Kumano Sanzan: the three grand shrines

The journey in one line

3 stops in Japan. Complete means all 3 visited.

Kumano Sanzan means the three mountains of Kumano, and it is the name for three shrines taken together: Kumano Hongū Taisha in the hills, Kumano Hayatama Taisha on the coast at Shingū, and Kumano Nachi Taisha beside the waterfall at Nachi. Each enshrines the deities of the other two, which is why the tradition counts them as one destination rather than three stops. From the tenth century onward, retired emperors made the journey from Kyoto again and again. Later everyone came, in numbers that earned the traffic the nickname ari no Kumano mōde, the ants' pilgrimage to Kumano. Kumano took people other places turned away, including women and the sick, and that reputation is part of why the roads got worn. The walking routes between the three are the Kumano Kodō. They were inscribed by UNESCO in 2004 as part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range, one of only two pilgrimage routes on the World Heritage List. The other is the Camino de Santiago. This journey is the three shrines. The walk is yours to record in your own words.

Kumano is where the old Japanese religion and Buddhism grew into each other rather than sitting side by side. The Kumano deities were understood as Buddhas in another form, and the mountains were treated as a pure land you could reach on foot while alive. Hongū is the head shrine of more than three thousand Kumano shrines across Japan. Nachi shows what that looked like before the Meiji government separated the two religions by law: a Shinto shrine and a Buddhist temple, Seiganto-ji, still sharing one hillside above the falls.

Base yourself at Kii-Tanabe for the western approach or Shingū and Kii-Katsuura for the eastern. Buses link all three shrines and they can be done in two days without walking. Entry to each precinct is free, with small fees at the Nachi falls platform and the treasure halls. The best walking months are spring and autumn. Trails close after heavy rain and typhoons, so check before you go. Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau runs the official Dual Pilgrim programme with the Camino de Santiago. Anyone who has walked a qualifying section of both routes can register and receive the Dual Pilgrim badge. The qualifying options are published on their site. That walk is a self reported record here, separate from the shrine visits.

Where it goes

The stops, in order

What a visit means here. A recorded visit means the public precinct of that shrine. All three visited completes the route. Walking the Kumano Kodō, and Dual Pilgrim registration, are separate self reported records.

1. 1

   Kumano Hongū Taisha

   熊野本宮大社

   Tanabe, Wakayama, Japan

   

   The head shrine of more than three thousand Kumano shrines across Japan. It stood on a sandbank where three rivers meet until a flood in 1889 forced the move uphill. The old site, Ōyunohara, is still marked by the largest torii in Japan. Every walking route through Kumano is aimed here.

   What counts as a visit

   The shrine precinct and the Ōyunohara torii site.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. Free to enter the precinct. Reached by bus from Kii-Tanabe or Shingū, or on foot along the Kumano Kodō. Check the shrine's page for current hours and for trail closures after heavy rain.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

2. 2

   Kumano Hayatama Taisha

   熊野速玉大社

   Shingū, Wakayama, Japan

   

   The Kumano shrine on the coast, at the mouth of the Kumano river in Shingū. Its vermilion halls sit in the middle of a working town, which makes it the easiest of the three to reach. Pilgrims once arrived by boat down the river from Hongū.

   What counts as a visit

   The shrine precinct. The treasure hall charges separately.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. Free to enter the precinct, and a short walk from Shingū station. Check the shrine's page for treasure hall hours.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

3. 3

   Kumano Nachi Taisha

   熊野那智大社

   Nachikatsuura, Wakayama, Japan

   

   The Kumano shrine above Nachi Falls, the tallest single drop waterfall in Japan. The waterfall itself is the object of worship, and the shrine grew up beside it. A Buddhist temple, Seiganto-ji, stands in the same precinct, which is what a Japanese sacred mountain looked like before the two were separated by law.

   What counts as a visit

   The shrine precinct at the top of the steps. The falls viewing platform at Hirō Shrine below and the treasure hall charge separately.

   Access

   Checked 16 September 2026. Free to enter the precinct, reached by bus from Kii-Katsuura and then a long stone stairway. Small fees apply at the falls platform and the treasure hall. Check the shrine's page for hours.

   Check access · last checked September 16, 2026

Respect and access

Bow at the torii and rinse at the basin. The shrines are working places of worship with daily rites, and the priests are at work. Keep to the marked paths on the Kumano Kodō, which runs through forestry land and past small roadside shrines that belong to people who live there. Take your rubbish out with you.

Opening times, prices, permits and eligibility change. Nothing on this page is a statement about today. Follow the Check access link on a place before you plan around it.

Sources

• hongutaisha.jphttps://www.hongutaisha.jp/english/ · checked September 16, 2026
• kumanohayatama.jphttps://kumanohayatama.jp/ · checked September 16, 2026
• kumanonachitaisha.or.jphttps://kumanonachitaisha.or.jp/ · checked September 16, 2026
• tb-kumano.jphttps://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/kumano-kodo/dual-pilgrim/

TravelDay selected and grouped these places. Naming a custodian, a government agency or UNESCO as a source is not a claim that any of them endorsed this journey.