Located south of Osaka on the Kii Peninsula of Japan‘s Honshū island, the Kumano Kodo trail system is an ancient religious route that connects three sacred sites, Yoshino and Omine, Kumano ...

Unwrap the mystery of Japan’s spirituality at Unesco World Heritage site Kumano Kodo. The pilgrimage routes to Wakayama’s Kumano Sanzan shrines in the Kii Mountains, known as the Kumano Kodo ...

While crowded Kyoto continues to suffer from overtourism, several of Japan’s ancient and soulful sights on the nearby Kii Peninsula, only an hour away, ...

Today, the World Heritage-designated Kumano Kodo and Kumano Sanzan aren’t just for pilgrims, nor is the journey arduous. For those who make the trip, it’s a chance to experience Japan’s ...

The Kumano Kodo, leading to Kumano, the sacred land of the Gods, is one of the few pilgrimage roads designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Twenty years after the designation, we explore the ...

Set in the dense forests of the Kii Mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean, three sacred sites - Yoshino and Omine, Kumano Sanzan, Koyasan - linked by pilgrimage routes to the ancient capital cities ...

Hikers walk on mountain path of the Kumano Kodo in Taiki, Mie Prefecture, Japan, in 2024. YOMIURI SHIMBUN/AP With hiking growing in popularity, maintaining mountain trails has become a pressing ...

Supporting Believers for a Millennium: A Kumano Kodo Temple Lodge We meet a temple lodge proprietor who is said to be the descendant of demons. The historic lodge is frequented by practitioners of ...

These include the UNESCO-listed Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trails; Koyasan, the sacred Shingon Buddhist mountain and its mossy monk cemetery where you can overnight at shukubo (temple inns); and the 8 ...