Travel / Tourism Spots in Mt. Koya / Ryujin Onsen / Kudoyama Area

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Mt. Koya / Ryujin Onsen / Kudoyama

Category

Travel / Tourism

Tokugawa-ke Reidai

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Pref. Itogunkouyachou Kouyasan 682

Toshogu Shrine which enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo shogunate, and his son Tokugawa Hidetada, the second shogun. It used to be on the premises of Daitokuin, but in the Meiji period, Daitokuin merged with another temple and only this reidai was left behind. Facing the mausoleum, Ieyasu is on right side building while Hidetada is on the left. The structure was designed in hitoe hogyo-zukuri style and is 6.5 meters in both length and width, respectively, while the interior is lavishly decorated in lacquer and gold leaf.
Tamagawa-kyo Gorge

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Pref. Hashimotoshi Kitayadori

"This gorge is located upstream on the Nyu River at the foot of Mt. Koya. It is a scenic spot where there are a series of spectacular rock formations called the ""48 rocks of Tamagawa"" including such as Kameiwa (turtle rock) and Sarutobiiwa (flying monkey rock), as well as waterfalls such as Goko Falls and Shiraito Falls. The area is covered with forests and you can enjoy the scenery throughout the four seasons. It is popular for its hiking course and as a campsite with cherry blossoms and fresh greenery in the spring, dipping in and fishing in the clear streams where there are sweetfish and fireflies in the summer, and the colorful autumn leaves of trees such as maple and Japanese sumac in the autumn. A fishing ticket is required when fishing for sweetfish or dwarf rill trout."
Nyonin-michi

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Ito-gun Koyacho Koyasan

"This temple approach is located in Koyasan, Koya Town, Ito County. This is the road used by female worshipers to visit Mt. Koya, which was off-limits to women until 1872. It is said that women would go around the mountain in order to visit and pay their respects at the mausoleum of the Buddhist monk Kukai following the women-only halls called Nyonindo. The road is one of the components of the ""Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range"" UNESCO World Heritage Site."
Nyonindo

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Pref. Itogunkouyachou Kouyasan 709

This is a “sanrojo” (prayer space) near Fudozakaguchi, one of the seven gates of Mt. Koya. It used to house women who would visit the mountain to pray before 1872, when women weren’t allowed on the mountain. There used to be similar facilities at all the gates, but this is currently the only one that remains.
Zenmyoshoin Temple (Sanada-an)

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Pref. Itogunkudoyamachou Kudoyama 1413

This temple was built on the ruins of a residence where two major generals of the Sengoku period, Sanada Masayuki and Sanada Yukimura, were said to have hidden. It was erected in the mid-Edo period in 1741 by Saint Taian. The main statue is of Koyasu Enmei Jizo Bosatsu, and the temple grounds contain a building with Sanada artifacts as well as Masayuki’s tomb. Peonies bloom everywhere in the spring, and the temple gets crowded as the endpoint for the warrior procession that takes place during the “Sanada matsuri.”
Kunigi Farm

Leisure / Hobbies

Wakayama Pref. Hashimotoshi Shimizu 1342

This farm is located a 15-minute drive from the Hashimoto Interchange on the Keinawa Expressway. It sells four kinds of seasonal fruit grown onsite, including pears, mandarin oranges, persimmons, and kiwis. A special attraction, which makes the orchard a popular stop for groups of hikers or families, is that visitors can pay to pick and eat as much fruit as they want. An especially popular option is a plan that offers all-you-can-eat mandarin oranges and persimmons. Kiwis cannot be eaten immediately after picking, so only picking is allowed (limited to ten kiwis per person).
Kinokawa Fruits Tourism Bureau

Leisure / Hobbies

Wakayama Pref. Kinokawashi Kishigawachoukoudo 238

A strawberry farm located in Kishigawa City which produces the greatest amount of strawberries in the prefecture. The farm is located a 15-minute walk along Prefectural Route 10 travelling from Kishi Station on the Wakayama Electric Railway. One of the highlights of the farm is its huge, 3,000 square meter greenhouse. Customers can pick and enjoy all-you-can-eat strawberries for an unlimited amount of time. The farm’s strawberry varieties including Beni Hoppe, Sachinoka, and Marihime, a local Wakayama specialty variety. The farm offers free toppings like sweet condensed milk, ensuring customers can enjoy seasonal strawberries however they like. With an advance reservation, customers can also enjoy activities like making strawberry jam or barbecuing at the farm’s barbecue ground.
Koboku Ajikan

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Pref. Itogunkouyachou Kouyasan 53

This facility holds workshops for making Buddhist rosaries modeled on the heart-soothing beaded bracelets at sacred Koyasan. To reach it, take a bus to the Tamagawa-Dori stop. It's about 2 minutes on foot from there. In about two hours you can make your own one-of-a-kind Koyakoboku Kikon rosary with polished beads of Japanese cedar from Koyasan. The process of making the rosary in the calm environment gives you a chance to look inside as well, refining your heart and soul. Reservations are required by the day before at the latest.
Toyotomi Family GraveMarkers

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama prefecture Ito-gun Koya-machi Okuninin entrance

This tombstones are along the walkway approaching Okunoin Temple, the most sacred spot at Koyasan in present day Wakayama Prefecture. Koyasan was founded by Kobo Daishi (also known as Kukai) in 816. The graves of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, his mother, his half-brother Hidenaga, and his wife are all there. Succeeding Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi prepared to attack Koyasan, but called it off at the urging of the high priest Mokujiki Ogo of Koyasan. After that, Hideyoshi became a devotee of the priest and worked for Koyasan's revival. Surrounded by large cedar trees and well maintained, the tombstones have been designated a Prefectural Historic Site.
Rokuji no Kane

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Pref. Itogunkouyachou Kouyasan

This bell tower is located just west of Kongobuji Temple. It's thought that Fukushima Masanori, a warrior of the Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573–1603), had it built for his parents in 1618 as a prayer for their enlightenment. The current bell tower was remade in 1640 by his son, Masatoshi. It's famous for its unusual engraving that blends Chinese and Japanese characters. Even after all this time, the bell is still rung nine times a day, every two hours from 6:00 in the morning until 22:00. There's also a clamp in the stone foundation below the bell said to have been placed there by Ishikawa Goemon. It's said if you touch it, your relations will prosper.
Itijyoin

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Pref. Itogunkouyachou Kouyasan 606

A Koyasan Shingon Buddhist temple sprawling at the foot of Mt. Koya. To get here, take the Nankai Rinkan Bus from Koyasan Station on the Nankai Cable Line and get off at the “Senjuinbashi” bus stop; the temple is immediately adjacent. The temple’s principal object of worship is the only statue depicting Maitreya of the temples in the vicinity of the mountain. According to records, the temple was founded by the priest Zenka during the distant Konin era. The main temple building was rebuilt in 1933 and its detailed carvings and resplendent balustrade serve as a symbol of the temple. The temple also offers lodging for pilgrims and visitors and guests can enjoy hot spring bathing and traditional Japanese Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Visitors can also engage in traditional ascetic training practices and try sutra copying and breathe meditation, as well as deepen their knowledge of Buddhism by viewing materials on sacred Mt. Koya and Buddhist imagery in the temple.
Gobyo-bashi Bridge

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama prefecture Ito-gun Koya-cho Okunoin approach

This bridge is the final bridge along the way to which to the inner Okunoin sanctum after crossing the Ichino bridge and the Nakano bridge. In the Tamagawa River flowing from the sacred Mt. Yoryu, behind the Okunoin sanctum, is erected a stupa to quell the spirits of any who have perished due to a water disaster. This is also the site of the tradition where the skewered and grilled fish for Kobo Daishi was released it was resuscitated. Once you are across the bridge one enters the sacred area enshrined to Kobo Daishi, for which it is important to enter after straightening one’s attire for worship. It is said that the 36 slats in the bridge together with the bridge itself represent the 37 deities of the Diamond Realm.
Wisteria at the Koyasu Jizoji Temple

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Pref. Hashimotoshi Shoubutani 94

This site, famous for its Wisteria, is located just a 15 minute drive from the JR Hashimoto Station. The Koyasu Jizoji Temple has been known since the Kishu Tokugawa family times as the temple for supplication for safe baby delivery. Selected as the 24th temple in the 25 Sacred Sites of Kansai Floral Temples (temples famous for beautiful flowers in the Kansai area). This temple is surrounded by 25 wisteria vines of 8 differing varieties including the kyushaku-fuji wisteria, kuchibeni-fuji wisteria, shironoda-fuji wisteria, and akanaga-fuji wisteria. During peak season, one can stroll through the blooms that encircle the precincts. Cherry and camellia trees are also planted here at the Koyasu Jizoji Temple, so flowers can be enjoyed during all seasons.
Fudozaka Guchi Nyonindo Hall

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Ito-gun Koyacho Koyasan 709
Saigyodo Hall and Grave of Saigyo's Wife and Daughter

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Ito-gun Katsuragicho Shimoamano

Saigyodo Halls are temporary residences used by the late-Heian period Buddhist monk Saigyo to shelter himself from the weather. There are several located across Japan. The Saigyodo Hall located on the side of Prefectural Route 109 in Amano, Wakayama Prefecture is traditionally believed to have been the place where Saigyo lived with his wife and daughter. The current building is a reproduction built in 1986. It is said that Saigyo established a hermitage here sometime around 1142 with his family, who lived the rest of their lives here. Their grave is located next to the hall. It is said that monks and worshipers visiting Mt. Koya have long visited the grave to honor the memory of Saigyo's wife and daughter.
Yokobue no Koizuka

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Ito-gun Katsuragicho Shimoamano

This mound in Amano no Sato, Wakayama was built to honor the memory of Yokobue. Yokobue was a woman who served Kenreimonin (the daughter of Taira no Kiyomori) and appeared in Chapter 10 of the Tale of the Heike. Saito Tokiyori, a retainer of Taira no Shigemori, won her heart with his transverse flute playing, but the star-crossed couple would be torn apart because of the difference in their station. Tokiyori later became a monk and changed his name to Takiguchi Nyudo. Yokobue herself later become a nun and established a hermitage in the area where she lived until dying at the age of 19. A stone monument next to the mound is engraved with a poem she composed. There is a legend in Koyasan that the deceased Yokobue was finally able to be reunited with Takiguchi Nyudo after being reborn as a bush warbler.
Fruit Picking in Katsuragi Town

Leisure / Hobbies

Wakayama Ito-gun Katsuragicho

Katsuragi is a town located in a hilly part of northern Wakayama Prefecture through which the Kinokawa River flows. The town is notable for the high density of orchards that offer fruit picking over its entire area. The farms grow a wide variety of fruits including persimmons, peaches, strawberries, plums, and jabara citrus, ensuring that visitors can enjoy some form of fruit picking all year long. The town's orchards are also notable for their great-tasting organically-grown fruit. One particularly well-known specialty of the town is its Shigo no Kushikaki skewered persimmons, which have a history dating back more than 400 years. The town has launched a major initiative to sell fruit grown in the town under the Katsuragi brand.
Hinnyo no Itto, Grave of Oteru

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Ito-gun Katsuragicho Kamiamano

The Torodo (Lantern Hall) at Koyasan Okunoin Temple has a lantern that has remained lit for nearly a millennium. It is said that a young girl named Oteru sold her hair to donate the lantern as a memorial to her adoptive parents. A small grave and stone memorial dedicated to Oteru still exists in a corner of Amano no Sato, Katsuragi Town. The temple's memorial tower was built by Nyoshunni in 1682. It is said that a monk from Amano named Joi subjected himself to the austerity of vicarious suffering for ten years in 1688 in order to save women from suffering. A stone memorial was built later.
HatsusakuraSake Brewing Co.

Travel / Tourism

Wakayama Ito-gun Katsuragicho Nakaiburi 85

"This sake brewing company has a brewery located a short walk from JR Nakaiburi Station on National Route 24. It is the only brewery in the foothills of Mt. Koya. It makes sake the old-fashioned way with sake rice grown using reduced agrochemicals by contracted farmers. The company's flagship sake is its Kishu Katsuragi Kawakamisyu, which has long been the favorite ""hannyato"" of Mt. Koya. Hannyato is Japanese Buddhist jargon literally meaning ""hot wisdom"" that refers to a daily allowance of sake. The company offers brewery tours (reservation required) from mid-October to early April (except for January and February). One of the highlights of the tour is the brewery's historic main building, which is a registered national tangible cultural asset."
Ichigoland Kapuri

Leisure / Hobbies

Wakayama Ito-gun Kudoyamacho Jisonin 1160

This tourist farm is located on Prefectural Route 13, which runs along the Kinokawa River that flows through the foothills of Mt. Koya. The farm grows two varieties of strawberry: Benihoppe and Oi-C-Berry. It offers strawberry picking during the strawberry season, which runs from early January to early May. The farm is notable for using a cultivation techniques that utilizes ladybugs and mites, which are the natural enemies of strawberry pests. This low-agrochemical cultivation method allows the farm to provide strawberries that are safer and of higher quality. In addition to strawberries, the farm also grows peaches, blueberries, and other fruits. It also sells jam, making it a great place to stop for souvenirs even outside of the strawberry picking season.

Wakayama Mt. Koya / Ryujin Onsen / Kudoyama

Travel / Tourism

History / Culture / Tour Factory / Workshop Sightseeing Spot Experience / Training / Vehicle Nature Travel / Tourism Information Rental Car / Bicycle / Motorcycle Souvenirs Rest Spot Other Sightseeing

Wakayama Areas

Wakayama prefecture unites pilgrims, food lovers, and culture buffs in a tranquil corner of Japan at the base of the Kii Peninsula. The setting for many a Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail, Wakayama invites those in search of spirituality from one side of the prefecture to the other, from the 100-plus Buddhist temples of the sacred Mount Koya in the west to the inspiring temples of the Kumano Sanzan set among breathtaking nature in the east. Once the grueling hike is complete, make a beeline for Wakayama city to savor some of the country’s most delicious ramen noodles.