Kumano Kodo Half Day Daimonzaka and Nachi Taisha Tour

Meet your assistant at Shin-Osaka station (Shinkansen central gate). ※If you choose the From Shin-Osaka Station Plan. ※Please note that the assistant will not board the JR train with you. Your guide will be waiting for you at Kii Katsuura station.

Kii-Katsuura Station (紀伊勝浦駅, Kii-Katsuura-eki) is a passenger railway station in located in the town of Nachikatsuura. Tour departure from Kii-Katsuura station (Meet to guide) Visit Daimon Zaka by local bus./

Daimon-zaka is an impressive cobblestone staircase slope which runs from the base of the valley to Kumano Nachi Taisha, Seiganto-ji Temple and Nachi waterfall. It is lined with centuries-old Japanese cedars (cryptomeria), cypress, camphor trees and bamboo groves. Daimon-zaka means “large gate slope” referring to a gate that once stood nearby. This is an excellent short walk on the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route.

Kumano Nachi Taisha is a Shinto shrine located halfway up Nachi Mountain, about 350 meters above sea level. It has its religious origin in the ancient nature worship of Nachi-no-Otaki. This grand shrine is part of the Kumano Sanzan and major pilgrimage destination.

Seiganto-ji (青岸渡寺), Temple of Crossing the Blue Shore, is a Tendai Buddhist temple in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. In 2004, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with other locations, under the name "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range". According to a legend, it was founded by the priest Ragyō Shōnin, a monk from India. The temple was purposely built near Nachi Falls, where it may have previously been a site of nature worship. Seiganto-ji is part of the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, and as such can be considered one of the few jingū-ji (shrine temples, see article Shinbutsu shūgō) still in existence after the forcible separation of Shinto and Buddhism operated by the Japanese government during the Meiji restoration.[1][2]

The actual stone staircase is about 600 meters long with 267 stairs. At the base of the slope is the impressive Meitosugi – “husband and wife cedar trees,” whose roots are entwined beneath the path. Close by is the Daimon-zaka-chaya where you can rent Heian period kimonos, great for some memorial photos. Near the top of the slope you can catch your first glimpse of the awe-inspiring Nachi falls.