Wakayama is probably the most neglected prefecture of Japan’s Kansai area—and that’s not essentially a nasty factor. As (principally doubtful) discussions about “overtourism” mount, it’s necessary that there are locations the place it’s merely irrelevant.
Properly, principally irrelevant: Wakayama, like a lot of the remainder of Japan, has seen regular development within the variety of guests who wander its previously unbeaten paths.
To this finish—I’m utilizing the phrase “path” deliberately—I wish to evaluate the Koyasan vs Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes which, over the previous decade or so, have gone from being barely-visited backwaters, to more and more standard locations. Right here’s tips on how to to determine between in your subsequent journey.
Koyasan and the Kumano Kodo: Getting There and Round
As soon as of the principle deciding elements between Koyasan or Kumano Kodo? How lengthy you need to spare, and your tolerance for a protracted journey there and again. With Koyasan, for instance, a single prepare from Osaka can take you about 95% of the way in which there; you merely must experience a funicular cable automobile and a bus the remainder of the way in which. That is why Koyasan has change into a preferred day journey vacation spot from Osaka, Kyoto and past.
Accessing the Kumano Kodo is a little more advanced. When you plan to hike, you sometimes must experience a Restricted Categorical prepare a minimum of three hours from Osaka to Kii-Tanabe Station, the place you’ll spend the evening earlier than driving a bus to the trailhead. This implies an additional journey day earlier than starting a 2-3 day hike. As well as, when you end in Shingu, you’ll want round half a day to get both again to Osaka, or proceed onward to Nagoya.
Kumano Kodo
Methods to Examine Koyasan with the Kumano Kodo
Scope of vacation spot
Though its identify actually means “Mt. Koya,” Koyasan as a vacation spot is principally Koyasan City and Okuno-in cemetery, in the event you don’t rely the mountaineering path that leads from Kudoyama Station to Daimon gate (extra on that in a second). In contrast, the Kumano Kodo is an unlimited community of trails, in addition to cities like Hongu and Chikatsuyu, and arguably even cities like Shingu and Tanabe.
Tradition
One other method to evaluate Koyasan and Kumano Kodo is the varied alternatives to work together with Japanese tradition when visiting each. Past the aforementioned cemetery, Koyasan is dwelling to the Danjo-garan sacred advanced, in addition to the biggest variety of shukubo temple stays within the nation. In contrast, cultural alongside the Kumano Kodo tends to be extra understated, apart from Hongu’s big torii gate, and the Nachi Taisha “waterfall pagoda.”
Nature and mountaineering
I discussed earlier how one can hike from low-lying Wakayama’s Kudoyama Station to the Daimon gate that serves because the de-facto entrance to Koyasan. There’s additionally a whole lot of strolling on the high of the mountain; your entire city is constructed right into a forest. In contrast, mountaineering beneath towering evergreens is sort of actually the purpose of your entire Kumano Kodo: At a minimal, vacationers sometimes spend a day mountaineering from Takijiri to Chikatsuyu, and one other spent onward to Hongu.
Crowds
Evaluating Kumano Kodo vs Koyasan on this regard, in the meantime, is a a a lot clearer win for the previous. Koyasan, frankly, has exploded in reputation since I first visited in 2018; throughout peak season, it might really feel as crowded as elements of Kyoto. In contrast, the unfold out geography of the Kumano Kodo and the extent to which mountaineering is inextricable from it imply that it’s essentially much less standard amongst guests to Japan.
Ease and expense of reserving
Until you ebook a minimum of 6-12 months prematurely, you’re more likely to spend a minimal of ¥10,000 per particular person, per evening on a Koyasan temple keep, and doubtless far more. The one silver lining? Most on-line resort reserving web sites now have shukubo listed on them. Lodging alongside the Kumano Kodo tends to be cheaper, but in addition fewer in quantity than in Koyasan; you virtually at all times must ebook through Kumano Journey or one other related company.
Koyasan
How (and Why) to Do Each the Kumano Kodo and Koyasan
As you’ll know in the event you learn this web site with any regularity, I’ve performed each Koyasan (and a number of iterations of it) in addition to the Kumano Kodo, throughout totally different instances of yr. As I’ve tried to spotlight inside this publish, they’re fully totally different locations and supply distinctive experiences, from the way you entry them, to the kinds of locations you’ll sleep, to how lengthy it’s essential to journey, to when it’s greatest to go to.
However, in the event you plan to return to Japan sooner or later, then don’t really feel like your present determination between Kumano Kodo or Koyasan is binding. As an illustration, you probably have two weeks in Japan and solely a day or two to spare, then take a Koyasan day journey from Kyoto or Osaka, or do a shukubo temple keep for an evening. Save your Kumano Kodo trek for a future journey when you have got 2-3 days to spare, and whenever you’re put together to go off the Kansai area’s overwhelmed path.
Different FAQ About Koyasan and the Kumano Kodo
Is Koyasan on the Kumano Kodo?
Though Koyasan could be accessed by bus (or, you probably have a whole lot of time, on foot) from the principle Nakahechi of the Kumano Kodo, I think about them to be two separate locations. Virtually talking, which means it’s best to spend an evening or two in a shukubo atop Mt. Koya earlier than or after mountaineering the Kumano Kodo—it isn’t alongside the way in which.
How do get from Koyasan to Kumano Kodo?
Throughout peak season between about April and November, a number of direct buses per week join Koyasan with Hongu, alongside the Kumano Kodo. Outdoors these intervals, the routing is extra circuitous. When you don’t have your personal automobile, you’ll want to return to Osaka, journey by prepare to Kii-Tanabe or Shingu and by bus from there to Hongu.
What’s the greatest pilgrimage stroll in Japan?
I personally love the Kumano Kodo as a multi-day trek, although trekking to the highest of Mt. Koya as a half- or full-day journey can also be exhilarating. Different choices embody the Nakasendo path that runs by means of the Japanese Alps, or the 88-temple pilgrimage path on Shikoku island.
The Backside Line
I received’t try and make a one-for-one Koyasan vs Kumano Kodo comparability. Though these pilgrimage routes have some issues in widespread, they cater to fully various kinds of vacationers: Koyasan is for day-trippers and people searching for a simple in a single day keep; the Kumano Kodo is nearly synonymous with a multi-day hike. However, both or each is usually a jumping-off level for a deeper exploration of Wakayama prefecture, whether or not you hit the seashore in Shirahama or uncover underrated Wakayama Metropolis. Want customized assist steering your personal journey off Japan’s overwhelmed path? Fee a customized Japan itinerary in the present day, and let me take the wheel.