Although I would have preferred to walk from Yunomine Onsen to Shingu, there’s only so much you can fit into 5 days on the Kumano Kodo. So on our 5th day, we used several buses to visit the remaining Grand Shrines and to reach our final destination in the port town of Kii-Katsuura.
If you are just joining us on our Kumano Kodo journey, please begin with Post 1. Otherwise, keep reading…
Yunomineso (our inn) provided a free shuttle to the bus stop at Yunomine Onsen, where we hopped on the bus to Shingu. I didn’t mind the 1-hr ride because our views were gorgeous, following the turquoise Kumano River and mountains.
Arriving in Shingu, we quickly walked to the Kumano Hayatama Taisha, the primary reason for this stop as it’s the 2nd of the three Grand Shrines on the Kumano Kodo.
Shingu was a nice short stop, we enjoyed walking the narrow lanes through residential neighborhoods and along canals. From Hayatama, we walked towards Kamikura Shrine on Mount Gongen, passing a Buddhist temple along the way (from which we could hear ceremonial music).
Passing a schoolyard, where children were enjoying a beautiful sunny day outdoors, we arrived at the steep stone path leading up to Kamikura Shrine. We watched an elderly gentleman slowly make his way up the stairs to see the rock which is worshipped as a deity. Alas, we didn’t have time to walk all the way, nearly sprinting to catch our train.
Two more buses took us to Nachi-san, home of the 3rd Grand Shrine and famous Nachi Waterfall. This part of our journey was the only time we struggled with Oku Japan’s itinerary. The directions were clear but they offered several options, which each entailed various bus departures. Once we decided on an option, it was easy.
As suggested in our itinerary, we began our exploration from the last bus stop at Nachi-san, heading first to the grand shrine, which always means climbing stairs. In this case, a LOT of stairs!
More than any other place, the shrines in Nachi felt the most jarringly commercial to my Western sensibilities. Everywhere people were purchasing emas (wishes) to burn or my favorite, to carry as you passed through an 850-yr old sacred camphor tree.
There were many shrines here worth visiting, but our favorite was Nachisan Seiganto-ji. Built in 1590, it is the oldest registered building in the Kumano region. It is also the first stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage (which consists of 33 Buddhist temples).
Old wooden temples interspersed with vivid orange and gold, surrounded by gardens, ancient trees and mountains — there was so much to love about Nachi! We were entranced even before we spotted the waterfall of in the distance.
Tucked under one of the shrines, we spotted waraji, the traditional rope sandals worn in feudal Japan. These would have been worn by samurai and commoners during a pilgrimage.
The pop of orange we had been glimpsing finally appeared before us, the iconic 3-storied pagoda which is every photographer’s dream.
Followed by a good luck belly rub.
And a beautiful walk through quiet gardens, cobblestone paths and forest.
To reach the Nachi Waterfall.
Nachi sight-seeing complete, we could have taken the bus from the waterfall back to Kii-Katsuura (which most people seemed to be doing). Instead, we chose Oku Japan’s suggestion and retraced our steps back up towards our starting point.
On our way, we passed abandoned buildings with the most elaborate animal carvings on the roof. It was unlike any other architecture we’d seen in Nachi or Kansai.
Finding the box of bamboo hiking sticks, we began our walk along the Daimonzaka.
Daimonzaka is the historical approach to Nachisan and many people still choose to approach from this path. I much preferred walking down it, especially with our handy hiking sticks. The walk is approximately 600m with 267 stairs and it was one of my favorite sections of the Kumano Kodo!
Exiting the forest, we continued on the path, passing through town before reaching the bus stop, where there was a box to return our hiking sticks.
One last bus to arrive at our final destination on the Kumano Kodo, the fishing town of Kii-Katsurra. Our inn for the night was Katsuura Manseiro Onsen, a few blocks from the bus station and directly on the water.
The inn was old but classic and well-maintained. Staff were attentive, the elevators were ancient and the onsen was wonderful. It had an outdoor and indoor onsen (gender-separate) and the water temperature was perfect! Though they offer western-style beds, we had a tatami room, so one last night of traditional bedding.
Once again, dinner was elaborately presented and full of wonderful new dishes to excite our ever-expanding palates. Our waitress was incredibly kind, patiently explaining the dishes and laughing with us when we made faces at some of the stranger items. Such as the abalone, served while still alive and moving. Until we boiled him, at which point he became food instead of entertainment.
And this wraps up our portion of Kumano Kodo. It was a lot to cover, so thank you for sticking around and reading our stories. We have ONE MORE story for Japan, where we explore the Wakayama Coast. I’ll also share a link to our Kumano Kodo Guide once we post that on Trips to Walkabout.
