Deep in the mountains of the Kii Peninsula, where forested ridges fold one behind another like the scenery in a woodblock print, stands the head shrine of the Kumano faith. Kumano Hongū Taisha is one of the three grand shrines of Kumano, and for over a thousand years emperors, aristocrats and ordinary pilgrims have walked here along the network of mountain trails known as the Kumano Kodō, now part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range listed by UNESCO.
The shrine you see today stands on a hill above the river, dark wood and cypress bark roofs set among tall cedars. It once stood on a sandbank called Oyunohara, where the rivers meet, until a great flood in 1889 washed much of it away. The main halls were rebuilt on higher ground, and the old site is now marked by an enormous torii gate, one of the largest in Japan, rising above the rice fields. Look out for the three-legged crow, Yatagarasu, a messenger of the gods in Kumano legend, which appears everywhere here and is also the emblem of the Japanese football association.
The area is also blessed with hot springs. Yunomine, one of the oldest onsen in Japan, has a tiny riverside bath called Tsuboyu that is itself part of the World Heritage site, and nearby Kawayu has a river where hot water bubbles up through the gravel, so you can dig your own bath on the bank.
The riding to get here is superb. Route 168 runs up from Shingū on the coast along the gorge of the Kumano river, with deep green water, wooded cliffs and long sweeping bends, while Route 311 crosses from the west through quieter mountain country. Both are well surfaced but narrow in places, with tunnels, tight turns and log trucks. Rain is heavy in this region, especially in the early summer rainy season and during typhoons in late summer, and landslides occasionally close roads. Ride on the left, keep to the speed limits and allow more time than the map suggests.
Shingū, about twenty-three kilometres away, is the nearest town of any size for fuel and supplies. Hongū itself has a few shops and places to eat; a bowl of noodles and a long hot bath in the onsen after the ride is the classic end to a day here.