🇯🇵Japan, Wakayama
Experience Wakayama's pristine nature and sacred sites
Wakayama
Nachisan, Nachikatsuura, Higashimuro District, Wakayama 649-5301, Japan
A World Heritage pilgrimage route with moss-covered stone paths
The Kumano Kodo is a pilgrimage trail leading to the Kumano Sanzan (Three Grand Shrines) on the Kii Peninsula and is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Daimonzaka is the approach path to Nachi Taisha, where you can walk through a mystical atmosphere lined with towering cedar trees and moss-covered stone steps.
The stone staircase stretches for approximately 640 meters.
2399 Katata, Shirahama, Nishimuro District, Wakayama 649-2201, Japan
Meet giant pandas! A combined zoo, aquarium, and amusement park
Adventure World is a comprehensive leisure facility in Shirahama Town that combines a zoo, aquarium, and amusement park all in one. It has Japan's largest population of giant pandas, and meeting the panda family is its greatest attraction.
You can watch pandas up close as they leisurely munch on bamboo and play around. At Safari World, you can ride a bus and observe lions and giraffes from incredibly close distances for an unforgettable experience.
Nachisan, Nachikatsuura, Higashimuro District, Wakayama 649-5301, Japan
Japan's highest waterfall cascade. Revered as a sacred deity.
Nachi Falls boasts a 133-meter drop, making it Japan's tallest single-drop waterfall. Long revered as the sacred deity of Hutaki Shrine, it offers visitors a breathtaking view from the worship platform near the waterfall basin, where the massive cascade thunders down before their eyes.
The view of the three-story pagoda and Nachi Falls together is one of Wakayama's most iconic photo spots. The vista from the grounds of Seigantoji Temple is particularly stunning, with the striking contrast between the vermillion pagoda and the white waterfall.
The falls are believed to offer benefits of longevity and extended life. The "waterfall water" available for visitors to drink is popular among those seeking these blessings.
550 Kōyasan, Koya, Ito District, Wakayama 648-0211, Japan
A sacred site where Kobo Daishi Kukai continues his meditation to this day
Koyasan is a sacred site of Shingon Esoteric Buddhism founded by Kobo Daishi Kukai and is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Okunoin is the most sacred place, home to the mausoleum where Kukai is said to continue meditating even now.
Along the approximately 2km approach path, over 200,000 gravestones and memorial pagodas line the way, including tombs of historical figures such as Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The approach path, surrounded by towering cedar groves hundreds of years old, is nothing short of sublime.
