the trail headed immediately up the next steep slope to follow a narrow ridge line right on the cliff edge. Such narrow ridges seem to be a feature of this coastline.

From here, the track followed the curve of the shore, but high above it, eventually emerging at the village of Takonohamacho, passing beneath a tall road bridge and through an extensive buddhist cemetery - we were back in civilisation.

The cliff-line beyond looked fairly sheer, but a short road tunnel beneath one bit of protruding cliff, a natural gap in the line of another and a long pedestrian tunnel with motion-activated lighting quickly brought us to Jogodahama Beach.

The limestone pinnacles of Jogodahama Bay

Jodogaham is a particularly beautiful spot, with a line of jagged limestone islets stretching out from a small beach of white limestone pebbles. Together with the cliffs backing this area, they have created a long inlet of crystal clear water. It was a good place for lunch, even though a wide band of cloud decided to pass by at that time and obscure the "dazzling formations of limestone in sunlight" photos.

After a while, we continued on along the winding esplanade beneath the cliffs, before making a detour along another very narrow ridge to a lookout over Jogodahama - even more impressive from above.

Returning to the main path, we had one last climb ahead to reach Ryujinzaki Lookout on the end of yet another narrow ridgeline - this time the view lay to the west over the large Fujiwara fishing port at the mouth of the Hei River. A set of 200 steps took us down to road level for the run into town - three flat kilometres past the port area and into the centre of Miyako. We made it a bit more interesting by going through one of the heavy steel doors in the tsunami wall and wandering down along the port side, past fishing boats large and small.

Leaving the port, a final wander through the streets of Miyako brought us to our hotel and the end of the second phase of our Michinoku Coastal Trail adventure.

The morning cloud quickly dispersed to leave a blue sky day - we couldn't have asked for better for our last walking day on the MCT. The Goishi Coast awaited, but we didn't want to walk through several kilometres of suburbia to get there, so we took a taxi to the Goishi Coast Information Centre. Before setting out, we decided to enquire about the small boat trip we had seen advertised that headed along the coastline we planned to walk. A perspective from the sea was enticing.

"Can you get down to the Goishi Beach pier by 10 am?" said the person at the desk with the aid of his Japanese-English translation app "if so, you can go out as the boat has places free". "Hai" we replied with a degree of unexpected excitement and 15 minutes later we were there, donning lifejackets and climbing down into the open fishing dinghy with our captain, who does this when not harvesting edible seaweed, and one other passenger.

A few minutes later, we headed out beyond the breakwater wall for one of the highlights of our entire trip, as our very skillful boatman took us up the rocky coast for a few kilometres to reach Anatoshi Iso, a triple arched promontory jutting out into the sea. The view of the cliffs and rocky islands had been great so far, but the adventure started here. Our boatman zoomed through the arches of Anatoshi Iso three times before heading back.

The return trip was very different as we navigated our way in between rocks as the ocean swell rolled in, into channels to listen to the thunder of waves being compressed into sea caves at Ramboya Gorge, past a quasi-blowhole on Chiyojima Island and through narrow channels near Cape Goishimisaki. The photos show it better than words.

Silhouette at Ebisu Beach

The boat trip was over all too quickly, as we left the black-pebbled Goishi Beach to walk past Ebisu Beach with more black pebbles and expansive views to the south. From Ebisu a small climb led us up to the Goishizaki Lighthouse and Cape Goishimisaki Lookout.

Goishi coastscape

We continued on, following a well-groomed foot path around the cliffs, with viewpoints along the way over Kamiinariwa Rock and Ramboya Gorge. Looking down on places we had visited in the boat provided a different perspective to the Goishi Coast.

Fishing boat below Goishimizaki Lookout

Looking down on Ramboya Gorge

The track continued north, before eventually winding down to Ohama Beach, where the waves rattled the large black shingles that comprised the beach. It was a pleasant place to sit a while and enjoy the surrounds.

There was no need to push on as we had seen the arches of Anatosho Iso from sea level, the best aspect. Retracing our steps for a short time, we detoured to reach the information centre and complete our walking loop of the Goishi coastal cliffs.

With time up our sleeve, we decided to walk a bit further along the coast, past Goishihama Beach and Tomarisato, a small fishing port to reach Kadonohama Bay with its huge fishing port, aquaculture facilities and massive new seawall. We ducked through the enormous steel gates to walk on the port side of the wall for a while, before re-entering the zone behind. Here, the reminders of the tsunami of 2011 are never far and you didn't have to look very hard to spot all the new buildings and concrete pads where once houses stood.

A short stroll from the port into the interior, past houses and sporting stadiums, brought us to the JR bus-stop and our means to get back to Ofunato Onsen. It really has been a great way to finish our walking adventure on the Michinoku Coastal Trail and in Japan.

As we sat with our feet in the onsen footbath on the edge of Ofunato Bay, the late afternoon sun brought a reddish glow to the trees, backed by the clear blue waters of the bay. It seemed a fitting farewell that the colours of the Japanese autumn had unexpectedly followed us to the end of our journey. The next move is off to Haneda Airport and back home. In the meanwhile, it's time for the onsen and let's hope that there is nobody in the outdoor bath - sitting in its hot calcium-rich water with a cool wind and views out over the bay is the perfect way to finish.