{"id":88662,"date":"2022-01-27T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-27T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=88662"},"modified":"2022-03-08T18:32:31","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T09:32:31","slug":"kumano-iseji-road-kumano-pilgrimage-shintoism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/kumano-iseji-road-kumano-pilgrimage-shintoism\/","title":{"rendered":"Kumano Kodo: Iseji, a Pilgrimage Route to the Three Grand Shrines of Kumano"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Kumano Kodo is a network of thousand-year-old roads<\/a> that pilgrims use to travel from various parts of Japan to visit Kumano Sanzan in Wakayama Prefecture, three of the most sacred shrines<\/strong> (Kumano Hayatama Taisha, Kumano Nachi Taisha, and Kumano Hongu Taisha). These roads and the sacred places they connect have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Iseji Road<\/strong>, which runs through Mie Prefecture, is a 170km, two-week walk from the Ise Grand Shrine<\/a> to the Kumano Sanzan Shrines. It passes through deep forests and beaches with sacred rocks along the Pacific Ocean, the beauty of which reminds us that in Shintoism, the gods reside in all elements of nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don’t have enough time to embark on a two-week walk, don’t worry! I’ll take you to the most striking places in Iseji that can be reached within a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I suggest you start with a short hike over the Matsumoto-toge pass (\u677e\u672c\u5ce0\u9053). There are two possible routes: across the pass to Kumanoshi town to the south or down east to the lava coast of Onigajo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It takes about ten minutes to get to the path from Odomari station. As soon as you start walking, you will enter deep into the forest. The roots of the giant cedars intertwine with the stones paving the path. The road was paved during the Edo period as more and more pilgrims came to walk the paths leading to the summit. Further on, the landscape changes, and the vegetation becomes more diverse.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMatsumoto-Toge Pass<\/h2>\n\n\n\n