Walking around the city with tour guides｜Shingu City Tourist Association

Detail explanations and local guidance by the tour guides

Shingu City is the heart of cultural and economic development in the Kumano region and is located in the southeastern part of the Kii Peninsula. The "Kumano faith", which has its roots in ancient natural worship, has been handed down for generations. Surrounded by the mountainous forest, which accounts for 90% of the city, the Kumano-gawa River, and the rich natural features of the Kumano-nada Sea, Shingu is encapsulated within a landscape that will refresh your soul through your connection to nature.
Shingu is the location of a venerable shrine that established the emergence of this district's unique beliefs, and is a legendary site where it was said that the revered scholar Jofuku landed. It is also the site of the Kishu Han Domain castle ruins, and a very mysterious national natural monument. The tour guides will give detailed explanations and local guidance in accordance to the following five themes.

※Several cases of pneumonia related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in Japan. We ask all guests who participate in the tour with a guide to fill out the required form and check their body temperature at the Shingu Tourist Associtaion to confirm their current health condition. If your body temperature is higher than 37.5 degrees, we might not able to fulfil your guided walking request.

The guided tour themes

World Heritage of Shingu,
Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine and Kamikura-Jinja Shrine

Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine is one of three shrines under the Kumano Sanzan. It is the head shrine of all Kumano shrines and houses 12 gods. Kamikura-Jinja Shrine is the site of the holy Gotobiki-Iwa Rock, and the annual Oto Matsuri Festival. Learn more about these sacred places on the tour.
Approx. 2 hours. Visiting points: Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine, Kamikura-Jinja Shrine

Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine, Kamikura-jinja Shrine and Kumano Kodo Koyazaka Slope

In addition to the World Heritage listed Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine and Kamikura-jinja Shrines, this tour takes you along a portion of the Nakahechi Route of the Kumano Kodo, which pilgrims used to travel from Hayatama Taisha to Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine hundreds of years ago.
Approx. 4.5-5 hours. Visiting points: Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine, Kamikura-jinja Shrine and Koyazaka Slope

The three World Heritage shrines of Shingu

Take a stroll around Shingu with your guide and enjoy the atmospheric streets of the city. Starting from Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine, you'll stop by Kamikura-jinja Shrine before finishing off at Asuka-jinja Shrine in this tour of the main World Heritage sites within the city.
Approx. 3-4 hours. Visiting point: Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine, Kamikura-jinja Shrine, Asuka-jinja Shrine

The three World Heritage shrines + Koyazaka Slope (on foot)

This course mixes two of the above routes, allowing you to visit all the World Heritage shrines in Shingu and finish up with a walk along the Koyazaka Slope portion of the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route.
Approx. 6 hour. Visiting point: Kumano Hayatama Taisha Grand Shrine, Kamikura-jinja Shrine, Asuka-jinja Shrine and Koyazaka Slope

Kumano Kodo Koyazaka Slope and Miwasaki Walk

This route takes you along Koyazaka Slope, and goes through Miwasaki to bring you to Kushima and Suzushima Islands, both of which are geosites and are a result of the convergence of tectonic plates. Kushima Island is also the breeding grounds of one of the world's rarest birds, the Styan's Grasshopper Warbler.
Approx. 3 hours. Visiting point：Koyazaka Slope, Kushima and Suzushima Islands and Miwasaki Hachiman Shrine.

The prosperity of the Shingu Domain at the National History Site of the Shingu (Tankaku) Castle Ruins"

Take a walk around the Shingu Castle Ruins and learn all about its history and the intricate details that make this hilltop castle so important. From the stone walls that still stand today, to the Binchotan storehouses of old, there are so many aspects about the castle to discover. Atop the castle grounds, you can also get an amazing view of the city surroundings, the Kumano-gawa River and the Pacific Ocean. In 2017, Shingu Castle was appointed as one of 100 National Histoic Sites.
Approx. 1 hour 30 minutes. Visiting point: Shingu (Tankaku) Castle Ruins

Kumano Mandara Storytelling

Let the storytellers guide you through the history of the Kumano faith, using pictures of the Mandalas from Shingu, Nachi and Hongu, as well as one pertaining to the Buddhist 10 Spiritual Realms.
Average time required: 1 piece - 15min, 2 pieces - 40min, all 4 pieces - 1 hour.

Walking around the city with tour guides