Kumano Kodo in 12 days
Kyoto to the Nachi falls on the old pilgrim road, with ten walkers and two guides. Spring and autumn 2027, from $4,950 all in.
See the datesPick your departure
Small groups fill by date, so the calendar comes first. Every price is all in: inns, guides, trains, bags moved ahead, and Japan's lodging and bath taxes.
Kumano Kodo & Kyoto 12 days · Level 3 of 5 · 10 walkers and 2 guides
Two dates in April, one of them full. A departure is guaranteed once 4 walkers have paid a deposit.
$5,250 a person, all in
Sun 11 Apr to Thu 22 Apr 2027
- Today, deposit$1,000
- By Wed 10 Feb 2027, balance$9,500
No interest and no fee on the plan. The last payment lands 60 days before you leave.
Total for 2$10,500
What "all in" covers
- 11 nights: 3 in a Kyoto machiya inn, 1 at a Koyasan temple, 6 trail inns and onsen, 1 in Osaka
- 11 breakfasts, 6 trail lunches and 9 dinners
- Two guides from Kyoto to Osaka, one walking at the front and one at the back
- Your bags moved ahead to every inn, so you carry a day pack
- Every train, bus, cable car and transfer from day 1 to the airport train on day 12
- Shrine and temple entries, and the Okunoin night walk
- Japan's lodging taxes and the onsen bath tax, which most operators add at the end
Walked Train or bus
Day by day from Sun 11 Apr 2027
Meet your guides at 6 PM at the inn in Gion, then an easy walk to a welcome dinner by the Kamo river. We send the train times from Kansai Airport.
1.5 km · 1 hour
Kyoto: a wooden machiya inn in Gion. Dinner.
Up through the vermilion gates to the top of Mount Inari at 7 AM, down by the quiet back path, and a free afternoon. In spring the evening is for the cherry trees on the Philosopher's Path.
8 km · 230 m up · 3 to 4 hours
Kyoto: the same inn. Breakfast.
A local train north to Kurama, then the temple path over the ridge, across cedar roots, and down to lunch in Kibune's river gorge.
5 km · 350 m up · 3 hours
Kyoto: the same inn. Breakfast, lunch.
Trains and a cable car to the temple town on Mount Koya. A vegetarian temple dinner, then Okunoin after dark, its 200,000 graves lit by lanterns.
4 km · 50 m up · 2 hours
Koyasan: temple lodging, shared bath. Breakfast, dinner.
Morning prayers at 6, then bus and train to Takijiri-oji, the trailhead. The first climb is the steepest hour of the trip: short, rooty and straight up.
3.7 km · 400 m up · 2 to 3 hours
Takahara: a hillside lodge facing the mountains. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
The longest run of old forest on the road, past the small oji shrines of Daimon and Juji. Your bags go ahead by van, every day from here.
10 km · 630 m up · 5 to 6 hours
Chikatsuyu: a family guesthouse by the river. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
A short bus to Hosshinmon-oji, the last 7 km into Kumano Hongu Taisha, and the great torii at Oyunohara. Two nights in the hot spring village of Yunomine.
7 km · 300 m up · 3 to 4 hours
Yunomine: an onsen inn, two nights. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Sleep in. Bathe at Tsuboyu, the one-person hot spring that is part of the World Heritage site, or ride the river boat down to Shingu (optional, about $40).
Your choice
Yunomine: the same inn. Breakfast, dinner.
Over the ridge above the Kitayama valley to the Hyakken-gura lookout, where the Kii mountains roll out in rows, then down to Koguchi.
13 km · 700 m up · 5 to 6 hours
Koguchi: a lodge in a former village school. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
14.5 km and 1,100 m of climbing to Echizen pass, then a long stone descent to Nachi. Guides set the pace; a van can meet you at Jizo-jaya, halfway.
14.5 km · 1,100 m up · 7 to 8 hours
Kii-Katsuura: an onsen hotel by the sea. Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Morning at Kumano Nachi Taisha, the pagoda of Seiganto-ji and the 133 m falls, down the cedar-lined Daimon-zaka steps. Train to Osaka and a farewell dinner.
3 km · 150 m up · 2 hours
Osaka: a hotel by Shin-Osaka station. Breakfast, dinner.
Breakfast, then the train to Kansai Airport. We book your seat and walk you to the platform.
No walking
Breakfast.
Never more than ten walkers
10
The trail inns on the Kumano Kodo have five or six rooms, so ten is the most a group can be and still sleep under one roof. Two guides walk with every group, one at the front and one at the back.
The hardest day, honestly
Day 10 is Ogumotori-goe. It climbs from the river at Koguchi to Echizen pass on stone steps that stay wet under the cedars, then drops the same height to Nachi. Most people find it hard and finish it. If you can't, a van meets you at Jizo-jaya, halfway.
- On foot
- 14.5 km
- Climbing
- 1,100 m
- With stops
- 7 to 8 hours
This trip is level 3, Active, on our scale of 1 to 5.
Every trip we run
Spring and autumn
- Kumano Kodo & KyotoLevel 3 Mar to May, Oct, Nov12 days, $4,950
- Kiso Valley: the NakasendoLevel 2 Apr, May, Oct, Nov9 days, $3,900
- Kyoto, Nara & Koyasan, slowlyLevel 1 Mar to Jun, Sep to Dec8 days, $3,650
- Shikoku: Iya Valley & the temple roadLevel 3 Apr, May, Oct, Nov10 days, $4,400
- Yakushima: the cedar islandLevel 5 Apr, May, Oct, Nov7 days, $3,950
Summer, up high
- Northern Alps hut to hutLevel 4 Jul to Sep8 days, $4,300
Your dates, your group
- Private tripLevel 1 to 5Any month we runfrom $7,800 for two
Our guides
Every guide is a Wilderness First Responder. Two walk with every group.
Certifications and safety record
Emi Kawabata
Lead guide, Kumano Kodo
Nine seasons on the Kii trails; lives in Hongu and knows every inn keeper by name. Japan National Government Licensed Guide Interpreter. Wilderness First Responder, NOLS Wilderness Medicine, recertified 2025.
Rob Hartley
Guide, Kiso Valley and the Alps
Grew up in Oregon, moved to Matsumoto in 2011. Japan Mountain Guide Association Mountain Guide. Wilderness First Responder, recertified 2024. Walks at the back, where the questions are.
Yuki Moriyama
Guide, Kyoto and Koyasan
Trained at a Koyasan temple before she guided. Knows which gate opens at 6 and which path is empty at 7. Licensed Guide Interpreter and Wilderness First Responder.
Marisol Vega
Trip planner, San Francisco
Answers every email before you go, books your inns and checks your forms. Walked the whole Kumano Kodo twice. Replies within one business day.
Kumano Kodo & Kyoto
- Sun 11 Apr to Thu 22 Apr 2027
- Guaranteed to run, 4 seats left
- 11 nights in inns, a temple and onsen
- $500 deposit, balance 60 days out
Before you ask
- Meet in Kyoto at 6 PM on day 1, at the inn in Gion
- Fly into Kansai (KIX); leave from Osaka on day 12
- Replies from Marisol within one business day
Do I need to be fit?
Fit enough to walk 8 miles with real hills, two days running. That's level 3. The quiz on the How active page tells you in a minute, and the 12-week plan we send gets most people there.
What if my departure doesn't fill?
A date is guaranteed once 4 walkers have paid a deposit. If yours isn't by 75 days out, you choose: move to another date free, or a full refund within 14 days.
Do you book flights?
No. We don't sell airfare, so every price on this site is the land trip only. We send the flights that fit day 1 and day 12, and you book them yourself.
Can I come alone?
Yes, and about half our walkers do. Share a twin with another solo walker of your gender at no extra cost, or take a room of your own for $890. If we can't match you, we pay for the room.
How heavy is my bag?
You carry a day pack: water, rain shell, lunch. Your suitcase goes ahead to the next inn by van every morning. Keep it under 20 kg.
What about insurance?
We ask every walker to have travel medical and evacuation cover. We don't sell insurance; our partner page compares licensed policies.
