About Kumano Kodo

Later in November we will spend a short 3 days / nights tour to Kumano Kodo. We will arrive Shingu at 11:49 (or 11:31 at Kii-Katsuura) on day one and depart 17:48 on day three, sleeping both nights in Kawayu Onsen. I would like to fit Nachi San and its falls the day we arrive or the day we leave but after studying all the bus routes I find it very difficult to do it that way. So my questions are these:

1) How long usually takes to do the usual tour there (Daimonzaka trail, Nachi shrine, Pagoda and falls)?
2) I'm thinking about the possibility of taking a one-way taxi between Hongu Aerea to Nachi (or opposite way) to get ride of the multiple and slow bus transfers but after looking in a lot of web sites and guides it is frustrating not beeing able to find a mention possibility (and price) for that kind of service.
3) Officially Kawayu's Senninburo starts on 1st of December, but there are some guides talking about end of November. Does someone knows when?

Thank you very much in advance

How long usually takes to do the usual tour there (Daimonzaka trail, Nachi shrine, Pagoda and falls)?

It varies widely between people. A visit to Nachi Shrine and the neighboring temple typically takes about an hour, but slow travelers could spend more time. The waterfall takes another 30 minutes. With all the walking in between, I recommend 2-3 hours to the average tourist.

As for Daimonzaka trail, it depends how far you want to walk. I would typically add another hour one way.

If you are the slow type of traveler, add more time. Likewise, if you like a very fast pace, you may not need that much time.

2) I'm thinking about the possibility of taking a one-way taxi between Hongu Aerea to Nachi (or opposite way) to get ride of the multiple and slow bus transfers but after looking in a lot of web sites and guides it is frustrating not beeing able to find a mention possibility (and price) for that kind of service.

A one way ride costs around 15,000 yen.

Thank you very much for your answers Uji!

This is our plan: arrival to Kii-Katsuura at 11:31 and then take the 11:50 bus to Nachi San getting off at Daimonzaka Chushajo Mae at 12:09. Hike the Daimonzaka route until Nachi Shrine, and then from there go to visit the Falls, taking the Kii Katsuura bus from Taki Mae at 15:46, so it is 3h30min for all the route. Do you find it possible?

Another think it is not clear in our plan is how the buses work in Kumano region, should them be booked in advance? Where are the tickets sold, maybe on the same bus in a similar way like Kyoto City Buses?

Thanks again!

Nachi is a very beautiful place to visit and I am sure that you will like it.

Busses work like other public busses in Japan. For a good page on local bus usage please visit the local tourism bureau website.
http://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/transport/how-to-ride-local-bus.html

You can also find the bus timetable for nachisan.
http://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/transport/pdf/Nachi-Kii-Katsuura-bus.pdf

You do not need to purchase tickets in advance.

Here is a nice map of the Nachisan area for your reference.
http://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/q-and-a/pdf/Nachi-map.pdf

Senninburo used to start in November, so this might be old news still on some sites. The bath is scheduled to open the beginning of December, but this depends on river conditions. Sometimes it opens a little later if there has been rain.
http://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/onsen/kawayu.html#sennin-buro

In regards to booking taxis, the community reservation system Kumano Travel can book anything for you, just send them an e-mail with what you need and they can prepare it. Very convenient for international visitors.
http://www.kumano-travel.com/index/en/action_Default_Index

If you need help with accommodation reservations in Kawayu Onsen, they are also the best ones to contact.

If you are looking for a nice walk on the Kumano Kodo near Kawayu Onsen, the section from Hosshinmon-oji to Kumano Hongu Taisha is a nice one.
http://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/kumano-kodo/tsugizakura-oji-to-kumano-hongu...

Enjoy your trip!

Dear Kumano

As we would say in Spain "Me quito el sombrero" (I take off my hat) in front of your exceptional post! Thank you very much! We already knew the Kumano Community website, in fact all information we already have was taken from there and they even managed our booking in a Kawayu Onsen hotel, but I was not able to find the Nachi map and the "how to ride a bus" guide, they are what I was looking for!

The Hosshimon-Oji hike is on our planning for the day after, thanks!

Best regards

Glad that links were handy.

Ya, I agree the Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Website is great. It has lots of details and the staff is friendly to answer questions.

By the way, the page with all of the maps is:
http://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/q-and-a/maps_pamphlets.html

Enjoy your trip!

PS. It is best to keep your hat on as the days are getting colder! ;)

I am back at home.

Thank you very much for your support, we had an excellent time in Kumano region and I would reccomend everyone to spend some time over there.

Our plan was this: arrival to Kii-Katsuura at 11:31 and then take the 11:50 bus to Nachi San getting off at Daimonzaka Chushajo Mae at 12:09. Hike the Daimonzaka route until Nachi Shrine, and then from there go to visit the Falls, taking the Kii Katsuura bus from Taki Mae at 15:46, so it is 3h30min for all the route.

I am glad to say that it worked perfectly, we had enough time to see everything and even have a tasty lunch (tempura over udon) in the shop in front of Taki Mae Bus stop.

Best regards and thanks again for Kumano and Uji