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A clear river running through the Kamikochi valley in the Japanese Alps

Sample journey · 11–13 days

On foot through old Japan: the Kumano Kodo and the Japanese Alps

Pilgrim trails on the Kii Peninsula, a temple night on Mount Koya, Takayama, Kamikochi and Matsumoto

Photo: Joris Beugels / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

For more than a thousand years pilgrims have walked the mountains of the Kii Peninsula: emperors, monks and ordinary travellers seeking the way to the three grand shrines of Kumano. The trails are still there: stone steps between cedars, small wayside shrines and villages where dinner is served in the tatami room of a family guesthouse. Further north, the Japanese Alps open up a very different landscape of granite peaks, clear rivers and wooden merchant towns.

This sample route brings both worlds together: three days on the Nakahechi trail to Hongu, two nights in a temple on Mount Koya, old Takayama, walks in the Kamikochi valley and Matsumoto's black castle. It is an active journey, with some days meaning five or six hours on the trail and steep climbs, but your luggage travels separately and evenings belong to hot springs. The pace, the length of each day and whether you walk with a guide or in a small group would all be shaped around you.

The route

The journey

  1. Osaka
  2. Tanabe
  3. Takijiri
  4. Chikatsuyu
  5. Hongu
  6. Mount Koya
  7. Takayama
  8. Kamikochi
  9. Matsumoto
  10. Tokyo
  1. A stream in dense forest beside the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route

    01Days 1–3 · Tanabe, Takijiri & Chikatsuyu

    First steps among the cedars

    After landing at Kansai airport, a coastal train takes you to Tanabe, the gateway town to the Kumano trails. The next morning a bus runs to Takijiri, where pilgrims traditionally entered the sacred mountains. The first stretch is short but steep: a few kilometres uphill over roots and stones to the village of Takahara, which looks out over mountain ridges in the mist. On the third day comes a longer walk of roughly ten kilometres through forest, past old pilgrim rest points, to Chikatsuyu, where a bath and dinner are waiting.

  2. A vast torii gate rising above open fields in the Kii mountains

    02Days 4–5 · Hongu & Yunomine

    Through the gate to Hongu

    The full route from Chikatsuyu to Kumano Hongu Taisha is long, so part of it is often covered by bus, walking the final and loveliest stretch from Hosshinmon-oji. It ends with a view over the Oyunohara flats, home to one of the largest torii gates in Japan. Two nights in the hot-spring hamlet of Yunomine, one of the oldest onsen sites in Japan, give your legs time to recover, and the second day could bring a short trail, the riverbank or simply nothing at all.

  3. Moss-covered jizo statues in red knitted caps in Okunoin cemetery on Mount Koya

    03Days 6–7 · Mount Koya

    A night among monks

    The transfer to Mount Koya takes most of a day, but the place itself repays it: a mountain plateau with more than a hundred temples, many of which welcome guests. Dinner is shojin ryori, Buddhist vegetarian cooking, and in the morning you can join the monks at prayer. After dark, a walk through Okunoin cemetery, where lanterns glow among ancient cedars and mossy gravestones, is well worth it. The second day is for the Danjo Garan temple complex and quiet paths around the plateau.

  4. A narrow street lined with dark wooden houses in Takayama

    04Days 8–9 · Takayama

    A wooden town in the mountains

    A longer journey by train through Osaka and Nagoya, then along the winding Hida line beside the rivers, brings you to Takayama. The old-town streets are lined with dark wooden merchant houses, sake breweries marked by balls of cedar branches, and morning markets by the river. It's a good place to rest between walks: wander the Hida folk village, taste Hida beef and get ready for the Alps.

  5. A wooden jetty and boat on Myojin Pond in Kamikochi

    05Days 10–11 · Kamikochi

    A valley beneath the Hotaka peaks

    A bus over the mountain passes brings you to Kamikochi, a high valley closed to private cars. The trails here are almost level: along a turquoise river to Myojin Pond and on to Tokusawa, through forest where monkeys sometimes appear. Two nights in the valley let you see it at its quietest, early in the morning as mist lifts from the water, and in the evening after the last buses leave. Experienced hikers, with a guide, can climb higher towards the mountain huts.

  6. Matsumoto's black castle above its moat, with snow-streaked mountains beyond

    06Days 12–13 · Matsumoto & Tokyo

    The black castle, and the way home

    A bus and a local train bring you down to Matsumoto, a calm town centred on one of Japan's oldest original castles, nicknamed Crow Castle for its dark walls. In the afternoon, Nakamachi street, with its old storehouses and cafés. The next morning a limited express reaches Tokyo in around three hours, and from there you fly home; if you like, a day or two in the city could be added before the flight.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    The Nakahechi trail

    Three days on foot along the pilgrim route through cedar forest and mountain villages to Kumano Hongu Taisha.

  2. 02

    A temple stay

    A monks' vegetarian dinner, morning prayers and the lantern-lit cemetery of Okunoin.

  3. 03

    Mornings in Kamikochi

    Mist over the river and the Hotaka peaks before the day visitors arrive.

  4. 04

    Onsen after the trail

    The springs of Yunomine in the Kii mountains: the best reward for tired legs.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • In a small group

    The Kumano trails and Kamikochi can be walked with a local guide in a small group, which suits solo travellers and friends well.

  • More walking

    With two or three more days, continue to Nachi Falls and Kumano Nachi Taisha, or, for experienced hikers, walk the Kohechi trail from Mount Koya.

  • Gentler

    Shorter trail sections, more bus links and an extra night in Yunomine, with only the level valley paths in the Alps.

  • With Kyoto

    A few days in Kyoto or Nara before the walk make a calm beginning, with easy onward travel to Tanabe.

Practical considerations

  • This is a physically active journey: some days last five or six hours with steep climbs and descents, so good fitness and comfortable, broken-in hiking boots are essential.
  • Kamikochi is open roughly from mid-April to mid-November; late spring and October are usually the most pleasant. Summer is hot and humid, June to July is the rainy season, and after typhoons some trails may close temporarily.
  • On the Kumano trails luggage can usually be sent ahead between stays, so you walk with just a daypack; family guesthouses and temple lodgings have few rooms and are worth planning well ahead.
  • Temple stays follow simple customs: quiet hours, early prayers and modest behaviour, and dinner is vegetarian.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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