10 day Kumano Kodo Nakahechi with Koyasan

Travel by train to Koyasan and cable car up to Mount Koya from Osaka or Kyoto. Please ask us for our transport information summary document if you need it. There’s time to explore the Shrine, the museum and the surrounding area. We have provided notes for the Women’s Pilgrimage walk which can be undertaken either today or on the morning of day 3. There’s also a fascinating walk that you can undertake through the cemetery in the evening.

Walking: Women’s pilgrimage walk / Easy / 6.9 km
Accommodation:  Stay in a Buddhist temple in a private room in Koyasan
Meals: Vegetarian dinner in the temple

This walk, one of our favourites, starts at the Jison-in temple and its’ ancient stairway and finishes at the beautiful Daimon Gate and traverses a real diversity of terrain. Head up the mountain with great views over the valley until you enter the dense forest. The walk is well marked with 180 ornate stupas most of them from the Kamakura period (12^th to the 14^th century). It’s fun to count them down but only if you can read Japanese (don’t worry the walk notes we provide are foolproof).

Accommodation: Stay in a Buddhist temple in a private room in Koyasan
Meals: Vegetarian breakfast and dinner in the temple
Walking: Choishi-michi walk/ Moderate to challenging / 21 km / 6 to 7 hrs
Elevation: +1200 / -310 (it looks like a long way up but I assure you it’s mostly a gradual incline, other than at the beginning and a short section right at the end).

There is no rush to leave Koyasan this morning. You may wish to undertake a few of the many activities that are on offer here or to walk the Women’s Pilgrimage walk if you didn’t do this on day 1. Travel by train to the small coastal village of Kii-Tanabe, the gateway to the Kumano Kodo via the picturesque coastline. Please ask us for our transport information summary document if you need it.

Kii Tanabe is a small Japanese town on the ocean that is not populated by tourists. Its main function is to serve the local area which offers you a great opportunity to eat and stay like the locals.

Accommodation: Small family run Ryokan or Minshuku in Tanabe
Meals: Breakfast
Walking: Optional

There is an opportunity to explore Kii Tanabe, its many small shrines, the beach and ample time to ready yourself for the upcoming walk, including a briefing session with our local Kumano Kodo expert.

Today’s walk starts around midday with a small transfer up the road to the trailhead at Takijiri-oji (Oji is a small shrine).

The walk on the Nakahechi route begins with a significant climb to Takahara, a small village perched on the side of a mountain.  The Nakahechi is the imperial route once used by Japanese royalty, walked for generations from roughly the 8th century.

There are nice views out to the left over the valley, and our first encounter with the beauty of the Kumano Kodo walk.

Accommodation: Small family run Ryokan or Minshuku in Takahara
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Walking: Moderate /4 km / 2 to 3 hrs
Elevation: +300 / -120

From Takahara, there are wonderful views as you skirt across the face of the mountain before the trail winds its’ way back into the forest. This is the first real sense of walking through the distinctive Japanese forest canopy on the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage. We make our way back down into the valley walking past small shrines and over the river into town.

Accommodation: Small family run Ryokan or Minshuku in Chikatsuyu
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Walking: Easy to Moderate / 10.2 km / 4 -5 hrs
Elevation: +630m / -650

It’s an early start today for this is the biggest day of the pilgrimage. We hike ancient mountain trails to Hongu Taisha, one of the three main shrines of the Kumano Kodo.  This is a 24km hike, but it can be modified to 16km or 8km depending on how you’re feeling. You’ll hike the sacred Kii Mountains, said to be the entrance to the land of Yomi, in mythological terms the Shinto underworld. Pass through small villages, thick green forest and aside cascading streams. Pass shrine after shrine, eventually arriving at Hongu Taisha where you can explore the massive temple. Before dinner take a dip in either your accommodation’s onsen or one of the many ancient public onsens that dot the area. Dress in your Yakata (best described as a formal Japanese bathrobe ) that’s provided at each of the accommodations and enjoy a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner.

Accommodation: Small family run Ryokan or Minshuku in either Kawayu, Wataze or Yunomine Onsens
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Walking: Challenging / 24 km (or 16 km or 8 km ) / 8.5-9.5 hrs
Elevation: +1130 / -980

We have recommended a rest day in Hongu because of the locations’ natural beauty and its’ significance, but also because there’s so much to do.  We can remove the rest day if you wish.

There’s the option to spend extra time at Hongu Taisha and the cultural centre (you may have been rushed yesterday) or relax and take a dip in a 1200-year-old onsen in the river. Explore the area on a bike, sit in a cafe and savour a good coffee or immerse yourself in one of the many unique Japanese activities that are available.

We’ve also walked and constructed notes for the tracks around Hongu. Namely the Dainichi-goe path that connects Hongu to Yunomine Onsen or the last day of the Kumano Kodo Kohechi route that connects Totsukawa Onsen via Yakio to Hongu.

Accommodation: Family-run Ryokan, Hotel or Minshuka in either Kawayu, Wataze or Yunomine Onsens
Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Walking: Optional

The Nakahechi continues on the Kogumotori-goe path, one of the best walks the region has to offer. Starting alongside the Kumano river the walk ventures up the mountain through the forest and back down again to the small village of Koguchi. Highlights include views from Nyatten-gura over the 3600 peaks of Kumano.

Accommodation: Small family run Ryokan or Minshuku in Koguchi
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Walking: Easy to moderate / 12.8 km / 4.5-5.5 hrs
Elevation: +670 / -690

The start of today’s walk is as challenging as you can get, but it’s our favourite on the Nakahechi so you’re in for a real treat. There’s a fair bit of elevation but the views out over the Pacific, and the glimpses of mountains as you traverse through the forest, makes it all worth the effort. The highlight though is the walk into Nachi-San Taisha over the ancient Ogumotori-goe path travelled by thousands of pilgrims and then walking into the magnificent shrine. The panoramic scene of the superb orange Seiganto-ji Temple against the backdrop of the sacred Nachi waterfall, the tallest in Japan, is certainly one of the most beautiful spectacles in all of Japan.

Accommodation: Small family run Ryokan or Minshuku in Nachi-san or Nachi-Katsuura
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Walking: Moderate to challenging / 15.5 km / 5.5-7 hrs
Elevation: +1260 / -930

After your last traditional Japanese breakfast farewell the walk by exploring the temple complex further, and/or make your way onwards to a destination of your choice. There are many options to further explore in Wakayama. Stay in a beautiful seaside village like Shirahama along the Shihara coast. The Doro-kyo Gorge boat trip from Shingu is much heralded as is visiting the third major shrine the Kumano Hayatama Taisha, or visit Koyasan the spiritual capital of Japan. If you want even more of a laid back experience, then the Yuasa or Hidaka areas haven’t changed much for 100’s of years and are a good place to head.

Meals: Breakfast