Ryokans in Japan
Find a ryokan

Ryokan in Kumano Kodo

熊野古道

Pilgrimage trails through the forested mountains of the Kii Peninsula, a World Heritage Site since 2004. Walkers stay in three hot-spring villages near the shrine of Kumano Hongu Taisha: Yunomine, Kawayu and Watarase. Kii-Tanabe, where the buses start, is about 2 hours from Shin-Osaka by limited express.

Choosing an area in Kumano Kodo

Map of the Hongu area of the Kumano Kodo with a dot for each ryokan and rings at Yunomine, Kawayu and Watarase Onsen near Kumano Hongu Taisha
  1. Yunomine Onsen
  2. Watarase Onsen
  3. Kawayu Onsen
  4. Kumano Hongu Taisha
© OpenStreetMap

  • Yunomine Onsen 湯の峰温泉

    A tiny village in a narrow valley around Tsuboyu, the only hot spring that is part of a World Heritage Site.

  • Kawayu Onsen 川湯温泉

    Hot water rises through the riverbed of the Oto River, so guests dig their own pools at the water's edge.

  • Watarase Onsen 渡瀬温泉

    A riverside spring between Yunomine and Kawayu.

Kumano Kodo through the year

  • The dark wooden halls of Kumano Hongu Taisha behind a courtyard of white gravel

    Spring春

    March to May

    On 13 April, Yunomine's yunobori rite carries the village's hot water to Kumano Hongu Taisha for the shrine's spring festival.

  • The great torii of Oyunohara standing beyond green rice fields under summer clouds

    Summer夏

    June to August

    The river at Kawayu is for swimming in summer.

  • Nachi Falls dropping down its cliff through forest, with the first red maple leaves in October

    Autumn秋

    September to November

    In September or October the three villages offer their hot water to Kumano Hongu Taisha together.

  • Snow falling on the cypress-bark roofs of Kumano Hongu Taisha

    Winter冬

    December to February

    From December to February, Kawayu dams the river into the Sennin-buro, an open-air bath about 40 metres long.

The ryokan

Ryokan in Kumano Kodo are coming soon.

Photo credits

Nao Iizuka, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr; Zairon, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons