Tanabe Trip Overview
This value-packed trip with a government licensed and experienced multilingual tour guide is a fantastic and efficient way to explore the Kumano Kodo!
The Kumano Kodo is an ancient network of pilgrim trails dating back more than 1000 years connecting historic shrines and temples running through the mountains of the Kii Peninsula. The most popular route, Nakahechi, along which past emperors traveled, crosses the width of the Peninsula from Tanabe town on the west coast to Shingu and Nachi-Katsuura towns on the east. Hikers of all levels can enjoy quiet mountain hamlets and onsens.
Let us know what you would like to experience and we will customize a six-hour tour that’s best for you!
Note*1: Please select your must-see spots from a list in the tour information to create your customized itinerary.
Note*2: Nationally and State Licensed Tour Guide-Interpreter certification is issued by the Japanese government requires a good knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and history.
Additional Info
Duration: 6 hours
Starts: Tanabe, Japan
Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Tanabe Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Tanabe, Wakayama, Japan
This value-packed trip with a government licensed and experienced multilingual tour guide is a fantastic and efficient way to explore the Kumano Kodo!
The Kumano Kodo is an ancient network of pilgrim trails dating back more than 1000 years connecting historic shrines and temples running through the mountains of the Kii Peninsula. The most popular route, Nakahechi, along which past emperors traveled, crosses the width of the Peninsula from Tanabe town on the west coast to Shingu and Nachi-Katsuura towns on the east. Hikers of all levels can enjoy quiet mountain hamlets and onsens.
Let us know what you would like to experience and we will customize a six-hour tour that’s best for you!
Note*1: Please select your must-see spots from a list in the tour information to create your customized itinerary.
Note*2: Nationally and State Licensed Tour Guide-Interpreter certification is issued by the Japanese government requires a good knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and history.
Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product
Stop At: Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Routes, Tanabe Wakayama Prefecture
Kumano Kodo (熊野古道, Kumano Kodō) refers to a network of pilgrimage trails through the southern Kansai region. The Kodo (“old ways”) are a key part of the region’s UNESCO designation, and have been in use for over 1000 years. They are the only pilgrimage routes besides the Camino de Santiago to be designated a world heritage site.
The pilgrimage routes developed as a way for people to move between the sacred areas on the Kii Peninsula. At the center of this religious area are the three Kumano shrines: Hongu Taisha, Hayatama Taisha and Nachi Taisha, collectively known as Kumano Sanzan.
By the 12th century, the Kumano Sanzan were well known shrines in Japan, drawing pilgrims from Kyoto, Osaka and beyond. More than just a means to reach the three shrines, the pilgrimage trails were designed to be a religious experience in themselves and often pass through difficult, even dangerous, mountain terrain.
Duration: 2 hours
Stop At: Kumano Nachi Taisha, 1 Nachisan, Nachikatsura-cho, Higashimuro-gun 649-5301 Wakayama Prefecture
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.
The veneration of the Kumano shrines as holy sites of Shintoism predates Buddhism’s introduction to Japan in the mid 6th century. Once Buddhism arrived in Kumano it took root quickly, and rather than competing with the indigenous religion for religious authority, it began a long process of harmonious mixing.
A product of this congenial relationship can be seen at Nachi Taisha. Directly beside the eminent shrine is the Buddhist temple Seigantoji. In fact, for most of their history the buildings were not even under separate control and functioned as one religious institution. The buildings of both the shrine and the temple are impressive, and among the buildings of Seigantoji there is a three-story pagoda.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Nachi Mitaki Falls, Nachiyama, Nachikatsura-cho, Higashimuro-gun 649-5301 Wakayama Prefecture
The Nachi Falls is the tallest waterfall in Japan as single uninterrupted drop of 133 meters, with a depth of 10 meters and one ton of water dropping down the cliff every second. The falls is counted as one of the Three Major Waterfalls in Japan and designated as the place of scenic beauty of Japan. The falls also forms a part of the “Sacred Site and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range” UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Kumano Hayatama Taisha, 1 Shingu, Shingu 647-0081 Wakayama Prefecture
Kumano Hayatama Taisha (熊野速玉大社) is one of Kumano’s three important shrines. It is located in Shingu City on the southeast coast of the Kii Peninsula. Together with the other two shrines, Hongu Taisha and Nachi Taisha, Hayatama Taisha holds an important place in Japanese mythology.
While the buildings were rebuilt recently, Hayatama Taisha has occupied the same spot on the Kumano Riverbank since at least the 12th century. In addition, religious artifacts that date back to the 3rd century are evidence that the area has been a site of worship for much longer. In fact, a Shinto creation myth claims that three kami (Shinto deities) descended to earth on a rock not far from the shrine.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine, Hongucho Hongu, Tanabe 647-1731 Wakayama Prefecture
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.
Reference to Hongu Taisha was first documented in the 9th century, which the establishment of the shrine must have preceded substantially. Due to floods in 1889, the shrine was moved from its original location at Oyu no Hara to its present site one kilometer away. In front of Oyu no Hara stands the biggest torii gate in the world, which, at 33 meters tall, dwarfs visitors passing under it.
Duration: 30 minutes
