Kumano Kodo : Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine

Kumano Kodo is an ancient network of pilgrimage routes in the Kii peninsula of Japan's Wakayama prefecture. The pilgrimage route also links Kumano area to the other pilgrimage centres of Koyasan, Ise, Yoshino and Omine and travellers have been visiting this area for centuries. The earliest mention about the Kumano pilgrimage can be found in 'Nihon shoki', the earliest book on Japan's history and which was compiled in 720 AD.

Kumano Kodo walking routes link the three important Shinto Shrines - Hongu Taisha, Nachi Taisha and Hayatama Taisha, collectively referred to as Kumano Sanzan. These three shrines enshrine the mountain spirits, a Shinto practice.These three shrines are collectively the head of about 3000 Kumano shrines in Japan. It is believed that visiting the Kumano Sanzan Shrines fees one of past sins and visitors will be bestowed with future happiness and passage to heaven after death. The Kumano Shrines are a good example of the harmonious co-existence of the Buddhism and Shintoism. Shinbutsu Shugo is a belief that Japanese deities are local manifestations of Buddhist figures. With the arrival of Buddhism from China, the prevalent Shinto religion adopted the Buddhist deities as a form of native kami. While each of the Kumano (shinto) shrines had its own distinctive form of nature worship, they also embraced the Buddhist deities and the temples enshrining these deities can be seen near the Kumano Sanzan. The Kumano region is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site , ' The Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range' in 2004. Today, these shrines are far more accessible thanks to road and railway connectivity but some of the ancient walking routes are still in existence.In the old days, a section of the pilgrimage route between the Kumano Hongu Taisha and the Kumano Hayatama Taisha had to be travelled by waterway. This route has been recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage as the only river pilgrimage route in the world. 

On our recent camping trip to the Kumano area, we visited the Kumano Sanzan. The first shrine we visited was the Kumano Hongu Taisha.

The Kumano Hongu Taisha is the oldest of the Kumano Sanzan. Its original location was at Oyunohara on the sand banks at the confluence of the Kumanogawa and Otonashi rivers. All the Kumano Kodo routes lead to this sacred spot. A 33.9 meter tall Torii gate stands at the entrance of Oyunohara. it is said to be the biggest torii gate in the world ! 

The Kumano Hongu Taisha was relocated to its current location after the heavy floods of 1889.

A walking trail and stone steps through the tall trees leads to the hilltop shrine.

 The shrine's wooden structure is considered to be the oldest type of shrine architecture in Japan. 

The shrine's buildings enshrine its owns deity, the Kumano Gongen and also the deities of the other two Kumano shrines, Hayatama Taisha and Nachi Taisha along with the sun goddess Amaterasu.

A legendary creature associated with the Kumano Hongu Taisha is the three legged crow called "Yatagarasu". This sacred crow is regarded as a messenger of the Gods and is a symbol of the Kumano region. It is believed that the Yatagarasu was sent from Heaven to guide Emperor Jimmu on his initial journey from Kumano to Yamato (in present day Nara prefecture).

Visitors interested in the learning more about the sacred Kumano region should stop at the Kumano Hongu Heritage centre next to the Hongu Taisha mae bus stop.

For a few thousand yen, visitors can dress up in Heian era costumes and get photographs clicked against the backdrop of the shrine.

This is popular especially among young girls at all three Kumano shrines.

Address: Wakayama Prefecture, Tanabe city, Hongu cho, Hongu -1110

Phone: 0735-42-0009

Hours: 8:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs

Closing days: None

Admission: Free; Treasure Hall - 300 yen

Parking: Free parking lots available at Kinosato behind the Kumano Hongu Heritage Centre. 

Taiji Whale Museum

On our recent camping trip to Kumano, we also visited the town of Taiji near Nachikatsuura.

Taiji is a small coastal town which has been in the spotlight for Whale and Dolphin Hunting activities.

I don't intend to make any comments on the entire issue as our visit was purely for tourism purpose. 

We visited Taiji Whale Museum so that our kid could get a chance to see whales and dolphins at the Taiji Whale Museum and she thoroughly enjoyed the Whale Show. 

We also got to view the Dolphin feeding session. 

 We also saw this albino dolphin calf during the Feeding session.

Visitors can also swim with whales and dolphins and even touch a dolphin and pose for a picture with a dolphin; all for an extra fee. 

A marinarium close to the whale show area has some colorful fish. 

Visitors can pass through a glass tunnel around which fish and dolphins can be seen swimming.

The town's whaling history is displayed through various exhibits in the whale museum.

Address: Wakayama Prefecture, Higashimuro gun, Taiji-cho, Taiji 2934-2

Phone: 0735-59-2400

Kumano Kodo: Dorokyo Gorge

Doro kyo is a picturesque gorge formed by the Kitayama River, a tributary of the Kumanogawa river. The gorge sits at the border of Wakayama, Mie and Nara Prefectures and is part of the Yoshino Kumano National Park. We visited Dorokyo Gorge on our recent Camping trip to Kumano area. The road connecting the two main towns of Hongu and Shingu on the Kumano Kodo trail passes along the Dorokyo Gorge. 

The green foliage and rocks form a nice backdrop against the turquoise blue waters of the Kitayama river. 

The best views are supposed to be in summer when flowers bloom along the river banks and also in autumn when the colorful foliage covers the mountains.

Part of this 31 km long gorge is visible from the road connecting Hongu and Shingu towns, but the best views can be enjoyed from a high speed sightseeing boat.

The boat tour takes about 2 hours and due to time constraints we could not ride the boat, but would definitely recommend it after seeing pictures of the gorge taken by travellers who have taken the boat ride. 

The Kitayama River is also said to be the only place in Japan with white water river rafting facility. 

Useful links: Dorokyo Gorge Sightseeing Boat

Camping trip in Wakayama

This year during Golden Week we went on our first camping trip in Japan. Golden week is one of the three peak travel periods in Japan and needless to say travel plans and bookings need to be finalised months in advance. Since our kid had to attend school for most of the Golden week, we had not planned any outing. So we decided to go camping since that was the only thing possible without having any bookings ! 

So we set out for a trip to the Kumano area in the southern part of Kii Peninsula and spans Wakayama and Mie prefectures. The area has been one of Japan's most revered pilgrimage centres and pilgrims have traveled to the area for thousands of years.

The pilgrimage is also mentioned in the "Nihon shoki", the book about the history of creation of Japan which was compiled in 720 AD.  

Three of the important Shinto shrines of  Hongu Taisha, Nachi Taisha and Hayatama Taisha, collectively known as Kumano Sanzan are located in the area and are accessed via a network of ancient walking trails known as Kumano Kodo.

The Kodo pilgrimage route also links Kumano area to the other pilgrimage centres of Koyasan, Yoshino, Omine and Ise.

Many mountain trails and passes remain even today though some of the original coastal trails have developed. Though travellers these days prefer driving up to the three shrines, one can still come across occasional pilgrims walking along the route. Few people can also be seen wearing the Heian period costume along certain smaller stretches of the pilgrimage route.

An interesting fact is that in the old days, pilgrims would travel a 40 km section between Kumano Hongu Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha in Shingu by boat. This route is also a UNESCO World Heritage as the only river pilgrimage route in the world.  The Kumano Sanzan are collectively the head of about 3000 Kumano Shrines in Japan.It is believed that one can atone for past sins by visiting the Kumano Sanzan shrines and will be blessed with future happiness and a passage to heaven after death. Apart from the three main shrines, a number of shrines and temples are found in the area, all adding to the religious value of the area. The region has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site  named 'The Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range' in 2004. I will post more about the Kumano Sanzan and other places we visited in separate posts soon. 

Apart from the temples and shrines, the area is full of natural beauty. Actually it is one of the few places with unspoilt natural beauty that we have come across. Beaches along the coastline of the Kii peninsula, hot springs and gorges along the Shingu and Kumano rivers make the area a treat for the eyes. Since it is not on the usual tourist circuit, commercialisation in the area is at the bare minimum. The area is also a part of the Yoshino Kumano National Park. 

We started our journey from Nagoya early in the day and briefly stopped by the Shichiri-maihama Beach and Atashika beaches near Kumano city before we proceeded further.

The Shichiri Maihama Beach is a pebble beach with a coastline of 25 kms making it Japan's longest pebble beach.

We also passed by a section of the Dorokyo Gorge on our way to the camping ground. 

We set up our tent at the Kurhaus Camping Ground near Wataze onsen, close to Hongu. 

The Watase onsen is one of the popular onsens in the area and the nearby Wataraze Onsen is reputed to have the largest open air baths (rotenburo) in western Japan. The campground was already near full capacity when we arrived around 10:30 am ! We were fortunate to find an empty spot overlooking the river and the Wataraze onsen. The Kurhaus Campground is a nice facility with a restrooms, washing and onsen bath facility nearby. Campground guests can avail of a 200 yen discount on the onsen entrance fees. If the idea of sleeping in a tent and camping in the open does not appeal to you, log bungalows and rooms are also available in Kurhaus and the two hotels nearby.

A suspension bridge leads to the Watarase Onsen Hotel Sasayuri and next to it is a small restaurant which caters during the day but if you run out of any stock of food, there is no store or convenience store anywhere close by. We had planned on staying for one night in the Watase Campground and move to some other campground the next day, but we stayed on. Many of the campers had come from Osaka and Kyoto and our kid had a great time playing with other kids on the Yomuragawa river bank.

Our 2 day camping trip was memorable and as our kid says, it was "the perfect holiday" !

The region is famous for its many varieties of oranges. Along the road we came across these unmanned stalls selling oranges at many places. 

We saw bags of oranges for sale - each bag containing atleast 5-6 oranges priced at 100 yen, the cheapest we have come across so far and they were tasty ! 

Useful links :
Kurhaus Campground (Japanese website)
Wataze Onsen
Campgrounds and Bungalows in Tanabe-Kumano area

Address: 45-1, Wataze, Hongu-cho, Tanabe City

Nagasaki: Meganebashi

Meganebashi, literally Spectacles Bridge, is a famous bridge in Nagasaki. 

The stone bridge was built in 1634 over the Nakashima River by a Chinese Zen priest, Mozi of the nearby Kofukuji temple. It is considered to be the oldest stone bridge in Japan. 

The bridge is called Megane bashi because its twin arches and their reflection in the river below create an image resembling a pair of spectacles. (Spectacles are called Megane in Japanese) 

Several bridges were constructed across the Nakashima River of which a few remain. 

Some of the remaining bridges in the vicinity.

The Megane bashi bridge was damaged in a flood in 1982 but it was restored to its original form.

The bridge is 22 meters long and 3.65 meters wide. A small promenade along the river makes it a pleasant place for a stroll. Some sculptures on the promenade

Access: Walking distance from Nigiwaibashi and Kokaido mae stations on Nagasaki Street Car route 4 and 5.