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The Kumano Kodo trail, a sacred trail in Nachi, Wakayama, Japan.; Shutterstock ID 693876502; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

Shutterstock / Sean Pavone

Overview

The remote and mountainous Kii Peninsula (紀伊半島, Kii-hantō) is a far cry from central Kansai's bustling urban sprawl. There are two top attractions here that make the area a worthy stop in your itinerary: the mountaintop temple complex of Kōya-san, one of Japan's most important Buddhist centres, and, further south, the ancient pilgrimage trails, sacred shrines and rustic onsen of the Kumano Kodō. With more time, you can explore the rocky southern coast, which makes up the Nanki Kumano Geopark and has some interesting geological formations.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Row of stone lanterns at Oku-no-in cemetery.

    Oku-no-in

    Kii Peninsula

    Oku-no-in, whose name means 'inner sanctuary', is perhaps the most intensely spiritual place in Japan. At its farthest reaches is the Gobyō, the crypt…

  • Nachi, Japan at the pagoda of Seigantoji and Nachi no Taki waterfall.; Shutterstock ID 693876538; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

    Nachi-no-taki

    Kii Peninsula

    At 133m, Nachi-no-taki is Japan's highest waterfall. It's the first of many still deeper in the Nachi mountains and has long been used in ascetic training.

  • Kumano Hongū Taisha

    Kumano Hongū Taisha

    Kii Peninsula

    Kumano Hongū Taisha is one of the Kumano Sanzan (three great shrines of Kumano) and if you're following the traditional pilgrim route, it's the first one…

  • Gobyō

    Gobyō

    Kii Peninsula

    The wooden, thatched roof gate here is as far as you can go in Oku-no-in. Beyond it lies the crypt Kōbō Daishi entered in 835, never to leave. Pilgrims in…

  • WAKAYAMA, JAPAN - OCTOBER 29: Danjo Garan Temple in Wakayama, Japan on October 29, 2014. Established in 816 by priest "Kukai" as meditating place and it's a part of Kongobuji temple in Mt. Koya; Shutterstock ID 303576560; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

    Garan

    Kii Peninsula

    The name of this temple, which is sometimes called Danjo Garan or Dai Garan, derives from the Sanskrit saṅghārāma, which means monastery. With eight…

  • A view of the zen garden of the Kongobuji temple, Koyasan, Japan; Shutterstock ID 59794360; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

    Kongōbu-ji

    Kii Peninsula

    This is the headquarters of the Shingon sect and the residence of Kōya-san's abbot. The main gate is the temple's oldest structure (1593); the present…

  • WAKAYAMA, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 19, 2015: Kumano Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine located in Nachi Katsuura Town, it's one the three most important Grand Shrines of Kumano region; Shutterstock ID 395348893; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

    Kumano Nachi Taisha

    Kii Peninsula

    Built on the side of a mountain, facing the waterfall Nachi-no-taki, this shrine is one of Kii's most spiritual places, a site of ancient nature worship…

  • Kumano Hayatama Taisha, Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan; Shutterstock ID 681671041; Your name (First / Last): Laura Crawford; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Kii Peninsula page online images for BiT

    Kumano Hayatama Taisha

    Kii Peninsula

    Located at the mouth of the Kumano-gawa, Kumano Hayatama Taisha is one of the Kumano Sanzan (three sacred shrines of Kumano), enshrining Hayatama-no-Okami…

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The outdoor onsen (hot spring bath) at Ryokan Adumaya in Yunomine. YUNOMINE_TO_KOGUCHI

Wildlife & Nature

A Lonely Planet guide to Wakayama's onsens

Jan 9, 2025 • 6 min read

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