Japan: Koyasan and the Kumano Kodo pilgrim walk

1. Day 1: Arrive in Osaka

   Kansai International Airport to your hotel near Namba, Osaka

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Welcome dinner
   • Stay in Osaka
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Kansai International Airport (KIX), built on an island in Osaka Bay, where our driver meets you in arrivals for the hour's drive to your hotel near Namba, the station the Koya line leaves from tomorrow. If you land by about 1 pm, join your guide at 3 pm for an easy walk around the grounds of Osaka Castle: the moats, the huge stone walls of the inner bailey and the five-storey keep, a 1931 reconstruction that now holds a museum (entry is optional). At 6 pm the group meets for a welcome briefing. This is where we talk about the walking: how your suitcase travels in our vehicle from tomorrow while you carry a daypack, what to wear on the trail, and how temple and onsen etiquette works. Then we walk to dinner together in the lanes around Dotonbori, where the canal-side signs light up as the evening starts.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Kansai International Airport (KIX)
   • Walk around the Osaka Castle grounds with your guide (for those who land by about 1 pm)
   • Welcome briefing
   • Welcome dinner near Dotonbori

   Optional experiences

   • Osaka Castle keep museum

   Free time: Free until the 3 pm castle walk; if you land later, simply join the group at the 6 pm briefing

   Activity: Land by about 5 pm to make the briefing; the latest arrival time is confirmed with your final itinerary.

   

2. Day 2: Up the mountain to Koyasan

   Osaka (Namba) by the Nankai Koya line and cable car to Koyasan

   • By train
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Koyasan
   Day 2 details

   After breakfast we take the Nankai Koya line from Namba, about 80 minutes on the limited express, climbing through river valleys and tight bends to Gokurakubashi, where a short cable car lifts us up the last steep slope. Your suitcase goes ahead in our vehicle. Koyasan is a temple town about 800 m up, founded by the monk Kukai, known as Kobo Daishi, in 816 as the centre of Shingon Buddhism; with the Kumano pilgrimage routes it was listed by UNESCO in 2004. After a lunch of goma-dofu and mountain vegetables we walk the heart of the town with your guide: the Daimon, the great gate on its western edge; the Danjo Garan with the vermilion Konpon Daito pagoda; and Kongobuji, the head temple, with its painted sliding doors and the Banryutei rock garden. Late in the afternoon we check in to our temple lodging (shukubo) for two nights. Dinner is shojin ryori, the vegetarian cooking of Buddhist monks, served on lacquer trays.

   Included

   • Nankai Koya line limited express and the Koyasan cable car
   • The Daimon gate and the Danjo Garan with your guide
   • Kongobuji and the Banryutei rock garden
   • Shojin ryori dinner at the temple

   Free time: Free hour before dinner to explore the temple grounds

   Activity: About 4 km on foot around town, on pavements and temple paths with some steps.

   

3. Day 3: Okunoin and a slow day in Koyasan

   A day on foot in Koyasan, from the temple to Okunoin and back

   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Koyasan
   Day 3 details

   Rise for the temple's morning service, when monks chant in the hall at about 6 am (guests are welcome; it is not compulsory), then a vegetarian breakfast. By about 7:30 we walk through town to Okunoin, before the day buses from Osaka arrive. From the Ichinohashi bridge a path of about 2 km runs under cedars several hundred years old, past more than 200,000 graves and memorials, from feudal lords' tombs to company monuments, to the Torodo, the Lantern Hall, and the mausoleum where Kobo Daishi is believed to remain in eternal meditation. Photos stop at the Gobyobashi bridge. After lunch in town the afternoon is yours: try sutra copying (shakyo) or meditation where the temple offers it, see the treasures in the Reihokan museum, or rest before tomorrow's walk. After dinner your guide takes anyone who wants back into Okunoin by lantern light, when the cemetery is quiet and the stone lanterns glow along the path.

   Included

   • Temple morning service
   • Okunoin early in the morning with your guide: the cedar path, the Torodo and the Kobo Daishi mausoleum
   • Lunch in Koyasan
   • Lantern-light walk in Okunoin after dinner
   • Shojin ryori dinner at the temple

   Optional experiences

   • Reihokan museum
   • Sutra copying (shakyo) where the temple charges for it

   Easier option: Ride the local bus to the Okunoin-mae stop and walk the shorter approach of about 1 km to the Torodo.

   More active option: Before lunch, walk a section of the Nyonin-michi, the old women's pilgrimage path that circles Koyasan through the forest, with your guide.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Koyasan

   Activity: About 6 km on foot over the day, on gravel and stone paths with gentle slopes.

   

4. Day 4: Onto the Kumano Kodo: Takijiri to Takahara

   Koyasan by road to Takijiri-oji, walk to Takahara, then drive to Yunomine Onsen

   • Drive about 4 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Yunomine Onsen
   Day 4 details

   After breakfast our vehicle takes us about three hours south through the forested mountains of the Kii Peninsula to Takijiri-oji, the traditional entrance to the sacred Kumano area and the start of the Nakahechi, the route emperors walked from the 10th century. It is the longest drive of the trip, broken by a stop on the way and a sit-down lunch near Takijiri. At the Kumano Kodo Kan pilgrimage centre your guide explains the routes and the oji, the small shrines that mark the way. Then the trail goes straight up: a steep climb through cedar and cypress, past the Tainai-kuguri, a narrow rock crevice pilgrims crawled through as a symbol of rebirth, to the ridge and down into Takahara, a hill village known for its views over layered ridges and morning mist. It is about 3.7 km, two to two and a half hours with stops. The vehicle meets us at Takahara Kumano-jinja for the hour to Yunomine Onsen, our home for three nights, and a first soak before a ryokan dinner.

   Included

   • Drive from Koyasan to Takijiri with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch near Takijiri
   • Kumano Kodo Kan pilgrimage centre
   • Walk the Kumano Kodo from Takijiri-oji to Takahara (about 3.7 km)
   • Ryokan dinner in Yunomine

   Easier option: Skip the climb: ride in the vehicle to Takahara and walk the level lanes of the village and the last 1 km of trail into Takahara Kumano-jinja.

   Free time: Evening free for the ryokan's hot spring baths

   Activity: A short but steep stage: the first 30 to 40 minutes climb hard on roots and rock; the rest is easier.

5. Day 5: The long stage: Takahara to Chikatsuyu

   Yunomine to Takahara by road, walk to Chikatsuyu, then back to Yunomine

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Yunomine Onsen
   Day 5 details

   Our vehicle takes us back to Takahara, about an hour, for a 9 am start on the longest walk of the trip: about 10 km to Chikatsuyu, five to six hours with stops. The path climbs gently out of the village into cedar and cypress forest, passing the small oji shrines one by one, the stone foundations of old teahouses where pilgrims rested, and long views back over the ridges you came through yesterday. Around midday we reach the Hashiori-toge pass and the small stone statue of Gyubadoji, a figure riding a horse and an ox, linked to the Retired Emperor Kazan, who made the pilgrimage in the 10th century. Lunch is a sit-down meal at a restaurant on the route, which we confirm with your final itinerary, not a packed box. The afternoon is mostly downhill to Chikatsuyu-oji, beside the Hiki River in the valley, where pilgrims purified themselves in the water. The vehicle is waiting there for the 40-minute drive back to Yunomine, a long bath and dinner.

   Included

   • Walk the Kumano Kodo from Takahara to Chikatsuyu-oji with your guide (about 10 km)
   • Gyubadoji and the Hashiori-toge pass
   • Sit-down lunch at a restaurant on the route, confirmed with your final itinerary
   • Ryokan dinner in Yunomine

   Easier option: Walk the morning to Gyubadoji and ride back after lunch, or ride to Gyubadoji and walk only the last, mostly downhill 3.5 km to Chikatsuyu.

   More active option: Carry on past Chikatsuyu to Tsugizakura-oji and its giant cedars, about 1.5 to 2 hours more, where the vehicle collects you.

   Activity: The longest day on foot: about 10 km, 5 to 6 hours, with several climbs and descents on forest paths and stone steps.

6. Day 6: Hosshinmon-oji to Kumano Hongu Taisha

   Yunomine to Hosshinmon-oji by road, walk to Kumano Hongu Taisha and Oyunohara, back to Yunomine

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Yunomine Onsen
   Day 6 details

   A short drive takes us to Hosshinmon-oji, the 'gate of awakening' that marks the start of Hongu's inner sacred area, for the walk most pilgrims looked forward to: about 7 km, mostly downhill, past tea fields, farm hamlets and roadside oji, two and a half to three hours. At Fushiogami-oji pilgrims caught their first sight of Oyunohara, the river island where the shrine stood until a flood in 1889, and bowed to it. We reach Kumano Hongu Taisha, head shrine of more than 3,000 Kumano shrines across Japan, with its dark cypress-bark roofs, in time for lunch in Hongu. Afterwards your guide walks you through the Kumano Hongu Heritage Centre and out to Oyunohara and its great torii gate, about 34 m tall. Back in Yunomine the afternoon is free: boil eggs in the hot spring source in the village centre, or bathe in Tsuboyu, the tiny cabin bath in the river bed where pilgrims purified themselves. It takes only a few people at a time in short booked slots, so your guide books turns for those who want one, spread over the afternoon and evening.

   Included

   • Walk the Kumano Kodo from Hosshinmon-oji to Kumano Hongu Taisha with your guide (about 7 km)
   • Lunch in Hongu
   • Kumano Hongu Heritage Centre and Oyunohara
   • A turn in Tsuboyu for those who want it, in booked slots
   • Ryokan dinner in Yunomine

   Easier option: Start at Fushiogami-oji and walk only the last, gentle 2 km into Hongu.

   More active option: After lunch, walk the Dainichi-goe over the hill from Hongu to Yunomine, about 3.4 km and 1.5 hours, steep in places, instead of riding back.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Yunomine; Tsuboyu turns are staggered through the afternoon and evening, a couple of guests per slot

   Activity: About 7 km, mostly downhill on forest paths and quiet lanes; knees notice the descents, so poles help.

7. Day 7: Down the Kumano River to Shingu and Kii-Katsuura

   Yunomine to Hongu, by boat down the Kumano River to Shingu, then to Kii-Katsuura

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Kii-Katsuura
   Day 7 details

   Pilgrims who had reached Hongu went on to Hayatama by boat, and so do we. A wooden river boat with a boatman takes about 90 minutes to cover the roughly 16 km down the Kumano River to Shingu, past rock walls, gravel banks and forested slopes; the river route is part of the World Heritage listing, and the boatman points out the spots pilgrims named. In winter, when the boat runs only on request, our vehicle follows the river road instead. In Shingu we visit Kumano Hayatama Taisha, the second of the three grand shrines, with its vermilion halls and a nagi tree said to be about a thousand years old. After lunch in Shingu it is 20 minutes down the coast in our vehicle to Kii-Katsuura, a fishing port and hot spring town on a bay of small islands, where we stay two nights. The evening is free: Katsuura's restaurants serve the fresh tuna landed in its port.

   Included

   • Kumano River boat from Hongu to Shingu
   • Kumano Hayatama Taisha with your guide
   • Lunch in Shingu
   • Drive to Kii-Katsuura

   More active option: Climb the 538 steep stone steps to Kamikura-jinja and its great rock, Gotobiki-iwa, for the view over Shingu and the Pacific.

   Free time: Evening free in Kii-Katsuura

8. Day 8: Nachi Falls by the Daimonzaka

   Kii-Katsuura to the Daimonzaka, Kumano Nachi Taisha and Nachi Falls, and back

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Kii-Katsuura
   Day 8 details

   On market days we start at 7 am at the Katsuura fish market to watch the tuna auction from the visitor area, then go back for breakfast. By about 9 am, ahead of the tour coaches, our vehicle drops us at the foot of the Daimonzaka, where a pair of cedars marks the start of a stone stairway of about 600 m through tall cedar forest, the old pilgrims' approach to Nachi. It is about 45 minutes up, steady rather than steep, to Kumano Nachi Taisha, the third of the grand shrines, and next door Seiganto-ji temple, whose three-storey vermilion pagoda frames Nachi no Taki behind it, at 133 m the highest single-drop waterfall in Japan. We walk down to Hiro-jinja, the falls' own shrine, to stand near the base. Lunch is back in town, then the afternoon is free for the hot springs or the harbour. In the evening we sit down together for a farewell dinner, with Katsuura tuna on the menu.

   Included

   • Katsuura tuna auction visit (on market days)
   • The Daimonzaka walk with your guide
   • Kumano Nachi Taisha and Seiganto-ji
   • Nachi Falls from Hiro-jinja
   • Lunch in Kii-Katsuura
   • Farewell dinner

   Easier option: Skip the Daimonzaka: ride to the shrine car park and take the shorter stairs to Nachi Taisha.

   More active option: Climb the first steep section of the Ogumotori-goe above Nachi Taisha into the forest with your guide, about 2 to 3 hours there and back.

   Free time: Afternoon free in Kii-Katsuura

   Activity: Many stone steps on the Daimonzaka and at the shrine; they are slippery when wet.

9. Day 9: By train along the coast to Osaka

   Kii-Katsuura by the Kuroshio limited express to Osaka, then on to Kansai International Airport

   • By train
   • Breakfast
   Day 9 details

   A last morning soak and breakfast, then a slow walk along the harbour. At about 10 am we board the Kuroshio limited express at Kii-Katsuura station, with reserved seats, for the journey back to Osaka, about four hours. The line follows the coast of the Kii Peninsula past Kushimoto, near Honshu's southern tip, and the beaches of Shirahama before turning inland, so sit on the left for the sea views. Pick up a bento at the station for lunch on board; your suitcase travels with you on the train's luggage racks. We reach Tennoji and Shin-Osaka in the early afternoon. Your guide sees you onto the Haruka express to Kansai International Airport, or to your Osaka hotel if you are staying on; some Kuroshio trains continue to Kyoto. Book a flight leaving Kansai International after about 6 pm, or plan a night in Osaka or Kyoto.

   Included

   • Kuroshio limited express from Kii-Katsuura to Osaka, reserved seats
   • Haruka express to Kansai International Airport (KIX)

   Activity: Book a flight from Kansai International after about 6 pm.

   

Wildlife and weather: The Kii Peninsula is one of the wettest parts of Japan, so expect rain on at least one walking day. June to mid-July is the rainy season, and typhoons between August and October can close trail sections, when we switch to a lower path or the vehicle. Koyasan is cold, sometimes snowy, from December to March.

• Osaka1 night
• Koyasan2 nights
• Yunomine Onsen3 nights
• Kii-Katsuura2 nights