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Ise + Kumano Pilgrimage Journey

Ise, Kumano, Kumano 5 days JR Pass

In the ancient time, Emperors, aristocrats and pilgrims have to ride horses or walk all the way to visit the grand shrines in Kumano. It was a tough long journey that might take a month depending on the starting point. Today, you may take JR and buses and complete the pilgrimage journey in 5 days, visiting the Ise Grand Shrine, Kumano Sanzan which include Kumano Hayatama Grand Shrine, Kumano Nachi Grand Shrine and Kumano Hongu Grand Shrine; as well as stopping over Kawayu Onsen and visiting Nitama the Stationmaster cat at Kishi Station. The 5 days Ise-Kumano-Wakayama Area JR pass allows you to travel between Nagoya and Kansai, covering Ise, Kumano and Wakayama. Please note that you will have to buy the JR Pass before you arrive Japan and redeem it at Nagoya Station (not at Chubu Airport) or Kansai Airport. Activate (redeem) the pass on the day you start using it for the next 5 days.

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Kawayu Onsen with Permanent View

Kawayu Middoriya Hotel 奧熊野川湯溫泉

If you are visiting Kumano area for the UNESCO world heritage sacred sites and pilgrimage route, don’t miss the chance to experience the Kawayu Onsen which is an outdoor bath in Oto River, a natural hot spring wonder. It is only 10 minutes by car or bus from the sacred site Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine. Otor River is a tributary of Kumano River, featuring natural crystal clear warm water. One side of the river is a forest mountain and the other side fills with hotels, traditional Ryokan inns and some family run Minshuku guest houses. Many of the accommodations offer guests room facing the river and are walkable distance to the Kawayu Onsen which is a pool dug manually for people to soak in. You may go for day trip if you are driving or stay in one of the accommodations to spend more time to enjoy this natural wonder. Wakayu Midoriya is one of the larger hotel in the area with both Japanese and western style guest rooms. The cool things about this hotel is that it has…

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Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine

Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine 熊野本宮大社

Kumano Hongu Taisha (Grand Shrine) is one of the three main shrines of Kumano Sanzan, part of the UNESCO World Heritage “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range”. All of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes lead to this Grand Shrine. The Kumano area which covers Hayatama Grand Shrine, Nachi Grand Shrine and Hongu Grand Shrine has been a holy place since the Nara Period (AD 710-794). Emperors, aristocrats and pilgrims travelled 300km from Kyoto to visit the grand shrines. The original Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine was locating on a sandbank at the confluent of Kumano and Otonashi Rivers which is about 5 minutes way from the current location. A big flood in 1889 washed away many of the shrine buildings, leading to the relocation up the hill to the current location. Address: Japan, 〒647-1731 Wakayama Prefecture, Tanabe, Hongucho Hongu, 1110 Tel: +81 735-42-0009 Transportation: The shortest route is to take Kumano Kotsu or Nara Kotsu bus in front of the JR Shingu Station and get off at Hongu which takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes.…

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Kumano Hayatama Grand Shrine

Kumano Hayatama Grand Shrine 熊野速玉大社

Kumano has been part of the sacred sites and pilgrimage route where people from all walks of life, including the kings and aristocrats would pay respect since the ancient times. People make an arduous trip to pay a visit to the three main shrines in Kumano Sanzan, covering Kumano Hongu Taisha (Grand Shrine), Kumano Hayatama Grand Shrine and Kumano Nachi Grand Shrine in the southern part of Kii Peninsula. There is a believe that you may wash away your sins in the past life by pay a respect at Kumano Hayatama Grand Shrine, engage in your present life by visiting Kumano Nachi Grand Shrine, and pray for a better next life at Kumano Hongu Grand Shrine. So the idea is to visit all. Experiencing is the key to the visits. In the old days, the emperors and aristocrats would walk for months to walk from Nara and Kyoto all way to Kumano. Today, you may take JR trains, buses and even drive to the sites. Yet there are many amazing trails and sacred sites that are only accessible on foot.…

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Cherry Blossom at Wakayama Castle

Wakayama Castle 和歌山城

Just a little over one hour away from Osaka, Wakayama is one of the nice places to view cherry blossom with Wakayama Castle on the top of the list. There are 600 cherry trees planted in the castle park. Comparing to the very popular Nara neighboring city, Wakayama is relatively less crowded with foreign tourists yet beautiful in its own way.

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