Koyasan vs. Kumano kodo with kids

Do you suggest koyasan with kids (10-14 and 17 years old) ?
Is it better kumano kodo ?
In july...

Both are very different. The wall is quite xemgong and it will be hot and rainy in July. Koyasan is mainly a series of temples with an impressive cemetery unlike things we see in the west. It used to be one of the best places to stay in a temple overnight but prices are often over 60 k yen a night per person.

Id say that koyasan would make a better day trip but it is a lot of transfers to get to

Maybe in shikoku, that we can have an experience in the same vine?

With kids, you might like to do a bit of searching for the difficulty level of the Kumano Kodo trails.
For Koya-san, prices have increased a lot for what is often very basic facilities.

thanks for the tips.

Maybe: Sanbutsu-ji?
It seems to be a "similar" expérience.

I'm guessing you are around the Osaka/Kyoto area.

What do you want to experience?

This is an important question as there are plenty of different options available.

For example - Ohara is a pretty walk in the countryside with nice temples, but it can get pricy with so many kids (but still much cheaper that Koyasan)

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3932.html

The Yamanobe trail in Nara is also nice - plus it will be quieter than some place in Kyoto

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4189.html

Maybe in shikoku, that we can have an experience in the same vine?

If I understand correctly, the point of a temple stay (at Koyasan or elsewhere), is to experience a Buddhist monastic life for a day. Group meditation, meals, prayers... Maybe consult with your family if they also want to do that, otherwise it will be a very long day for them.

For Kumano Kodo, I did a short day of walking around Kumano hongu taisha. Maybe I was not in the correct mood, or it only something you experience after several days of walking, or maybe I am just impermeable to such things... but I did not feel any mystical awe or even a shed of spiritual enlightenment. For me, it was just a hike, mostly in forests but also through residential areas.

If you are visiting Kyoto, the Kurama-Kibune hike is much easier to reach, and in my opinion, there is more "to see" along the walk. But it's busier.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3933.html

I have not visited it yet, but Mount Atago/Ago shrine also seem to have nice forested paths (more difficult though)
Eg: https://www.kyoto-day-hikes.com/mount-atago-2025-04/

I did both back in August 2024.

As for Koyasan I went there as a daytrip from Osaka, honestly speaking I don't know if your kids are very interested in temples or Buddhism, for me it was interesting specially the cablecar might be interesting for the kids, other than that it's a temple area with restaurants catering vegetarian food mainly. Is not specially physical demanding and it's not far from Osaka, it can be done as a daytrip, I did enjoy it a lot. I had been 4 times to Japan before and never went there, the cemetery was very interesting.

As for Kumano Kodo I did in two days and a half almost 3 days the trail and visit to Nachi. I did it hiking from Tanabe on day 1st very early to Tsugizakura-oji where I stayed and overnight. Day 2 was from Tsugizakura-oji to Hongu main shrine and back to Yunomine Onsen. Last day I woke up and pick the first bus around 6 or 7 AM and went to Nachi, it took me several stops I think first from Yunomine to Shingu, then to Nachi and then from Nachi to Daimonzaka and from there I walked to the main shrine of Nachi and to the biggest waterfall of Japan and back by bus to Kii-Katsuura station where I picked a train back to Osaka.

Be careful with Kumano Kodo as it's phisically demanding specially in summer, even there's shade it's hot and humid and the trail is not very technical but there are lots of slopes, you will sweat a lot, also there's also chance of rain as Kii peninsula is a very rainy and foggy place which also gives some charm.
Trains from Osaka don't run very very often and if you go from Kyoto I think only one train per day unless you switch train in Osaka.

As for a personal choice I would not mind to repeat Kumano Kodo if I had time, other than that Koyasan not so sure, just a personal choice, also as for Kumano Kodo is a hike after all and the spiritual meaning etc. but when I went it was not very touristy in terms of hikers, I did not come across with many people if you compare it for example to Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago)

Even though Kuamano Kodo and Koyasan are close to/connected to each other, their appeals are really two different things.

Kumano Kodo is a hiking trail. Technically, it's a pilgrimage trail, but as Mellye alluded to, most of the trail doesn't have a very spiritual or secluded atmosphere. It is, however, a very nice hike., and it does have historical significance, even if the hike itself doesn't necessarily always feel so historical.

Koyasan, on the other hand, is a place to see temples. The temples are nice, but unlike some other shrine/temple districts in Japan, there's not much to do except look at the temples. By comparison, temple/shrine neighborhoods in Kyoto often have many restaurants, souvenir shops, and other tourist attractions, often with a busy, lively street that leads up to the temple. Koyasan's town is much smaller and quieter, so visiting really is almost entirely about looking at temples.

As for which is better, that depends on what you/the people you're traveling with prefer to do: hike, or look at historical buildings.

With kids of that age, I might hedge my bets and decide to spend some time in the Kii/Nachi/Shirahama area and mix sightseeing, bathing, and walking in whatever proportion fits best at the time.

There's plenty to do in that area, and you can always do a few hours hiking from places like Hongu Taisha or Nachi, especially if you don't mind coming back the way you came.

If the kids rebel after a few days, you can always have a night or two in Wakayama city, which is pleasant.