History / Culture / Tour Spots in Nachikatsuura / Taiji / Shingu Area
Area
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Wakayama
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Wakayama
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- Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine
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4.5652 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Higashimurogunnachikatsurachou Nachisan 1
- One of the Three Head Kumano Shrines which serve as the headquarters of all Kumano shrines nationwide. Unlike the other two, however, the origin of this shrine lies in a primeval faith which sees the Nachi Falls deep in the mountains as sacred. At the affiliated Hiro-jinja Shrine, the falls themselves are worshipped, and since ancient times this shrine has been visited by numerous faithful and other visitors asking for a long life. Visitors can drink the water at the falls’ basin from a platform directly in front of the falls; the water is said to give longevity. The shrine’s grounds contain six vermillion lacquered buildings such as the main nave, hall of worship, and treasure house, as well as numerous other points of note such as the Stone of the Yatagarasu (a mythical three-legged crow), and a massive 850-year-old tree planted by the noble Taira no Shigemori.
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One of the most pictorial spots in Japan. Beautiful view. It is far to get here, but it is worth it. When the waterfall flows full capacity, it is very impressive.
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- Kamikura-jinja Shrine
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4.5212 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Shingushi Kamikura 1-13-8
- A Shinto shrine located in 1 Chome Kamikura, Shingu City. Situated on sacred ground where the god Kumano Omikami first descended to Earth. The Kodobiki Boulder, considered a sacred natural object and deity, is also located on the shrine grounds at the top of over 5000 natural stone steps. The Oto Matsuri, held each year on February 6, is an unusual festival in which white robed men carrying torches lit with a sacred flame run down a series of stone steps. The festival is designated an Important Intangible Folk-Cultural Property.
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The rock stairs were steep and somewhat challenging. Still, the walk was definitely worth it! The stairs were very steep for about 150-200m (~70m elevation gain), then started levelling off. A great...
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- Taiji Whale Museum
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4.0151 Reviews - Leisure / Hobbies
- Wakayama Pref. Higashimuroguntaijichou Taiji 2934-2
- A museum in Taiji, Taiji Town, Higashimuro County. Through various displays visitors can learn about the more than 400 year old relationship Taiji Town has had with whaling, as well as traditional whaling techniques, and the ecology of whales. Visitors can also watch the whales in action in dolphin and whale shows like the short-finned pilot whale show held in the natural pool built in the sea. The full scale skeleton of the world's largest animal, the blue whale, exhibited outdoors, is an impressive sight.
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Please do not patronize this cruel and inhuman “museum” the beautiful albino dolphin named Angel swims in circles in a filthy small tank. Horrible.
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- Hiro-jinja Shrine
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4.0151 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Higashimuro-gun Nachikatsuuracho Nachisan
- A 20-minute drive from JR Kii-Katsuura Station. This Shinto shrine is a subordinate shrine to Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine, counted among the Three Main Kumano Shrines; Nachi Falls is the shrine's shintai, or object of worship. The shrine has no front shrine and instead visitors worship in an area around 200 meters in front of the waterfall. Accordingly, visitors may participate in a formal prayer service not only in the Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine's Honden but also here in front of the waterfall; and after the 30-minute service is over, participants can listen to a lecture on the history of the shrine. The shrine sells lucky charms depicting a dragon god based on an ancient legend that a dragon lives in the falls.
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If you want to see the impressive waterfall, you must go to the shrine, which is next to it. The shrine itself, nothing out of the ordinary, but the waterfall is spectacular.
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- Nachi Waterfall (Hiro Jinja Shrine)
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Higashimurogunnachikatsurachou Nachisan
- This betsugu (associated shrine) of Kumano Nachi Taisha honors the deity of the Nachi-no-Taki waterfall. Boasting Japan’s largest uninterrupted drop of 133 meters, the waterfall is 13 meters wide and has a plunge basin with a depth of 10 meters. It is lit up a night during New Year’s Eve and is one of Japan’s top three waterfalls. Close to the waterfall is a viewing area where visitors can drink water from the plunge basin which is said to be water for longevity.
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- Fudarakusanji Temple
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4.059 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Prefecture Higashi Muro-gun Nachikatsura-cho Hamanomiya 348
- This temple is about three minutes on foot from JR Nachi Station. From the ninth to the eighteenth centuries, priests would fill their boats with 30 days' worth of provisions including food and oil and set out for Fudaraku, the mythical location of Kannon's Pure Land believed to be in the far southern seas. This temple is known as the starting point of the voyage. In 2004 the temple was recognized as part of the World Heritage Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. The principal object of worship is a Sanbojuichimen Senju Sengen Kannon Bosatsu image that's an Important Cultural Property. You can also view a replica of the boats they used for the voyage and the grave marker of the priests who attempted the trip.
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「にっぽん丸」クルーズで観光タクシーを利用して散策した際に貸切時間に余裕があったので運転手さんに勧められて訪問しました。那智三所大神社に隣接して「神仏分離」を免れた希少な歴史遺産でした。過去の住職が9世紀から18世紀までの間に20以上試みられている南の洋上に補陀落浄土を求め死を賭して漕ぎ出す信仰の補陀落渡海で使用された渡海船の復元船が境内に展示されていました。撮影は不可でしたが本堂の中には美しい曼...
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- Asuka-jinja Shrine
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4.049 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Shingushi Asuka 1-2-25
- This is an old Shinto shrine said to have been built in the year 423 BC. Inside the grounds Yayoi period pit dwellings and earthenware have been found, and these are displayed in the Shingu City Museum of History & Folklore. It was registered additionally as a World Heritage Site in 2016.
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It is not the most famous in the area, just found in a quiet backstreet. It has colour and use of wood. It is worth a look, but not a spectacular site.
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- Kumano Hayatama Taisha Shrine
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Shingushi Shingu 1
- One of the Three Head Kumano Shrines which serve as the headquarters of all Kumano shrines nationwide, rare and unusual festivals are held here, such as the Torch Festival, which involves men dressed in white garb carrying lit torches and racing down the shrine’s steep stone steps. A central location in the Kumano faith, which seeks to achieve self-enlightenment through penance conducted along the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage, the shrine is dedicated to the god Kumano Hayatama. The shrine also worships Ketsumiko no okami and Fusumi no okami, and houses and displays some 1,200 ancient treasures, including designated National Treasures. A great nagi tree over 1,000 years old spreads its branches over the grounds, and the shrine’s charms for providing luck with love and marriage are made with nagi seeds.
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- Seiganto-ji Temple
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Higashimurogunnachikatsurachou Nachisan 8
- A Tendai sect Buddhist temple which is the first station on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. Once a great Shugendo Shinto-Buddhist temple dedicated to Nachi Falls, it was divided into the Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine and Seiganto-ji Temple with the official order separating Buddhism and Shintoism in the country. The temple has long been a holy place in the Kumano faith, which seeks self-enlightenment through the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage. The temple’s main object of worship, a figure of Cintamanicakra, is said to have been found at the basin of Nachi Falls and enshrined here by Ragyo, a priest who came to Japan from India during the reign of Emperor Nintoku (313-399). The vermillion three-tier pagoda behind the main temple nave harmonizes with the falls and creates a beautiful (and popular) photo spot.
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- Sato Haruo Memorial Museum
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3.517 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Shingushi Shingu 1 Kumano Hayatama Taisha Main Building
- "This museum is on the grounds of Kumano Hayatama Taisha Shrine. You can reach it by taking a bus to the Gongen Mae stop and walking about two minutes. It displays a variety of poetry collections, novels, and essays by the modern Japanese poet and writer Sato Haruo. Active from the end of the Meiji period to the Showa period, he was known for his poem “May Nostalgia."" The building itself was Haruo Sato's Tokyo home. It was moved to his native Shingu City as is in 1989. Exhibitions are held in his study, and recordings of the author reading his own poetry play as you enter the building."
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新宮駅から徒歩20分ほど。熊野速玉大社の駐車場に隣接。 入館料330円。佐藤春夫(1892-1964年)は新宮出身の作家で「秋刀魚の歌」が代表作。記念館の建物は、1927年に東京都文京区に建てられた邸宅を1989年に移築復元したもの。設計は西村伊作(文化学院創設者)の弟である大石七分。1階には生前そのままに再現された応接間があり、2階には和室と展示室がある。展示資料は撮影不可。春夫の書籍、絵画、文...
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- Hiromitsu Ochiai Baseball Hall
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4.510 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Higashimuro-gun Taijicho
- This memorial hall is located in Taiji, Taiji Town, Higashimuro County Wakayama Prefecture. It honors the outstanding professional baseball career of three time Triple Crown winner Hiromitsu Ochiai. Exhibits include trophies and other memorabilia, videos, and more. The hall, which is hexagonal in honor of Ochiai's No. 6 uniform number, features a cafe with a sweeping view of the ocean. Outside the hall there is a miniature baseball field that can be used for baseball seminars.
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年末年始は落合さんが在館しているので、一度お会いしたくて行きました。 平日の午後でしたので、自分の他は大学生のグループだけでしたので、二階のラウンジで落合さんと世間話を暫くすることができました。だだ、オーラがスゴくて緊張しまくりでしたが…(笑) サインも気さくに応じてくれて、館内 で買った色紙の他に、持参した落合さんの著者に名前と日付入りでサインしてもらいました。 行かれるなら、落合さんが在館し...
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- Taiji Municipal Stone Wall Memorial Hall
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2.52 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Higashimuro-gun Taijicho Taiji 2902-79
- This memorial hall is located next to Taiji Kujirahama Park and the Kino-Matsushima Sightseeing Boat dock. It displays the works of Eitaro Ishigaki, who was originally from Taiji Town and traveled to the United States, where he played an important role in the art world from around 1920 until the 1940's. Ayako Ishigaki, his wife and critic, contributed to the town with constructions and donations, and in addition to the oil paintings and drawings, the memorial hall also displays their most cherished belongings. There is a small hall inside, which is used for local cultural activities, lectures and study groups.
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遊覧船の時間待ちが長くたまたま立ち寄りましたが、なぜ記念館があるのかわかりません。全く個人的趣味で建てられたのでは？？と思います。作品もほんの少しです。
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- Tomyo-zaki Point Lookout Site
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Higashimuro-gun Taijicho
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- Machinaka Museum Irifune-kan
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Higashimuro-gun Nachikatsuuracho Katsuura 492
- This museum can be found by following Prefectural Route 46 to the right from Katsuura Port, and then proceeding in a semicircular fashion along the road. It is operated by Yomigaere! Wakinaka Club, (Revive! Wakinaka Club), which is a group that works to preserve the scenery and culture of Nachi-Katsuura Town, and photography exhibitions that compare the area in the present to the early Showa period are held here.
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- Homotsuden
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Higashimuro-gun Nachikatsuuracho
- A 20-minute drive from JR Kii-Katsuura Station. This treasure hall is located on the grounds of Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine, counted as one of the Three Main Kumano Shrines. The facility displays artefacts excavated from the Nachisan Sutra Mound, ancient documents belonging to Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine designated National Cultural Properties, and other rare items concerning the history of Kumano and the Kumano faith. As worship hours for Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine and operating hours for the treasure hall differ, prospective visitors are recommended to check in advance before coming.
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- Shingu Municipal History Folk customs Museum
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3.07 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Shingu-shi Asuka 1-chome 2-28
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阿須賀神社の境内にある。 入館料は220円だが、訪館時は「新収蔵品展」が行われており入館無料となっていた。1階には鎌倉時代に作られた大威徳明王や阿弥陀如来の懸仏など阿須賀神社に関する品々を、2階には新宮の歴史に関する資料(土器、武具、民具等)を展示。また資料館前には弥生式竪穴住居跡がある。
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- Nachisan aokishiwatarutera mieto
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Higashimurogunnachikatsurachou Nachisan 68
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- Shingu Castle Ato
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Shingu-shi Shingu 7688-2
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- Nachi Otaki
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Higashimuro-gun Nachikatsuuracho
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.
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