10 things to do in Shingu

Checked 15 November 2026 · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada

1. 01
   Zairon / CC BY 4.0
   See~3hNeeds a 5-hour call

   Nachi Falls

   A single drop of 133 m, 13 m wide at the lip, worshipped as a deity at Hiro Shrine at its foot: there is no shrine hall, only the falls. The viewing stage, 3 minutes from the office, costs ¥500 for adults and ¥200 for children. Reception runs roughly 08:00–16:30. Hiro Shrine cannot be visited in a wheelchair. On the hillside above, Kumano Nachi Taisha, one of the three Kumano grand shrines (treasure hall ¥300, 08:30–15:30, not open on Wednesdays; a lift from the 30-space car park reaches the precinct), and a minute away Seiganto-ji, gates 07:00–16:30, with the vermilion three-storey pagoda photographed with the falls behind it. With an hour more, climb Daimon-zaka, about 600 m and 267 steps of Kumano Kodo cobbles between old cedars, about 30 minutes up and 20 more to the shrine (Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau).

   Taxi from the berth 14–15 km, about 30 min, about ¥5,900–6,200 each way (our estimates)Full guide: Nachi Falls and Kumano Nachi Taisha from Shingu
2. 02
   Zairon / CC BY 4.0
   See~4.5hNeeds a 6.5-hour call

   Kumano Hongu Taisha

   One of the three Kumano grand shrines, in the mountains about an hour up the Kumano River from Shingu. Worship hours are 08:00–17:00; a car park near the main hall serves visitors with limited mobility. Allow about 4 hours 15 from the berth and back: it needs a call of about 7 hours or more. Add half an hour for Oyunohara, the river flat where the shrine stood until the great flood of 1889 (Wakayama Tourism Federation): a great torii marks the old ground among the rice fields, free to walk.

   By road 37–38 km, about 1 h 10–15 each way; taxi about ¥15,200–15,400 each way on the meter (our estimates)Full guide: Kumano Hongu Taisha from Shingu
3. 03
   Eat~2hNeeds a 4-hour call

   Fresh tuna at Katsuura

   Katsuura fishing port lands longline tuna fresh, not frozen. Katsuura Gyoko Nigiwai Ichiba, the market hall on the harbour, opens 08:00–16:00 with last orders at the food stalls at 15:30; it closes on Tuesdays, with changes by the calendar.

   Taxi from the berth about 10 km, about 20 min, about ¥4,100–4,400 each way (our estimates)Google Maps
4. 04
   Zairon / CC BY 4.0
   See~3hNeeds a 5-hour call

   Shingu on foot: Hayatama Taisha to Kamikura

   The two shrines of Shingu are 1 km apart, a 20-minute walk through the town: cross the red Shimo-bashi bridge into Hayatama Taisha, then walk south to the torii at the foot of the Kamikura steps. Hayatama Taisha is the Kumano grand shrine in Shingu itself, vermilion halls by the Kumano River with its sacred nagi tree: gates 06:00–17:00, office 08:00–17:00, the Kumano Shinpokan treasure hall 09:00–16:00. Kamikura Shrine sits under the Gotobiki-iwa rock, where the Kumano gods are said to have first come down; its 538 steps of piled natural stone are very steep, the shrine asks for trainers and no photographs while walking, and anyone unsure of their legs can take the gentler path or pray from the torii at the foot. The Oto Matsuri fire festival runs down these steps every 6 February. Both shrines are free. It is the plan for a short call or a day when you do not want another hour in a car.

   Taxi to Hayatama Taisha about 15 min, then on foot: 20 min to the foot of Kamikura, 15 min from Hayatama Taisha to JR Shingu StationFull guide: Kumano Hayatama Taisha and the Kamikura steps