Must-see attractions in Kii Peninsula

Oku-no-in, whose name means 'inner sanctuary', is perhaps the most intensely spiritual place in Japan. At its farthest reaches is the Gobyō, the crypt…

At 133m, Nachi-no-taki is Japan's highest waterfall. It's the first of many still deeper in the Nachi mountains and has long been used in ascetic training.

Kumano Hongū Taisha is one of the Kumano Sanzan (three great shrines of Kumano) and if you're following the traditional pilgrim route, it's the first one…

The wooden, thatched roof gate here is as far as you can go in Oku-no-in. Beyond it lies the crypt Kōbō Daishi entered in 835, never to leave. Pilgrims in…

The name of this temple, which is sometimes called Danjo Garan or Dai Garan, derives from the Sanskrit saṅghārāma, which means monastery. With eight…

The most interesting structure at the Garan is the Konpon Daitō, a 50m-tall, bright-vermilion pagoda seated at what is considered to be the centre of the…

This is the headquarters of the Shingon sect and the residence of Kōya-san's abbot. The main gate is the temple's oldest structure (1593); the present…

Built on the side of a mountain, facing the waterfall Nachi-no-taki, this shrine is one of Kii's most spiritual places, a site of ancient nature worship…

Located at the mouth of the Kumano-gawa, Kumano Hayatama Taisha is one of the Kumano Sanzan (three sacred shrines of Kumano), enshrining Hayatama-no-Okami…

This amazing natural rock formation is a line of about a dozen spire-like boulders extending 900m into the water like the supports of a bridge. It's…

In the town believed to be the first place in Japan to produce soy sauce (shōyu in Japanese) – some 750 years ago – this factory lets visitors in on both…

This wooden temple, absent of colour and next to the Shintō shrine Kumano Nachi Taisha, was last rebuilt in 1590, making it the oldest building in Kii …

Several important artworks from Kōya-san's temples are collected here, most notably some Heian-era wooden sculptures of the Buddha and Fudō Myō-ō…

According to the Kumano faith, this large boulder, wedged on the side of Gongen-yama, was where the three principal gods descended to earth. It was the…

This is the final bridge inside Oku-no-in before Kōbō Daishi's mausoleum. It crosses the Tama-gawa, which runs down from Yōryū-san, the mountain behind…

Inside Oku-no-in and just past Gobyō-bashi is a wooden building the size of a large phone booth, which contains the Miroku-ishi – a stone said to weigh as…

The Garan's kondō is the temple's main hall and enshrines Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of medicine and healing. First constructed in the early 9th century,…

This large hall at the northern end of Oku-no-in is full of lanterns, which cover the walls and ceiling. Two of the large ones, at the back of the hall,…

In 2000 this giant torii (entrance gate to a Shintō shrine) – 33.9m tall and 42m wide, made out of steel, painted dramatic black and the largest in Japan …

For a close-up look at the falls, hike the 135 steps to this small shrine, which has a viewing platform (it's also the spot from which to worship the…