Kumano Kodo & Kyoto
Three nights in Kyoto, a temple night on Mount Koya, then six days on the Nakahechi, the old imperial pilgrim road, from Takijiri to the falls at Nachi.
- Length
- 12 days
- On foot
- 70 km
- Level
- 3 of 5
- Group
- 10 and 2 guides
Dates, seats and the route
Pick a departure to see what's left, what it costs with your room and payment plan, and every day of the walk on its own date.
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.
The old imperial road
Emperors walked the Nakahechi from Kyoto to the three grand shrines of Kumano from the 10th century on, stopping to pray at the small oji shrines that still line the path. Since 2004 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Kii mountains. The stone steps are old and uneven, and that is the point.
Painted maps like this one were carried around Japan by nuns who sold the pilgrimage village by village. Day 11 ends at the place it shows: the shrine, the pagoda and the 133 m falls.
What the price includes
Included, every departure
- 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
Not included, and why
- International flights. We don't sell airfare; we send the flights that fit day 1 and day 12
- Travel insurance. We don't sell it; our partner page compares licensed policies
- Lunches on days 1, 2, 4 and 11, and drinks. Budget about $25 a day
- Tips. Guides are paid a full day rate and tipping isn't expected in Japan
Where you sleep
- KyotoA wooden machiya inn in Gion3 nightsPrivate bath
- KoyasanTemple lodging at a Shingon temple1 nightShared bath
- TakaharaA hillside lodge facing the mountains1 nightOnsen
- ChikatsuyuA family guesthouse by the river1 nightShared bath
- YunomineAn onsen inn in the hot spring village2 nightsOnsen
- KoguchiA lodge in a former village school1 nightShared bath
- Kii-KatsuuraAn onsen hotel on the harbor1 nightOnsen
- OsakaA hotel by Shin-Osaka station1 nightPrivate bath
Inns on the trail have five or six rooms and futons on tatami. Robes, towels and bath things are provided. Two inns share a bath between men and women at set hours.