Few places in Japan command the kind of spiritual gravity you feel on the Kumano Kodo. These ancient pilgrimage trails carve through the mountainous interior of the Kii Peninsula — Japan’s largest — connecting three grand shrines that have drawn emperors, monks and ordinary seekers for more than a thousand years. In 2004, UNESCO inscribed the “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range” as a World Heritage Site, making this one of only two pilgrimage routes in the world with that distinction (the other being the Camino de Santiago in Spain). Summer is when the trails are at their most lush — and when one of Japan’s most dramatic fire festivals erupts at the base of the country’s tallest waterfall.
The Kumano Sanzan: Three Shrines, Three Worlds
The spiritual heart of this region is the Kumano Sanzan — three grand shrines spread across remote mountain valleys. Kumano Hongu Taisha, the most historically significant, sits at the confluence of three rivers in the mountains above Tanabe. Its original site, Oyunohara, was swept away by catastrophic floods in 1889, but the massive torii gate that now stands there — at 33.9 meters, Japan’s largest — marks where the shrine complex once stood. The rebuilt shrine is a short walk uphill, its unpainted cypress-bark roofs blending into the forest canopy.
Kumano Hayatama Taisha, in the coastal town of Shingu, has a brighter, more accessible atmosphere. Its vermilion-painted buildings sit near the mouth of the Kumano River, and a sacred 1,000-year-old nagi tree in the grounds has made the shrine a popular spot for prayers of safe travel.
The most visually stunning of the three is Kumano Nachi Taisha, perched high on Mount Nachi with views across the dense cedar forests to the Pacific Ocean. Adjacent to it stands Seiganto-ji, a Buddhist temple whose three-story vermilion pagoda frames Japan’s tallest single-drop waterfall — Nachi Falls, plunging 133 meters down a sheer cliff face. This pagoda-and-waterfall composition is one of the most photographed scenes in all of Japan, and seeing it in person, wreathed in summer mist, is genuinely breathtaking.
The Nachi Fire Festival (July 14)
Every year on July 14, the mountain around Nachi Falls becomes the stage for one of Japan’s most ancient and spectacular festivals. The Nachi no Ogi Matsuri (Nachi Fan Festival), commonly known as the Nachi Fire Festival, is designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property and dates back over a thousand years.
The ceremony centers on twelve sacred fan-shaped mikoshi (portable shrines), each representing one of the twelve Kumano deities. These elaborate constructions, decorated with mirrors and fans, are carried in procession from the shrine down toward the waterfall. To welcome them, twelve massive pine-wood torches — each weighing around 50 kilograms and standing nearly as tall as a person — are lit and paraded uphill by teams of white-clad priests. The moment when the flaming torches and the descending mikoshi meet on the stone stairway, with Nachi Falls thundering in the background, is among the most powerful images in Japanese festival culture.
The fire is not just spectacle — it symbolizes purification, the torches clearing the path for the deities’ return to the waterfall, which is itself considered a sacred body (goshintai) of the shrine. Spectators line the stone steps and forest paths, and the combination of fire, mist, ancient chanting and the roar of the falls creates an atmosphere that feels genuinely otherworldly.
Arrive early — the main fire procession begins around 2:00 PM, but the shrine precincts fill up quickly. The closest station is Nachi on the JR Kisei Line, from which buses run to the falls and shrine area.
Walking the Trails in Summer
The Kumano Kodo network spans several routes, but two are most popular for visitors. The Nakahechi route, running inland from Tanabe to Kumano Hongu Taisha, is the classic emperor’s pilgrimage path. It typically takes 3–5 days to walk in full, though many visitors choose to hike just the most scenic day-sections: the Takijiri-oji to Chikatsuyu segment (about 6 hours) passes through ancient cedar forests and over mountain passes with stunning valley views.
The Daimon-zaka slope — a 600-meter stairway lined with towering 800-year-old cedars — leads to Kumano Nachi Taisha and offers a manageable taste of the pilgrimage experience in about 30 minutes.
Summer hiking on the Kumano Kodo demands preparation. Temperatures in July hover around 28–32°C with high humidity, and the forested mountain trails can feel like a steam bath. Start early in the morning, carry at least 2 liters of water per person, and bring rain gear — afternoon thunderstorms are common. The trails are well-maintained with stone paving on many sections, but the moss-covered stones can be slippery in wet conditions. The reward is trails at their greenest, waterfalls at peak flow from seasonal rains, and far fewer crowds than in the popular autumn and spring seasons.
Kii-Katsuura: The Gateway Town
Most visitors to Nachi Falls and the eastern Kumano region base themselves in the small fishing port of Kii-Katsuura (officially Nachikatsuura). The town is famous for its fresh maguro (tuna) — the Katsuura fish market handles the largest volume of fresh tuna in all of Japan, and the sashimi here is exceptional. Several ryokan and hotels perch along the harbor, and Hotel Urashima — accessible only by boat — occupies an entire peninsula with natural cave onsen carved into the clifftop.
The nearby Katsuura Onsen area offers several hot spring baths with ocean views, and the Kii-Katsuura fishing harbor comes alive before dawn as the tuna boats come in. Walking along the harbor wall at sunrise, watching the auction preparations, is a perfect quiet counterpoint to the mountain spirituality of the shrines.
Getting There
From Osaka, the most scenic approach is by JR limited express “Kuroshio” along the coast to Kii-Katsuura (approximately 4 hours). From Nagoya, take the JR limited express “Nanki” to Shingu or Kii-Katsuura (about 3.5 hours). Buses connect the main towns with the shrine and trail areas. For those walking the Nakahechi route from the western side, the trailhead at Takijiri-oji is accessible by bus from JR Kii-Tanabe station.
The Kumano Kodo is a journey best taken slowly — not as a checklist of sights, but as the continuous unfolding of forest, stone, water and sky that has moved pilgrims for a millennium.
Image: Seiganto-ji Three-Storied Pagoda and Nachi Falls, CC BY 4.0, by Zairon, via Wikimedia Commons
