Pilgrimage routes in Japan: Kumano, Shikoku and the rest

🧭 Pilgrimage · 105 destinations · 337 activities

Japanese pilgrimages can be walked whole or in sections, and almost nobody walks them whole: the Shikoku circuit is twelve hundred kilometres. What makes them worthwhile is that single sections work as two or three day walks with traditional lodging along the way. Book the stage lodgings well ahead, because there are very few beds.

The destinations, by real weight

What to do exactly

Dewa Sanzan — 15 activities

• A night at Saikan, on the Haguro summit 14 h must-see booking

  Saikan is what remains of Kezo-in temple, rebuilt in 1697 and the only building of its era left of the thirty-odd pilgrim lodges that once stood on the summit. Around 16,000 yen per person including shojin dinner and breakfast; you sleep on a futon on tatami, the bathrooms and dining room are shared, the rooms have no locks and the heating is a kerosene stove. Book by phone at least six working days ahead, in Japanese, or through an agent for a fee. This is not a hotel with Buddhist decor: it is lodging attached to a working shrine, and quiet is assumed rather than requested.

• The 2,446 stone steps of Mount Haguro 2.5 h must-see

  From the Zuishinmon gate to the summit it is 1.7 km and 2,446 stone steps laid in the 17th century, under some 580 four-hundred-year-old cedars protected as a natural monument. You first descend to the red bridge and the Sujin waterfall, past the Jijisugi or grandfather cedar, over a thousand years old, and only then does the real climb start: allow an unhurried hour and a half. Carved into the steps are 33 tiny motifs - gourds, sake cups, lotus flowers - and tradition says whoever finds them all gets a wish granted. Free and open all year.

• Climbing Mount Gassan from the eighth station 6 h only 1 Jul - 15 Sep

  Gassan (1,984 m) is the mountain of death and rebirth in the triad. There are three separate calendars: the climbing season Yamagata Prefecture publishes runs from 1 July to late September, the summit shrine opens from 1 July to 15 September, and the Gassan Koen road, from the fourth station to the eighth, from late June to late October. From the eighth station, at 1,400 m, it is 2 h 30 to 3 hours up and about 6 there and back, some 500 m of height difference on boardwalk and rocky trail - the figure the prefecture publishes for the Haguro route. Haguro's tourism association asks you to leave the car park by 10:00 at the latest so you don't come down in the dark, to file a climbing notice (tozan-todoke) at the nearest police station or koban, and to tell someone at home: rescues are done by helicopter and the helicopter cannot always fly. Snowfields linger until mid-July and call for crampons, fog is common, and the path is marked with ropes you should not step beyond. Before entering the shrine precinct there is a compulsory purification with a paper figure and a donation of around 500 yen, and no photography inside. In 2026 the eighth-station car park had no drinks machine: water is bought at the Gassan Rest House, 8:30 to 15:00. The road is narrow with tight bends, so the town itself recommends the public bus over driving; it runs from July to mid-October and the last one down is mid-afternoon.

• Sanjin Gosaiden, the hall of the three mountains 1 h

  On the summit of Haguro (414 m), an 1818 building in red lacquer under the thickest thatched roof in Japan: 2.1 metres of reeds. The kami of Gassan, Haguro and Yudono are all enshrined here together, which is why anyone who cannot climb the other two - or arrives in winter, when they are closed - completes the whole pilgrimage on this one spot. Opposite lies Kagami-ike, a pond into which bronze mirrors have been cast since the Heian period and from which hundreds have been recovered. The grounds are free; the Dewa Sanzan History Museum is charged separately and closes in winter.

• Yudonosan Shrine 2 h only 1 Jun - 3 Nov

  The third mountain and the end of the pilgrimage, open 1 June to 3 November. There is no building: the object of worship is a huge orange rock with hot water running over it, and you do not enter without taking off your shoes and undergoing a paid purification first (around 500 yen). Photography is forbidden beyond the gate and an old rule is still kept - 'do not speak of it, do not ask about it' - so even Japanese guidebooks do not describe what is inside. Shuttles run from the car park every few minutes (200 yen one way, 400 yen return, 5 minutes) or it is a 30-minute walk uphill.

• A night in the summit hut on Mount Gassan 20 h booking only 1 Jul - 22 Sep

  Gassan Chojo Goya sits three minutes below the summit shrine at 1,984 m and is the only way to stay up there: 2 h 30 to 3 hours up from the eighth station, dinner at the hut, and sunrise over the Shonai plain without the pre-dawn climb. It does not close with the shrine: in 2026 it stayed open until 22 September, a week later. The rates are published only by Haguro's tourism association - 10,000 yen per person with dinner and breakfast, before tax - and it speaks of 50 beds; confirm both price and bed when you book, which is by phone and in Japanese, on 090-8781-7731 in season and 0235-62-2757 outside it. Bring cash and don't expect a shower.

Kumano (Tanabe) — 14 activities

• Kumano Kodo hiking section 4 h must-see

  A thousand-year-old pilgrimage route through mountain forests, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

• Yunomine Onsen 1.5 h must-see

  One of Japan's oldest hot springs, a traditional stop for pilgrims.

• Seiganto-ji and the Daimonzaka slope 2.5 h

  Temple number one of the Saigoku pilgrimage, whose red pagoda against the waterfall is the iconic image of Kumano; you reach it up the 600 cobbled metres of Daimonzaka between eight-hundred-year-old cedars, and Heian-period costumes can be hired.

• Tsuboyu, the World Heritage bath 1 h

  A two-person wooden hut in the Yunomine stream: the only bath in the world inside a World Heritage property, with half-hour slots and water that changes colour several times a day.

• Dual Pilgrim credential with the Camino de Santiago 1 h

  The Kumano Kodo and the Camino de Santiago have been sister routes since 2015: anyone who has walked sections of both can register as a 'Dual Pilgrim' in Tanabe or Hongu and receives a pin, a certificate on washi paper and a drum ceremony.

• Kumano Hongu Grand Shrine 1.5 h

  One of the three grand shrines of Kumano, the main destination of the pilgrimage.

Matsue-Izumo — 14 activities

• Izumo Taisha Shrine 2 h must-see

  One of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines, dedicated to Okuninushi, with the country's largest shimenawa (sacred rope) at the Kagura-den. The greeting here is not the usual one: you make two bows, FOUR claps and a final bow, instead of two-two-one. The central lane of the sando is for the gods and you walk along the sides, and the main sando slopes downwards, something almost unique in Japan.

• Kamimukae-shinji, welcoming the gods on Inasa beach 2.5 h only the night of day 10 of the 10th lunar month

  On 18 November 2026 at seven in the evening the priests receive the gods on the sand at Inasa with torches and escort them in procession to Izumo Taisha. It is a religious rite, not a show: no flash, lights off when asked, and silence. Dress warmly.

• Gakuenji in autumn foliage 3 h

  A mountain temple linked to Benkei, hidden in a valley north of Izumo and known for its maples in mid-November. A trail runs to Furo waterfall, very slippery in the rain.

• Hinomisaki Jinja, the vermilion shrine on the cape 1 h

  An Edo-period complex lacquered in red, dedicated to Amaterasu and Susanoo, on a cape battered by the sea about 20 minutes by bus from Izumo Taisha. Opposite lies Fumishima, a protected gull colony and sacred island closed to entry: it can only be watched from land.

• Inasa Beach and the Bentenjima rock 1 h

  Mythical setting of the ceding of the land and the arrival point of the gods, with a rock crowned by a small shrine. Custom is to collect sand here and exchange it at the Soga no Yashiro of Izumo Taisha.

• Kamiari-sai and Enmusubi Taisai at Izumo Taisha 2 h booking only days 11-17 of the 10th lunar month

  During Kamiari-zuki the gods deliberate over human matches, and rites are held at the Jukusha, the rows of huts where they lodge. The Enmusubi Taisai on 23 and 25 November 2026 requires an application in advance.

Kōya-san — 9 activities

• A night in a temple (shukubo) 2 h must-see booking

  Stay at one of more than 50 temples offering lodging: vegetarian Buddhist food (shojin ryori), a possible fire ritual (goma), and morning prayers before breakfast.

• Okunoin Cemetery 2 h must-see

  Japan's largest cemetery, with more than 200,000 tombs and monuments among centuries-old cedars, leading to founder Kobo Daishi's mausoleum.

• Goma fire ritual at dawn 1 h

  After the seven o'clock service the monks burn wooden tablets amid mantras before Fudo Myo-o; anyone staying in a shukubo can attend without booking.

• Okunoin at night with a guide 1.5 h booking

  A lantern walk among two hundred thousand graves and centuries-old cedars, narrated by a monk; the cemetery never closes and after dark it is another place entirely.

• Choishi-michi, the original climbing route 7 h

  Twenty-three kilometres on foot from the valley to the Daimon gate, marked by 180 stone waymarks from the 13th century; it is a World Heritage site and it is how people came up before the funicular.

• Nyonindo and the women's trail 3 h

  The only survivor of the seven halls where women prayed, excluded from the sacred precinct until 1872; from it starts the ridge trail that circles the whole mountain.

Nagano-Togakushi — 8 activities

• Togakushi's Okusha Shrine and the cedar avenue 2.5 h must-see

  The most remote of Togakushi's five shrines, reached via a final avenue of 400-year-old cedars; can be combined with the full trail linking all five shrines (about 6-7 hours).

• Zenko-ji Temple 2 h must-see

  One of Japan's most venerated Buddhist temples, over 1,400 years old, with a pitch-dark passage beneath the main altar in search of the 'key to paradise'.

• Okaidan-meguri, the dark passage under Zenko-ji 0.75 h

  Beneath the main altar runs a corridor in total darkness that you feel your way along until you find the key to paradise, directly below the hidden Buddha. It is the temple's central rite, not an add-on.

• Dawn blessing at Zenko-ji 1.5 h

  As the sun rises the abbot walks down the temple avenue and touches with his rosary the head of those who kneel as he passes; it is free and starts earlier in summer than in winter.

• Gokaicho, the opening of the hidden Buddha 2 h only 4 Apr - 19 Jun

  Every six or seven years the replica of the hidden Buddha is put on display and you can touch a pillar joined to the image by a cord. The next time is from 4 April to 19 June 2027, with enormous crowds: book accommodation far in advance.

• Sleeping in a temple lodging 14 h booking

  The approach avenue to Zenko-ji is lined with temple lodgings that have housed pilgrims for centuries, with a vegetarian dinner and access to the dawn service.

Kotohira — 10 activities

• Climb to Kompira-san 2.5 h must-see

  A 785-step staircase up to the main shrine of Kotohira-gu, one of Japan's great pilgrimage destinations. It is 785 steps up to the main shrine, at 251 metres. Warning: the palanquin service was withdrawn at the end of January 2020 because the bearers were ageing, and it no longer exists.

• Climbing to the shrine at dawn 2.25 h booking

  The 785 steps to the main shrine and the 1,368 to the Okusha are crowded almost all day; first thing in the morning they are empty. Warning: the palanquin service was discontinued at the end of January 2020 because the bearers had grown too old, so it no longer exists.

• Reitaisai and the O-Tonin procession 3 h only 9-11 Oct

  The shrine's great festival, 9 to 11 October. On the night of the 10th, at nine, a procession of some five hundred people leaves the main shrine with the golden mikoshi, led by yakko carrying feathered spears; it takes three hours to descend the two kilometres.

• Zentsu-ji, temple 75 1.75 h

  In the neighbouring municipality of Zentsuji, nine kilometres away and two train stops. It is the birthplace of Kukai and one of Japan's three great daishi sites, with a five-storey pagoda and a pitch-dark underground passage beneath the main hall.

• Extension to the Okusha Shrine 1.5 h

  An additional stretch of steps completing the full 1,368 up to the inner Okusha shrine, with views over the Sanuki plain.

• Kotohira Maritime Museum 1 h

  At the foot of the stairway, it covers the human relationship with the sea, the deep ocean and naval engineering: the secular counterpart to the sailors' shrine. It has a radio-controlled boat area and a panoramic bridge.

Hiroshima — 11 activities

• Fukuromachi Elementary School 0.75 h must-see

  Just 460 metres from the hypocentre: a hundred and sixty pupils and sixteen teachers died. The messages survivors chalked on the stairwell walls looking for their families are preserved, found under layers of paint in 1999. It is free, shattering, and almost always empty.

• Trail of the surviving trees 2.25 h must-see

  Around a hundred and seventy trees survived the bombing and are marked with plaques, twelve of them within a thousand metres of the hypocentre. The closest is a weeping willow at 370 metres that fell and regrew from the root, and the second a holly at 410 that burned and resprouted in 1949. The oleander is the city's official flower precisely because it flowered again in 1946. It lets you read the city through what stayed alive, not only through what was destroyed.

• Talk by a survivor or a legacy successor 1 h booking

  The museum arranges talks by hibakusha and, increasingly, by denshosha, people trained to pass on the testimony of a specific survivor. The average survivor is now over 86 and direct talks are scarce: request weeks or months ahead.

• Toro Nagashi, the floating lanterns 2.5 h only 6 Aug

  Since 1947, at dusk on 6 August paper lanterns are released on the Motoyasu river in front of the Dome. A lantern costs 1,000 yen in cash, you write a message and release it yourself between six and nine in the evening. It follows the official morning ceremony at 8:15.

• Honkawa Elementary School 0.5 h

  The school closest to the hypocentre, across the river from the Dome. The basement of the 1928 concrete building is preserved, with its blackened walls. It is free and is done on the same morning as Fukuromachi.

• National Peace Memorial Hall 1 h

  A half-buried Tange building inside the park, separate from the museum and free: it holds the database of victims' names and photographs and the written and video testimonies of survivors. You can search by name and listen to readings of memoirs.

Ise-Shima — 8 activities

• Grand Shrine of Ise (Naiku) 2.5 h must-see

  Japan's most sacred Shinto shrine, rebuilt every 20 years.

• The shrine rebuilt every 20 years 1 h

  Since the year 690, Ise has been built again in full on the adjoining plot every twenty years, with all its treasures remade by hand; the next will be in 2033, and the preparatory rites, such as the hauling of the logs, are already taking place and can be watched.

• Ishigami-san, the shrine of a single wish 1 h

  A small ama shrine in Osatsu that, by tradition, grants one single wish to each woman; this is the home of the star-and-grid amulet the divers wear sewn onto their suits.

• Kumano Kodo Ise-ji: Magose and Tsuzurato passes 5 h

  The route that linked Ise with Kumano; the Magose pass preserves the best-kept cobbled stretch through cedars on the entire Kodo.

• Okage Mairi and the protocol of the visit 1 h

  In the Edo period, waves of millions of peasants made the pilgrimage to Ise without permission, living on alms along the road. The ritual order still holds today: the outer shrine first and the inner shrine afterwards, purifying yourself in the Isuzu river.

• Outer Shrine of Ise (Geku) 1.5 h

  Dedicated to the goddess of agriculture, traditionally visited before the Inner Shrine.

What only happens on specific dates

• Mount Haguro under snow Dewa Sanzan 1 Dec - 31 Mar
• Hatsumode, the first shrine visit of the year Kyoto 1-3 Jan
• First sunrise of the year at Cape Inubosaki Choshi 1 Jan
• Oto Matsuri at Kamikura Shrine (Shingu) Kumano (Tanabe) 6 Feb
• Omizutori at Nigatsu-do Nara 1-14 Mar
• Umi nu Ugan and Ushimi Zamami Island lunar dates (April and September-October)
• Gokaicho, the opening of the hidden Buddha Nagano-Togakushi 4 Apr - 19 Jun
• Hiwatari-shiki, walking on embers at Daisho-in Miyajima 15 April and 15 November
• Ozagawari-sai rite at the shrine Tsukuba 1 April and 1 November
• An introduction to yamabushi training Dewa Sanzan 1 May - 31 Oct
• The Rokujurigoe Kaido pilgrim road Dewa Sanzan 15 May - 31 Oct
• Changing the sacred rope at Meoto Iwa Ise-Shima 5 May, 5 September and one weekend in December
• Gozengaho summit (2,702 m) at sunrise Hakusan 1 May - 15 Oct
• The old pilgrims' path, the Kaga Zenjodo Hakusan 1 May - 15 Nov
• Yudonosan Shrine Dewa Sanzan 1 Jun - 3 Nov
• Bussho-ike Goya, the hut halfway up Gassan Dewa Sanzan 20 Jun - 27 Sep
• The Ganjin statue unveiling at Toshodai-ji Nara 5-7 Jun
• The mountain-opening festival Daisen the first weekend of June
• Climbing Mount Gassan from the eighth station Dewa Sanzan 1 Jul - 15 Sep
• A night in the summit hut on Mount Gassan Dewa Sanzan 1 Jul - 22 Sep
• Mount Nantai climbing festival Nikko 31 Jul - 7 Aug
• Festival of the itako mediums Osore-zan 20-24 Jul
• Shirayama Hime's summit shrine Hakusan 1 Jul - 15 Oct
• The prayer hall at Murodo Hakusan 1 Jul - 31 Aug
• Opening the mountain, 1 July Hakusan the mountain opening, 1 July
• Hiwatari Matsuri, walking on embers at Tanukidani Kyoto the fourth Saturday of July
• Sennichi Mairi, the night climb up Atago Kyoto 31 Jul - 1 Aug
• Kosuisai: offering to the dragon god and fireworks on the lake Hakone 31 Jul
• Okunoin candle festival Kōya-san 13 Aug
• Toro Nagashi, the floating lanterns Hiroshima 6 Aug

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