Visit Wakayama The Official
Wakayama Travel Guide

This fascinatingly informative facility is just across the road from the Hongu Taisha-mae bus stop. Besides detailed historical information on Kumano Hongu Taisha, panel explanations and a 20-minute video give a detailed overview of the Kumano Kodo trails, the three Sanzan shrines and mountaintop temple complex, Koyasan. Staff at the center speak English and Japanese, and can recommend activities in the area. Coin lockers are located a short distance from the Heritage Center outside the Karasuya gift shop. Store your luggage there to enjoy the day's activities baggage-free.

At this workshop, a short walk from the Heritage Center, you can try your hand at paper-making the traditional Japanese way. For a small fee, you get to make and take home a sheet of washi paper as well as design your own washi bookmark. If you take your piece of paper with you when you visit the three Kumano shrines, you can have it stamped at each, with a decorative fortune-bearing stamp (a small fee is charged for goshuin stamps). The Kumano Hongu Heritage Center provides information on the workshop, and can assist with reservations which are necessary, except on Saturdays when walk-ins are accepted.

Follow in the footsteps of pilgrims and walk the Kumano Kodo. The scenic section of the Nakahechi route from Hosshinmon-oji to Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine is a pleasant 6.9 km, and one of the most popular walks. Relatively easy, expect to complete the walk in about three hours including breaks.

Enshrining Izanagi-Okami—the deity fabled to have created the islands of Japan— Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine holds a revered status among the Japanese. You may want to offer a prayer here; doing so is believed to bring favor and good fortune in the next life. It's also a great place to get your first goshuin stamp.

A local pastime worth giving a whirl. Boil eggs in the 90°C thermal waters of this atmospheric hot spring hamlet. Eggs are available at the small shop just over the bridge from the bus stop. With eggs at the ready, head down to the special boiling area below the bridge. While in Yunomine, don't miss out on taking a dip in Tsubo-yu , a legendary hot spring bath with healing properties.

Never taken a hot bath in a river? Try one here in Kawayu Onsen. During the cold winter months, a large bathing area is cordoned off in the river. Although the bath is just a temporary setup, geothermal water bubbles up from the riverbed year-round. Lodgings in the area will often lend guests a shovel, so you can dig a spot in the riverbed and create your own private bath. Unlike many Japanese hot springs, riverbed bathing is mixed. There are no separate baths for men and women.

The Hongu area has three small hot spring hamlets of particular interest: Yunomine, Kawayu, and Wataze Onsen. Each has its own unique characteristics, but what they all have in common is their rejuvenating thermal waters and traditional lodgings with unbeatable Japanese hospitality. If spending more than one night in the area, why not explore all three?

Part of the Kumano Kodo trail, this atmospheric approach to Kumano Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine is a picturesque 600 m cobblestone stretch, and is an attraction in its own right. Make the experience even more unique by stopping in at the Daimonzaka-jaya teahouse near the start of the cobbled path. There, you can try the Heian Period Clothing Experience.

Refuel with something light to eat at one of the restaurants at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the shrine. With batteries recharged, climb the steps and immerse yourself in the mystic atmosphere of the shrine. As you ascend, don't forget to turn around for some gorgeous mountain scenery.

Located adjacent to Kumano Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine, Nachisan Seiganto-ji Temple is the place to get picture-postcard shots of Nachi Waterfall. With the temple's iconic three-tiered pagoda in the foreground and the falls in the background, everything is set up for a snap straight out of a travel guide.

Stand in awe of Japan's tallest cascading waterfall, believed to be home to Hiryu Gongen—one of the three deities of the Kumano Sanzan shrines. This particular deity is said to have charge over past lifes, making the falls the ideal setting to contemplate your previous incarnations. Nachi Waterfall is nationally renowned as a power spot; soak up the area's energy and leave feeling powered up.

What better way to end a day's sightseeing than a soothing hot spring bath before dinner? Luckily, Katsuura is another Wakayama coastal resort offering that option. In contrast to Shirahama, Katsuura has a slightly more rural, retro vibe. Take your pick from a selection of hot spring hotels in the area.

Visit the third and final shrine of the Sanzan trio to complete your Kumano pilgrimage. The first thing you will notice is how strikingly the vermilion buildings stand out against the natural backdrop. The second is likely the huge conifer tree that stands in the shrine grounds. This tree is estimated to be 800 years old, and is a revered sacred tree. Offering a prayer at the sacred ground of Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine is said to bring fortune in this life.

A relatively short walk from Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine, this shrine marks the grand shrine's former site. The climb up the 538 very steep steps leading up to Kamikura-jinja Shrine rewards visitors with a view of Gotobiki-iwa—a sacred boulder perching precariously on the side of Mt. Kamikurayama. Legend has it that this rock is where three deities pivotal in Japan's Shinto creation myth descended to earth from the heavens. Kamikura-jinja Shrine is also the main stage of Shingu's famed fire festival, Oto-matsuri. As you make your descent, envision nearly 2,000 men charging down the steps carrying flaming torches.

Overnight stay in Shingu followed by a trip to Doro-kyo Gorge for an inland cruise. Alternatively, take a coastal cruise around the crop of Ki-no-Matsushima rocks and islets in Katsuura Bay. You can also book whale-watching trips rom late March to September.

Stay overnight in Kumano City and spend the next day rafting on the Kitayamagawa river.