Kumano Hayatama Taisha and Kumano Nachi Taisha) emerged as a religious institution back in the 11th century. Overseeing more than 3000 Kumano shrines in Japan, it is a doyen of religion in the ...

What it’s like to hike Japan’s sacred Kumano Kodo trail - This tranquil walking route that takes in waterfalls, temples and hot springs is the perfect antidote to Japan’s overtourism, as John Kampfner ...

From Shingu, there are regular bus and train connections down the coast to Kii-Katsuura, where you can take another bus (25 minutes) to the third of the grand shrines, Kumano Nachi Taisha Grand ...

Every July, the Kumano Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine holds the Nachi Fire Festival, one of Japan's top three of its kind. The event involves transporting gods home to Nachi Waterfall on portable shrines.

Twice a year, the priests of Kumano Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine replace a sacred rope that hangs above a 133-meter-high waterfall. Just before the new year, five priests dressed in white climbed the ...

and Nachi Taisha, the final stop of the pilgrimage overlooking the waterfall. Collectively known as Kumano Sanzan, these sohonsha (“head shrines”) form the spiritual centre of Shingon Buddhism ...

It also ends at the awe-inspiring Shinto shrine, Kumano-Nachi Taisha, which sits on a mountain next to the tallest waterfall in Japan, the Nachi Waterfall. If you too want to experience the Kumano ...