There’s more here than just the Kumano Kodo – Gravel Cycling in Wakayama & Nara Prefectures (pt 2!)

There’s more here than just the Kumano Kodo – Gravel Cycling in Wakayama & Nara Prefectures (pt 2!)

Welcome to part two of our Wakayama cycling  weekend! On the third day of our trip on the   Kii Peninsula, we followed the Kumano River to  some famous shrines in Shingu. Then on the final   day we crossed the border into Nara Prefecture  to ride on some rural gravel roads.

Once again we are starting our ride from the campsite in  Kawayu Onsen. So we’re going to Shingu today,   which is on the eastern side of the peninsula.  Yesterday we were on the western side. There’s   a few different shrines and temples down there at  the start of the Kumano Kodo and hopefully we’re  

Going to be able to see some today. The Kumano  Kodo is an important spiritual route connecting   a network of shrines in this area. It is one of  only two recognized world heritage site pilgrimage   routes. The Camino de Santiago in Spain is the  other. The Kumano Kodo is a hiking only trail,  

But rather than being a single linear path, there  are several different routes to choose from. You   can collect stamps along the way from the temples  and shrines on your spiritual pilgrimage. It   typically takes 4 to 6 days to complete the  14 to 21 kilometer route options. Shingu, the  

City we’re headed to now, is home to one of the  three Kumano main shrines: Hayatama Taisha. Our   route was simple since we were just following the  Kumano River to the Pacific Coast. The name Shingu   means “new shrine” and it’s said that the gods of  Kumano first landed on a rock on Mount Kamikura,  

Located in Shingu, before establishing  the three shrines of Kumano. Our first  stop was that Kamikura Shrine from the legend. There are 538 Stone steps to the gotobiki-iwa,   or the huge rock at the top that looks like a  giant toad. It’s there where the gods supposedly  

Landed. We didn’t make the journey to the top  since we were in our cycling shoes and we still   had a ways to bike, but the view of Shingu  from the top is apparently really nice. Every   year on February 6th there’s also a huge fire  festival here known as Oto Matsuri.

Look at this, it’s a library. Next to the Kamikura Shine  was also a really cute youth library. This Chinese style gate is the entrance  to Jofuku Park, dedicated to the Chinese   scholar Jofuku who was in Shingu looking  for the elixir of life. Oh my. There he is.

We rode by lots of mikan, or oranges,  for sale on our way to the next shrine. This is a sacred site believed to  protect the river mouth from storms and floods It was registered as  a world heritage site in 2016,  

And it’s said to be the location of where  the gods of Kumano were divided and enshrined   separately for the first time. You can get Goshuin here, as well as free stamps for anyone collecting them on the Kumano Kodo, or just for your personal stamp collection.

Finally we arrived at the Hayatama Taisha, one  of the three main Kumano shrines. There’s also   an impressive Nagi tree that’s almost 1  thousand years old at the front. The main deities here are a married couple, so it’s a popular place for people to visit to wish for a healthy marriage.

Hayatama Taisha,  along with Hongu Taisha and Nachi Taisha   are collectively known as the Kumano Sanzan. We  get to see Hongu Taisha later in the weekend,   but unfortunately we’ll have to come back to  see Nachi Taisha, which is the one that’s known   for it’s stunning waterfall.

This river, the  Kumano-gawa, is actually part of the prefecture border. So while we were in Wakayama, Mie  Prefecture was just on the other side. We rode back along the same river but on the opposite bank.

Look at this waterfall! And if you want to, you can even rent one of these sauna tents, and hang out in a sauna right next to the falls. So on the way into town into Shingu, we were on the road across the river,

But honestly you should ride your bike on this side cause the other side has so much more traffic,   and this is just as beautiful but more  enjoyable because there’s no cars behind   me. We got back to the campsite with some  food for dinner, visited the baths again,  

And went to bed early to prepare for the final day of riding. Hello? Good morning. Good morning, it’s very cold. Okay so today we’re leaving our  campsite but we’re going to drive to a hotel for our final night of this trip,

And before we get there we’re going to stop and ride for a little bit. So I’m going to get dressed in my bike clothes and get ready to ride. Ta-da! Now we’re ready to ride finally! It’s still cold but  it’s very pretty. I have the lobster gloves on

And Zeb’s planned a very fun ride again. By the way this parking lot is across from the big shrine, and it’s free and it’s huge so definitely  recommend. From the Kumano Hongu Taisha parking lot, we followed Road 168 along the Totsukawa river and into Nara Prefecture.

We then turned to follow the Kamiyuno river  as it climbed into the forest. This Yanagi Moto bridge is part of a Kumano Kodo route. As we followed Road 735, there were lots of peaceful onsen spots along the Kamiyuno river. The color on the trees is really nice out here. This road feels very magical. I don’t have a lot of GoPro footage because since we’ve been camping,  

I haven’t been able to charge things  very well. It kind of reminds me of   the forest in Princess Mononoke,  the studio Ghibli movie. It’s been really nice. Look how bright the  leaves are! It’s so pretty here. The Kamiyuno became the Nyuono River, but for most of this part of the ride the water  

Was flowing far below us since we had been  continuing to climb higher. Soon, Road 735 re-entered Wakayama Prefecture, and we turned south onto a smaller road that paralleled 371. If we had continued straight we would  have arrived at Ryujin Onsen, a peaceful Hot Spring Town on the Hidaka River.

This road turned out to be gravel which was a surprise, but it was a beautiful forest road so we kept going. Hopefully left is correct. The road continued to get more rough though. I don’t know about this one. I started getting worried that it wouldn’t be passable ahead.

This road is really beautiful. It turned to gravel a while back. It is making me a little  nervous that we’re going to get to the end of it and not be able to get back onto the main road, cause we’re kind of far out here now. So hopefully it connects.

We have plenty of daylight so that’s  good in case we have to turn around I guess. We’re doing it! When we reached the Tonda River, the  gravel started to be smoother and more maintained, which was a good sign. Look what we found – a little woodland shrine!

I learned later that this is the Kasuga Shrine, a friendly thing  to come across in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. Shortly after, the road became paved  again. We saw a car and knew that the road must be clear ahead. Look! We’re back on pavement! Ah, it connected. What a nice place.

We crossed the Tonda River and we were suddenly back on a main road  again, Road 311, which we would follow back to the Kumano River. We did it! We’re back in the same  parking lot. It’s significantly more busy now, and yeah it feels really good to be done.

We couldn’t leave without a visit to the Kumano Hongu Taisha, our second of the Kumano Sanzan shrines that we would get to see this weekend, and the head Shrine of over 3,000 Kumano shrines across this country. You’ll see this three-legged crow symbol, known as yatagarasu, at each of the Kumano Sanzan.

These sacred crows are said to be the messengers of the Gods. They inhabit the sun  and can guide humans to unknown lands. In fact, legends describe Yatagarasu as being the one who  led Jimmu, said to be the first emperor of Japan, through the mountains to establish his country.

The Crow’s three legs also symbolize heaven, earth, and humanity, and they can stand for the  three Kumano Clans: Ui, Suzuki, and Enomoto. If you’ve also completed the Camino de Santiago in  Spain, you can be certified here as a Dual Pilgrim for completing both.

Originally this shrine  was a kilometer away, but it was moved in 1889   because of flooding. There’s a huge 33 meter  tall torii gate that’s still at Oyu no Hara,   the original location.

There are so many places  in this area that we didn’t get to explore, and I feel like we hardly scratched the surface on what the Kii Peninsula has to offer. I feel lucky that we got to bike and camp here,

But I also hope that  we can return again soon to enjoy it even more. Thanks for watching, and feel free to subscribe so  you can see where we go on the next ride. [Music]

This is part 2 of our November trip to the Kii Peninsula (紀伊半島), where we got to camp and ride bikes in Wakayama and Nara Prefectures.

This area is most known for the Kumano Kodo, a beautiful and spiritual pilgrimage trail for hiking. However, there are also some incredible roads for cycling! During these two days of riding, we first followed the the Kumano River to some famous shrines in Shingu. On the final day, we crossed the border into Nara Prefecture to ride on some rural gravel roads. We visit Hayatama Taisha and Hongu Taisha, two of the three main shrines making up the Kumano Sanzan.

You can watch part one about the first half of our weekend (with rides in Mie Prefecture and the white beaches of Shirahama) here: https://youtu.be/WiRpgC0fEq4?si=BLactXdxZ3ZXbmFM

Ride and Route information:
Day 3 ride to Shingu: https://www.strava.com/activities/10276867338
Day 4 gravel ride in Nara and Wakayama: https://www.strava.com/activities/10283758873

Jump to…
0:20 – start of the ride to Shingu
1:33 – Kamikura Jinja
3:02 – Asuka Jinja
3:37 – Hayatama Taisha
5:29 – start of final day
6:15 – final ride map
10:42 – Hongu Taisha

🎙️ Want to keep up with the rest of our adventures? We have a podcast! : https://www.ramblingramsbothams.com

Links for more info:
More about Wakayama prefecture: https://en.visitwakayama.jp/
Shingu City: https://www.shinguu.jp/en
Kumano Kodo: https://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/kumano-kodo/
Kumano Hayatama Taisha: http://kumanohayatama.jp/
Kumano Hongu Taisha: http://www.hongutaisha.jp/english/
Yoshino Kumano National Park: https://www.japan.travel/national-parks/parks/yoshino-kumano/
Kawayu Onsen: https://www.tb-kumano.jp/en/places/kawayu/
Ryujin Area: https://www.ryujin-kanko.jp/ryujin/

More videos about Japan Cycling here: 
Riding from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go: https://youtu.be/f-j3oMr7LEE 
One Week Biking from Kanazawa to Matsumoto: https://youtu.be/OOgtL6N20mY?si=J1v3kpDlE6akcXN1
Biking the Highlands of Japan in Nagano: https://youtu.be/gdDsRhyQUPo?si=laJ0etHK0QaQKRdB
Noto Peninsula Cycling Tour: https://youtu.be/AtgQuM1PLaI

 #japancycling #roadcycling #japanlife #jetprogramme #lifeinjapan #gravelride #cyclingroute #ramblingramsbothams #cycling #cyclinginjapan #自転車 ＃サイクリング #biketouring #wakayama #kiipeninsula #奈良県 #和歌山 #和歌山県 #紀伊半島 #kawayuonsen #川湯温泉 #熊野古道 #kumanokodo