Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha and Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - I

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha

   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.

   Read the complete Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha is where the day begins. Next is Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki.

2. 2. Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki

   Water falls a hundred and thirty-three metres in a single drop at Nachi, the highest single fall in Japan, and it is not just a scenic attraction but a god. The Nachi no Ōtaki has been worshipped since long before the shrines were built, as a place where a kami lives, and the Kumano Nachi Taisha, a vermilion shrine on the hillside, was set up to honour it. Next door, the Buddhist temple of Seiganto-ji, with its three-storey pagoda in front of the falls, is one of the most photographed views in Japan, and shows how the two religions lived side by side.

   Read the complete Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki comes up about 52 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - I.

3. 3. Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - I

   The Iseji is the eastern branch of the old pilgrimage roads to the three great Kumano shrines, running down the coast of the Kii Peninsula from the Grand Shrines of Ise to Kumano. For centuries, pilgrims followed it through forests and over passes, and stretches of its stone paving still survive in the hills, laid to keep the path usable in one of the rainiest parts of Japan. Owase, a little up the coast, regularly ranks among the wettest towns in the country, and the moss on the stones and the dripping cedar forests show it. The Iseji forms part of the UNESCO listing of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.

   Read the complete Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - I write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 93 km into the recorded legs you reach Pilgrimage Routes - Kumano Sankeimichi - I. Next is back through Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki.

4. 4. back through Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Kumano Sanzan - Nachi no Ôtaki, late in the day. Next is Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha.

5. 5. Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Kumano Sanzan - Kumano Hongû Taisha. That is the ride.