Wakayama's Sacred Sites and Scenic Road Trip
Source:
@Abroad in Japan
4 places on the map
Explore the map in the DocentPro app4 places in Wakayama: Okunoin Cemetery, Kishi Station, Kumano Hongu Taisha Otorii, and 1 more. Every place is verified on Google Maps, featured in a YouTube post by Abroad in Japan.
Okunoin Cemetery
Cemetery
4.8
Okunoin is Japan's largest cemetery, lying within a forest alongside Mount Koya, the spiritual heart of Shingon Buddhism. It features over 200,000 graves, with some monuments being lavish and massive, while others are crumbling and covered in moss. The cemetery creates a dreamlike atmosphere, blending permanence and decay with nature.
Kishi Station
Train station
4.3
Kishi Station is famous for being run by a cat. Formerly un-manned and facing closure, the railway president made Tama, a cat living around the station, its station master in 2007. Tama's popularity brought around 1.1 billion yen to the local economy, saving the train line and even inspiring the entire train to be decorated like a cat.
Kumano Hongu Taisha Otorii
Shinto shrine
4.6
This is the largest Torii Gate in the world, standing 34 meters tall and 42 meters wide, large enough to fit a 10-story building. It is the spiritual start of the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage, a 370km network of ancient trails. This impressive feat of engineering weighs 172 tons and took a year to assemble.
Kawayu Onsen
Place
Kawayu Onsen is a hot spring village known for its unique ability to dig your own hot spring bath directly into the riverbanks. The riverbanks are seismically active, allowing hot spring water to bubble up from beneath the rocky riverbed. This provides a customizable and natural onsen experience for visitors.
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