Namba Trip Overview
If you’re looking to do a trek in Japan, you’re probably considering either the Kumano Kodo, which is in Wakayama (southern Kansai), or the Nakasendo, which connects Tokyo and Kyoto via the mountains of Central Honshu. Since the Nakasendo has become popular in recent years, we find that the Kumano Kodo gives you a more authentic and less touristy experience of the Japanese countryside.
The Kumano Kodo is actually a network of several ancient pilgrimage routes that converge on Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine, a powerful Shinto shrine in the mountainous heart of Wakayama Prefecture. Hongu Taisha is the most important of three famous shrines known as the Kumano Sanzan. The other two, Kumano Nachi Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha, are both near the eastern coast of Wakayama and are connected to Hongu Taisha by well-traveled pilgrimage routes.
Additional Info
Duration: 3 days
Starts: Namba, Japan
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Historical & Heritage Tours
Explore Namba Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Namba, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
If you’re looking to do a trek in Japan, you’re probably considering either the Kumano Kodo, which is in Wakayama (southern Kansai), or the Nakasendo, which connects Tokyo and Kyoto via the mountains of Central Honshu. Since the Nakasendo has become popular in recent years, we find that the Kumano Kodo gives you a more authentic and less touristy experience of the Japanese countryside.
The Kumano Kodo is actually a network of several ancient pilgrimage routes that converge on Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine, a powerful Shinto shrine in the mountainous heart of Wakayama Prefecture. Hongu Taisha is the most important of three famous shrines known as the Kumano Sanzan. The other two, Kumano Nachi Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha, are both near the eastern coast of Wakayama and are connected to Hongu Taisha by well-traveled pilgrimage routes.
Itinerary
Day 1: From Osaka to Koyasan
Pass By: Namba, Namba, Chuo, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Kinki
Meet customer at Hotel lobby .
and take subway to Namba station .
From Namba station to Koya Mt.
Stop At: Koya-cho, Koya-cho, Ito-gun, Wakayama Prefecture, Kinki
Mount Koya (高野山, Kōyasan) is the center of Shingon Buddhism, an important Buddhist sect which was introduced to Japan in 805 by Kobo Daishi (also known as Kukai), one of Japan’s most significant religious figures. A small, secluded temple town has developed around the sect’s headquarters that Kobo Daishi built on Koyasan’s wooded mountaintop. It is also the site of Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum and the start and end point of the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Koyasan Okunoin, 550 Koyasan, Koya-cho, Ito-gun 648-0211 Wakayama Prefecture
Okunoin (奥の院) is the site of the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi (also known as Kukai), the founder of Shingon Buddhism and one of the most revered persons in the religious history of Japan. Instead of having died, Kobo Daishi is believed to rest in eternal meditation as he awaits Miroku Nyorai (Maihreya), the Buddha of the Future, and provides relief to those who ask for salvation in the meantime. Okunoin is one of the most sacred places in Japan and a popular pilgrimage spot.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Koyasan Danjo Garan, Koyasan, Koya-cho, Ito-gun 648-0211 Wakayama Prefecture
Legend has it that Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism, threw his sankosho (a double ended, three pronged Buddhist ceremonial tool) from China, where he had been studying, toward Japan. Back in Japan, while in search of a place to headquarter his new religion, he came across his sankosho stuck in the branches of a pine tree on Koyasan and started construction of the Garan, Koyasan’s central temple complex. The pine tree, that caught the sankosho, is still growing there.
Duration: 1 hour
Meals included:
• Dinner: Dinner at Hotel (Shukubo) Vegetarian food
Accommodation included: Stay at Shukubo
Day 2: From Koyasan to Kumanokodo
Stop At: Koyasan Shukubo Association, Central Office, 600 Koyasan Koyasan Tourist Association, Koya-cho, Ito-gun 648-0211 Wakayama Prefecture
Shukubo Morning Chant
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine, Hongucho Hongu, Tanabe 647-1731 Wakayama Prefecture
Departure from Mt koya Arrival Kirari Ryujin (11:40)
Departure from Kirari Ryujin to Gyuba douji Guchi
Walking at Kumanokodo (13.4km about 4hour40min)
Kumano Hongu Taisha (熊野本宮大社, Kumano Hongū Taisha) is one of the Kumano region’s three famous shrines. As well as enshrining its own deity, Hongu Taisha also enshrines the deities of the other two Kumano shrines, Hayatama Taisha and Nachi Taisha, and the sun goddess Amaterasu. It serves as the head shrine of over 3000 Kumano shrines across Japan.
Duration: 5 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast: Shukubo Vegetarian food
• Dinner: Hotel Dinner
Accommodation included: Stay at Onsen Hotel
Day 3: From Kumanokodo to Osaka
Stop At: Kumano-Nachi Taisha, 1 Nachisan, Nachikatsuura, Higashimuro District, Wakayama 649-5301, Japan
Walking from Daimon zaka to Nachi falls (2.7km about 1hours)
Kumano Nachi Taisha (熊野那智大社) is one of the three Kumano shrines, situated a few kilometers inland from the coastal hot spring resort of Katsuura. The shrine is part of a large complex of neighboring religious sites that exemplify the fusion of Buddhist and Shinto influences that is particular to the Kumano region. The site also boasts the tallest waterfall in Japan.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Nachi Falls, Nachisan, Nachikatsuura, Higashimuro District, Wakayama 649-5301, Japan
Nachi, a small coastal town near the southern tip of Wakayama Prefecture, is home to the tallest waterfall in Japan, the stunning 133 meter high Nachi no Taki (Nachi Falls), and next to it the Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine, one of the Kumano Sanzan, the three shrines at the heart of the area, and also Seigantoji Temple, part of the same complex.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Daimonzaka, Nachisan, Nachikatsura-cho, Higashimuro-gun 649-5301 Wakayama Prefecture
Up the valley, below the falls and shrines is Daimonzaka, which means Great Gate Slope, a 600 meter long stone-paved stairway winding up through a forest of ancient, and sometimes huge, trees.
Duration: 45 minutes
Meals included:
• Breakfast: Hotel morning breakfast.
No accommodation included on this day.
