Renting a bike is the best idea for sightseeing in Shingu City. Shingu City itself is small enough for everything to be reached out on foot, but for the sake of speed and your own convenience, renting a bike is the best choice.
You can rent a bike at the Shingu City Tourist Association Information Center, which is located on the ground floor of the Kumano Koutsu office, across from the train station.
If there are no more bikes available here, you can rent one at the store located inside Jofuku Park, which I will talk about later.
At the Shingu City Tourist Information Center, not only can you rent a bike, but you can also get coupons (also available in Chinese and English) that are a great way to enjoy foods in the city, as well as information pamphlets. It is a great place to stop by before you start sightseeing in Shingu.

Jofuku is said to have traveled all over the world searching for medicine for immortality under the order by the Emperor of the Qin Dynasty in China and finally reached Shingu, where he discovered a medicinal plant called "Tendai Uyaku”. His tomb is currently set up in Jofuku Park.
At the Jofuku Shop located inside the park, you can buy Tendai Uyaku Medicinal Tea, which uses Tendai Uyaku, a medicinal plant which Jofuku handed down as a “miraculous medicine for immortality”.

Jofuku Sushi – a gourmet sushi restaurant in the vicinity of Shingu Station which is worth visiting. You can also buy take out sushi and eat it on the train home.

Taisho (sushi chef) entertains you with some tasty sushi and his great smile.

At this sushi restaurant, the chef calls tuna “shibi”, the old Japanese word referring to “tuna”. Also, sprinkling plenty of locally produced salt and squeezing out some orange vinegar on the black marlin will harmonize the fat of the fish and bring out its umami. You can eat this sushi only in summer. In winter, you can enjoy tuna with the local citrus called “Sanzu”.

This is the menu item I want foreign tourists to try, but for those who do not care for fish, they also have “Mehari sushi”, the prefecture’s specialty rice ball wrapped with a lightly-pickled takana mustard leaf, and rolled sushi using Kumano beef. This rolled Kumano beef sushi can be tasted in two different styles: wrapped in nori (dried seaweed) or in kombu (kelp). Taisho told me that the one wrapped in kombu has a taste close to what you would call art.

Recommended for those who also want to eat meat, Yakiniku Hige is where you can eat fresh Kumano beef.
This restaurant is actually the only yakiniku restaurant in Wakayama which is designated to serve Kumano beef. It is a very special yakiniku restaurant where you can even eat fresh giblets of the cattle which other restaurants cannot obtain. During lunch hours, you can enjoy the highest quality Wagyu beef at an affordable price.

The set comes with 110 grams of fresh Kumano beef rib meat at a cost of 1,500 yen. The rib meat of Kumano beef served at this restaurant is so tender that you would think you are eating tenderloin. It has a perfect amount of fat and is never too greasy. This is probably not just by virtue of it being Kumano beef but also because of how the chef prepares the meat before cooking it.

Eating tender and juicy meat makes me happy!

As their shaved ice is made from ice carefully frozen using pure river water, you won't have a brain freeze even if you eat it all at once. Because it is a nationally famous shop, depending on the time of the day, you have to wait in a long line to get their shaved ice. Inside the nostalgic Showa-style shop, many different delicious flavors are waiting to be tried. Since I am in Wakayama, I picked the "Kiyomi orange" flavour, which is a kind of orange grown in the prefecture.

“Watermelon shaped shaved ice” – a popular flavor that is as photogenic as it is tasty.

“Unshu Orange” flavour – another popular flavor

If you want to indulge yourself with something a bit more luxurious, why don’t you visit Shikaroku, a restaurant specializing in eel dishes with more than 100 years of history?
Shikaroku is an eel restaurant that has been loved by notable literary minds since its opening. Haruo Sato was also a patron of the restaurant.

Although the restaurant uses the farm-raised eel from Mie, they get rid of the mud from the eel’s body in a live pond using fresh well water inside the premises of the restaurant. In fresh clean water, the eel discharges mud, and this way they can remove the muddy smell resulting in a better taste.

The eel covering the rice underneath is crispy on the surface, and tender and fluffy inside. The juicy and sweet taste of the eel in your mouth will definitely bring a smile to your face.

The crispy grilled eel tastes different from the steamed one eaten in Kanto.

When you've satisfied your palate, why don’t you enjoy a trip to Dorokyo Gorge, located near Shingu City, for some fun activities? The gorge comes in at a length of 31 km, and you can enjoy the entirety of it in a water jet boat, going down the clear stream of the emerald green river and enjoying the beautiful scenery, including seeing some oddly-shaped rocks and Boshi-no-taki Falls on the way.

Driving a rental car is the easiest way to get to "Dorokyo Meguri-no Sato Kumanogawa River", the boarding point for the water jet boat tour, but you can also take a bus to get there.
After getting on the boat and taking a seat, your cruise will begin. The boat is an open-air boat, so you can feel the fresh air from the gorge as you go down the river. Though the boat stops at the Tado boarding point for a short break, you will definitely enjoy the 2-hour round trip cruise so much, it'll pass by as if you were dreaming.

Rental canoes are also available at the "Lifelong Learning Division" at Shingu City Hall. So, if you have a plenty of time to enjoy Dorokyo, you should consider renting one there.

I purchased Yatagarasu-no Tamago (mythical raven’s eggs) at Okashidokoro Tsukushi. Inside the powdered Kishu Bincho charcoal egg-shaped shell is the soft filling consisting of egg yolk and sweet bean paste wrapped in another layer of white sweet bean paste. The size is perfect for those on the go.
The price is 550 yen for a set of 3 pieces and 160 yen for a single piece.

Kobaido is one of the best sweets shops in Shingu City. Traditional sweets made with Shikoku's famous Wasanbon sugar have an established reputation among local residents, so the shop is always filled with customers. At this famous shop, I found Suzuyaki, a bell-shaped mini sponge cake (325 yen for 20 pcs), and "Kumano Meisho Senbei", or rice crackers with pictures of Kumano’s famous sights printed on the surface (430 yen for a set of 10 pc).

At Tosaya, which was founded in 1930, they shave bonito flakes fresh everyday to ensure the best bonito flavor for their customers. Here, I found "Tosaya's Original Tosa Dashi" (1,000 yen for 20 bags) and "Red Plum Wine" made by Kishu Uguisuya (800 yen). I was surprised that such high quality dashi broth packs are sold at 1,000 yen for 20 bags!

Minoya, located in the Nakano-cho Shotengai shopping district, is a shop that stocks dishes with a large selection of Japanese-style tableware and miscellaneous kitchen gadgets with a nostalgic Showa look also available. Here, I found pretty chopsticks and a set of rice bowls. I recommend the store to those looking for souvenirs for people from other countries because here you can buy good quality vintage Japanese tableware at about 1,000 to 2,000 yen per item.

If you are looking for seafood-related souvenirs, Kumano Bussan Kamikura Main Store is the place to shop. You can purchase souvenirs that allow you to enjoy the taste of different raw fish, like dried shark and dried whole Pacific saury. Even those who aren't in the market for fish can find something for themselves here, including dried Kishu Ume plums, T-shirts with the Kumano motif, and "Kumano bancha green tea" named after the Kumano Kodo routes.

"Kumano bancha green tea", made from tea leaves cultivated carefully in the mountains of Kumano Main Shrine is priced at 630 yen.

Matsubaya is a still-yet-to-be-discovered Japanese confectionery shop in Shingu City. There is no shop sign outside the store, and the only indicator from the outside is a wooden plate hung on the window frame that reads “Amanogawa”. I think you can enjoy a unique crispy texture from this treat that looks like adzuki beans put together in a bar with agar. The shop closes when they are sold out, so if you really want to try this treat in your trip, you should go to the store in the morning!

Packed with mocha-flavored cream made with heavy cream and custard, the soft crust is coated with high quality chocolate. Take a short break with this elegant sweetness that costs only 190 yen per piece.

If you get tired from riding a bike, stop by the café “Carrot” and take a break with their Tendai Uyaku jelly