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October 25, 2025 — 12:00am
Seven wonders of Japan’s Kii Peninsula
Swap megacity excitement for rustic spirituality on this rugged peninsula south of Osaka, long a revered Shinto and Buddhist pilgrim destination.
1. Enjoy a stay in Takahara village
The spiritual gateway to the Kumano Kodo pilgrim trail is traditionally the seemingly inconsequential Takijiri Shrine, from which you’ll immediately earn your hiking credentials on a steep two-hour ascent through humid forest and stands of bamboo. The reward is hilltop Takahara village, surrounded by rice paddies and magnificent views, where you can stay in a lodge and restore yourself with beef hotpot, Kirin beer and a soaking in a hot-spring bath as you watch the sun set over serried purple ridges.
2. Do the scenic walk from Hosshinmon Shrine
The Kumano Kodo is a network of trails, and few people do it all. One of the most attractive sections runs for seven kilometres between Hosshinmon and Kumano Hongu shrines. The path meanders through farmland and tea plantations, with occasional villages providing pitstops for chilled plum juice. The second half dips into forest where you pass occasional mini-shrine and stone Buddhas. Stop to lie on a meditation log and gaze at sunlight glinting through the branches of giant cedar trees.
3. Admire Kumano Hongu Grand Shrine
One of the region’s most important shrines has disconcerting Shinto modesty and simplicity and, in the Japanese tradition, has been rebuilt many times: it doesn’t look as venerable as its history suggests. Still, the traditional carpentry techniques and roof beams are superb and the tranquillity pleasing. The only sound is the polite clapping of pilgrims to attract the attention of the Shinto gods before praying. Duck into nearby Wakayama World Heritage Centre for background on the shrine and pilgrimage route.
4. Get spiritual on Mount Koya-san
Since the ninth century, these eight mountaintops have accumulated Buddhist temples, gardens, meditation halls, pagodas and stupas. Dozens of temples offer austere stays in which you rise early for meditation and are served vegetarian meals. Don’t miss Okunoin, Japan’s largest and most sacred cemetery, where stone lanterns and mausoleums hunker beneath giant cedar trees. Take a guided evening walk to appreciate its atmosphere and lantern-lit Toro-do Hall, in which pilgrims chant sutras.
5. Wallow in hot springs
Relax the hiking muscles at any of the Kii Peninsula’s many hot springs. At Kawayu Onsen – after a painful hobble across pebbles – you’ll find warm water bubbling up in the otherwise chilly Oto River; in winter, a giant open-air bath fits a thousand people. UNESCO-listed Yunomine Onsen’s age-old wooden buildings are jammed into a narrow valley where pilgrims perform purification rituals and tourists boil potatoes and eggs in the stream. There are also coastal hot springs at Shirahama and Katsuura.
6. Ascend Daimon Slope
Another of the Kumano Kodo’s must-walk sections is a 600-metre set of steps, worn with the feet of centuries of pilgrims, that leads upwards beneath ancient cedar trees whose gnarled roots shelter tiny shrines. Some visitors rent costumes from the Heian Period (794-1185) and make the ascent dressed in long red silk robes and white veils, adding to the feeling you’ve stepped into the past. At the top, you arrive at a Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple.
7. Finish on Nachi Mountain
A further walk beyond Daimon Slope brings you to Japan’s tallest waterfall (133 metres) and a striking bright-orange pagoda. The waterfall has been the object of worship since Japan’s earliest recorded history and drinking its water is said to enhance longevity. The pagoda and a viewing platform along the trail are traditional spots from which to view the waterfall, while Hirou Shrine at its base brings you a visceral experience of thundering water.
The writer travelled as a guest of the Wakayama Tourism Federation. See visitwakayama.jp/en
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