Kumano Kodo with Kids and Kushimoto Marine Park
Last Updated on October 31, 2024 by Kay
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Last year, my family of three visited Kumado Kodo and Kushimoto in Wakayama Prefecture so I thought I would write about our experience.
Kumano Kodo, a World Heritage Site, is a famous and over 1000-year-old pilgrimage path across the Kii Peninsula in Japan. Monks spent days traveling this path in the past while visiting various temples and shrines. However, since we had a four-year-old child, we decided that we wouldn’t do the full hike and instead just visited Nachi Falls and the temples and shrines by car. (I recommend renting a car if possible but there is bus access as well. If you’re interested in learning more about driving in Japan with kids, read this article.)
In this article, I’ll share what it was like visiting famous temples and shrines along the Kumano Kodo with a child, checking out some aquariums, our stay at Hotel Urashima, which is known for having onsens in caves, and going to the longest suspension bridge in Japan.
Table of Contents
Nachi Falls, Nachisan Seiganto-ji Temple, and the Three Grand Shrines with Kids
As mentioned earlier, you can reach Nachi Falls using a car or by bus. Thankfully for parents, Nachi Falls are a short walk from both the parking lot and bus stop.
I do not recommend bringing a stroller because you will end up having to carry it most of the time due to all the stairs.
You can get great photos of the falls near the bottom at Hitaki Shrine and then from there, head up to Nachisan Seiganto-ji Temple and Kumano Nachi Taisha. Kumano Nachi Taisha is one of the Three Grand Shrines (Kumano Sanzan) in Kumano. The other two are Kumano Hongu Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha.
Nachisan Seiganto-ji Temple and Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine are a 15-minute walk from Hitaki Shrine and are must-see spots. Sanjūdō pagoda on the temple grounds is commonly photographed with Nachi Falls in the background and offers a beautiful view of the valley when you go up. Unsurprisingly, Nachi Falls is considered one of the three most famous waterfalls in the country.
⭐️ Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine, pictured below, is under repair until the end of December 2024 so it is currently covered.
The temple grounds are fairly large and we spent about two hours there. Thankfully there’s a washroom! My daughter also got some ice cream, which helped motivate her to walk.
At the shrine, she made sure to pray for a new toy (throw a coin into the offertory box, bow twice, clap twice, bow again) and then enjoyed running around the grounds.
After seeing most of Nachisan Seiganto-ji Temple and Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine, we drove to Kumano Hatayama Taisha. This shrine is devoted to several deities and looks similar in appearance to Kumano Nachi Taisha, both very vivid in color, although there are more trees, including one 1000-year-old tree that is believed to symbolize the god of Kumano.
Lastly, we visited Kumano Hongu Taisha.
Kumano Hongu Taisha is known for being the main shrine of the three and for its more subdued appearance in comparison to the other shrines with a roof made of cypress bark. Like Kumano Hatayama Taisha, this shrine is a place to worship various deities. It had originally been next to the Kumano River but due to flooding in 1889, the upper buildings had been relocated to their present location.
Shrimp and Crab Aquarium
On our way to Kushimoto Marine Park, we stopped by a Michi no Eki (roadside station) and came across a small aquarium called Ebi to Kani no Suizokukan (shrimp and crab aquarium).
Unsurprisingly, this aquarium featured various crustaceans, including a blue lobster. There are also touch pools where you can touch spider crabs (which my daughter refused to do). Other than crustaceans, the aquarium has fish, jellyfish, penguins, and turtles (in a small aquarium that I personally didn’t like).
Other interactive activities include “fishing” for little crabs (which my daughter enjoyed) and buying a figure of an aquatic animal to color. My daughter also got a stamp rally book, so apart from viewing the sea creatures, she enjoyed going around the aquarium collecting her stamps.
Although small, I think this is a decent aquarium to visit if it’s on your way to Kushimoto Marine Park.
Kushimoto Marine Park
Kushimoto Marine Park is one of the best aquariums I’ve visited in Japan. It’s not only spacious but the animals are well taken care of.
Notably, it’s the first marine park in Japan!
This park has lots of turtles (with plenty of space!) and we were able to hold a baby turtle! I feel like this was one of the highlights of our trip. I believe this is available daily from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM except Wednesdays and Thursdays.
They also have an undersea tower where you see marine creatures in their natural habitat. This comes at an additional cost but I really enjoyed that as well and would go back just to do that again!
There’s an underwater sightseeing boat as well but we decided to forgo that experience since my daughter didn’t seem to like it when we went on one in Shirahama.
Hotel Urashima (Cave Onsen) with Kids
I’ve written an article all about our stay at Hotel Urashima so please give it a read!
Tanize Suspension Bridge
When we headed back home, we decided to stop by Tanize Suspension Bridge, which is the longest suspension bridge in Japan!
It’s wooden and sways when you walk on it, so to say it was scary is an understatement. The view was beautiful but it was still a bit much for me.
Honestly, my husband and I chickened out when we first tried to cross the bridge. And then, to our surprise, our four-year-old insisted on crossing it! She wasn’t scared whatsoever!
There isn’t much on the other (north) side so I would suggest crossing it and heading back.
Make sure you don’t cross if there are too many people on the bridge as it does have a weight limit! (How people recognize or enforce this, I do not know…)
Wrap-Up: Kumano Kodo with Kids
As you can see, there is so much for kids to do when visiting the area in and around Kumano Kodo. We had a wonderful family trip there and would recommend it to anyone.
I’ve also created a map to help plan your trip if you want to visit the same places we did over a two-day period.