Kumano Kodo: Walking Japan's Ancient Pilgrimage Trail

Emperors walked this. So did retired emperors, in enormous processions that took a month each way and nearly bankrupted the court, because reaching the three shrines of Kumano was believed to wipe the slate clean. A thousand years later the stone steps are still there under the moss, and you can walk them in four days with a change of socks.

The Kumano Kodo is a network of pilgrimage routes through the mountains of the Kii Peninsula in Wakayama, south of Osaka. The Nakahechi is the route almost everyone walks: about 70 to 78 kilometers from Takijiri-oji to Nachi Taisha, done in four to six days at a moderate level of difficulty. It is one of only two pilgrimage routes in the world with UNESCO World Heritage status.

Kumano Kodo Signage

Where is the Kumano Kodo and how do you get there?

The routes run across the Kii Peninsula in Wakayama Prefecture, the mountainous region south of Osaka.

From Osaka: the Kuroshio limited express runs roughly hourly from Shin-Osaka to Kii-Tanabe in about two hours and fifteen minutes.

From Kyoto: around three hours with a change at Shin-Osaka, costing roughly ¥7,000 one way.

From Kii-Tanabe: local buses leave from outside the station for Takijiri-oji, the Nakahechi trailhead, about 40 minutes away.

There is no fee to walk the trail and no permit. The cost is transport, accommodation, and food.

The routes

Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route

Nakahechi is the imperial route and the one to walk. It runs west to east from Takijiri-oji through the mountains to Hongu Taisha, then on to Nachi and Shingu. The Takijiri to Hongu section alone is about 38 kilometers over two to three days.

Kohechi crosses north to south from Koyasan, is roughly 70 kilometers, and is genuinely hard, with three passes over 1,000 meters. For experienced hikers only.

Ohechi follows the coast south from Tanabe, longer and less walked, with sea views instead of forest.

Iseji links Ise Grand Shrine to Kumano on the eastern side, with beautiful stone-paved sections and very few walkers.

Omine Okugakemichi is the ascetic route over the Omine range, the hardest of all and partly closed to women at Mount Omine.

Is the Kumano Kodo difficult?

The Nakahechi is moderate rather than hard. There is no technical terrain, no exposure, and no altitude to speak of.

What makes it tiring is the relentless up and down. The trail climbs and descends repeatedly through forest, the stone paving is uneven and slick when wet, and daily distances of 15 to 20 kilometers with several hundred meters of ascent add up over consecutive days.

If you can comfortably walk 15 to 20 kilometers in a day on hilly ground, you can walk the Nakahechi. If you cannot, you can still do it, because buses run along the valley road and let you skip sections without abandoning the trip.

Wildflowers along Kumano Kodo Route

The three grand shrines

The Kumano Sanzan are the point of the pilgrimage.

Kumano Hongu Taisha sits in the mountains at the center of the network. The shrine originally stood on a sandbank in the river below and was moved uphill after a flood in 1889. The site it left behind is now marked by Oyunohara, the largest torii gate in the world at 34 meters.

Kumano Hayatama Taisha stands in Shingu near the river mouth, vermilion and low, with an 800-year-old conifer in the grounds.

Kumano Nachi Taisha sits above Nachi Falls, the tallest single-drop waterfall in Japan at 133 meters, with the three-story Seiganto-ji pagoda in front of it. The view of pagoda and waterfall together is the image the whole region is known for.

Oji

The oji shrines

Along the Nakahechi you pass a series of small subsidiary shrines called oji, numbered in the old accounts as the ninety-nine oji. Most are now a stone marker, a torii, and a clearing.

They were rest and prayer points for pilgrims, and walking between them gives the route its rhythm. Stamp books are available at the trailhead, and collecting stamps at the oji is the traditional way to record the walk.

Comparison with the Camino de Santiago

Camino de Santiago

The Kumano Kodo and the Camino de Santiago are the only two pilgrimage routes on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and the two regions have a formal partnership. Walk designated sections of both and you can register as a Dual Pilgrim, which earns a pin and a certificate.

The experiences differ considerably. The Camino is longer, flatter, more social, and built around hostels. The Kumano Kodo is shorter, steeper, quieter, and built around inns where you are fed dinner at a set hour. You will meet far fewer people here.

Where to stay

Ryokan

Accommodation is the part that needs planning, because it is limited and it fills.

Villages along the Nakahechi, particularly Takahara, Chikatsuyu, and Hongu, have minshuku guesthouses and ryokan that host walkers. Most include dinner and breakfast, which matters because there is nowhere else to eat.

Yunomine Onsen, a short bus ride from Hongu, is the standout. It has been in use for around 1,800 years and its Tsuboyu bath, a tiny wooden hut over the spring, is the only hot spring on the UNESCO list you are allowed to bathe in. Bookings are taken in 30-minute slots.

Book through Kumano Travel, the local tourism bureau's booking service, which operates in English and handles the small inns that do not appear on international sites. Three to four months ahead for spring and fall, and six months for the peak weeks.

Luggage forwarding between inns costs around ¥1,500 to ¥2,500 per bag and is widely used, so you walk with a daypack.

When to walk

Spring, from late March to May, and fall, from October to November, are the best windows. Comfortable temperatures, and the fall color through the cedar and maple is exceptional.

Summer is hot, humid, and brings leeches in damp sections. June is the rainy season and the stone paths become genuinely slippery. Winter is walkable at lower elevations but inns reduce service and daylight is short.

Typhoon season runs August to October and can close sections of trail at short notice.

Kumano Sanzan

What to bring

Hiking Gear

Proper walking shoes with grip, since wet moss on stone is the main hazard. Rain gear regardless of forecast, because the Kii Peninsula is among the wettest places in Japan.

Cash. Inns, buses, and small shops often take nothing else, and ATMs are scarce once you leave Tanabe.

Water and snacks for each day, since there are long stretches with no shops. Vending machines appear at road crossings but not on the trail itself.

A paper map or an offline map, because phone signal drops out in the valleys.

Walking it in four days

A standard Nakahechi itinerary looks like this. Day one, Takijiri-oji to Takahara, a short but steep climb of about four kilometers. Day two, Takahara to Chikatsuyu, roughly 10 kilometers. Day three, Chikatsuyu to Hongu, the longest day at around 25 kilometers, or split it with a bus. Day four, bus or boat to Nachi and the falls.

The river boat from Hitari down the Kumano River to Shingu follows the route pilgrims took by water and takes about 90 minutes, which is a good alternative to a fourth day of walking.

Planning a trip around it

The Kumano Kodo works best attached to Kansai rather than as a standalone trip. Osaka as the gateway is the natural gateway, and Koyasan sits at the northern end of the Kohechi route if you want to combine a temple stay with the walk.

Our roundup of Japan's pilgrimage routes covers the Shikoku 88 and the other options, and our guide to staying in a traditional ryokan explains what to expect from the inns you will sleep in every night.

For the onsen side, Japan's best hot spring towns puts Yunomine in context.

A route such as two weeks from Kansai into Kyushu shows how the deeper south fits into a longer trip, and more on the region sits in our Wakayama guide.