Kumano kodo | a spiritual way

The Kumano Kodo, one of Japan’s oldest pilgrimage routes, winds through the mountains and forests of the Kii Peninsula. Each trail, lined with moss, stones, and streams, invites a slow, almost meditative walk. The pilgrimage connects sacred shrines, but as striking as the destinations are the paths themselves: every turn reveals a new perspective on nature, a different light filtering through the trees or across wooden bridges.

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The path’s aesthetics are both wild and harmonious. The twisted trunks of ancient cedars contrast with perfectly sculpted stone lanterns and small red torii gates, punctuating the forest like bursts of color. Walking the Kumano Kodo is to step into a timeless Japan, where time seems to stretch, and every step becomes a mental photograph, a suspended moment between nature and spirituality.