Hi there!
Hongu can make for a perfect part of your Kumano Kodo itinerary if you’re doing the Kumano Kodo by bus, or a combination of bus and hiking.
Kumano Kodo is a UNESCO world heritage pilgrimage route, and there are different Kumano Kodo routes.
Hongu can be towards the end when you are doing things near the Nakahechi Route by bus.
Hongu is where one of the “big 3” grand shrines of Kumano Kodo is located.
So if you want to complete your visits to all 3 of the grand shrines, then Hongu would be a must-visit!
And if you’re looking to hike just a section of Kumano Kodo and not do all-day hikes every day, Hongu can be a perfect spot to start hiking a section of Kumano Kodo!
You don’t actually need a full day in Hongu.
You could do it quickly with 1-2 hours of time in Hongu.
Of course, the more time you have, the more you can take it all in!
This time also doesn’t include the transit time to and from Hongu which will depend on where you are coming from and where you are going afterwards.
Walking the streets of Hongu is flat, but there are a couple of things to do that require stairs.
Hongu travel guide
- Where is Hongu?
- Best things to do in Hongu in one day
- How to get to Hongu
- How to get around Hongu
- Yunomine Onsen to Hongu
- Hongu itinerary: How much time in Hongu
Where is Hongu?
Hongu is located on the Kii Peninsula in the prefecture of Wakayama.
Where is Hongu Japan: Explore the map.
You can make Hongu a part of your route as you travel the Kumano Kodo in Wakayama prefecture.
It can make sense to go to Hongu on your way from Yunomine Onsen to Nachi Falls or Yunomine Onsen to Shingu.
Best things to do in Hongu
1. Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine (world heritage site + one of the “big 3” Kumano grand shrines)
2. Oyunohara
3. Dainichi-goe (Kumano Kodo)
How to get to Hongu
👆 Getting to Hongu by bus: Hongu taisha-mae. If you are already in the Kumano Kodo area, then you can get to Hongu by bus.
You can get to Hongu by bus.
The main bus stop in Hongu is the Hongu Taisha-mae bus stop, in front of the Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine. This is also near the Hongu tourist information center.
The official Kumano Kodo tourism website has bus schedules, but it’s best to verify locally to make sure you get the most up-to-date schedule.
Hongu bus: General tips for taking the local bus to Hongu (and most local buses in Japan)
If you are already in the Kumano Kodo area, there is a local bus to get to Hongu.
You can consult google maps to guide your way! It makes knowing where to get on the bus and where to get off the bus super easy!
You pay for the bus as you get off the bus. You don’t need to buy a ticket ahead of time.
You will get on the bus from the back door, not the front. As you get on the bus, you need to look for a little ticket to grab. This will have a number on it, and it will allow you to determine how much you need to pay when you get off the bus.
Once your bus stop is the next bus stop, you will press a little button to signify to the bus driver to get off next. There will be an announcement, and there is a display sign at the front of the bus that will tell you the next bus stop.
Then, you will also look at the front of the bus to find out how much the bus fare costs. You will look for the number that’s on the ticket that you grabbed as you got on the bus, and that is how much you need to pay for the bus fare.
Once the bus arrives at your bus stop, you’ll go to the front of the bus. You’ll put exact change into the fare box. There will be no change given to you.
If you need smaller change, it is also possible to break a 1,000 yen bill in the coin machine at the front of the bus. You can do this as you get off the bus. You cannot break a 5,000 yen bill, so be sure to have coins and/or 1,000 yen bills for the bus to Hongu.
More about how to take the local bus to Hongu
For the visual: here is how to take the local bus in Kyoto, which is similar to how to take the local bus to Hongu and other local buses in Japan.
How to get around Hongu: WALK!
The best way (only way? 😜) to see Hongu is to walk!
You can start your walk at the Hongu taisha-mae bus stop, which is the main bus stop of Hongu.
👆 Before you start your walk around Hongu, you can stop by the Hongu tourist information center! There’s a bathroom here too.
Yunomine Onsen to Nonaka to Hongu to Yunomine Onsen in one day: What I did in October 2022
I stayed in the Kumano Kodo town of Yunomine Onsen for 2 nights, including the night before going to Hongu (and the night of).
On the day I went to Hongu, I walked 2 separate sections of Kumano Kodo.
First I walked in the Nonaka area.
I took a bus from Yunomine Onsen and then got off at the Nonaka-ipponsugi bus stop. (Nonaka bus timings are limited, so it’s important to plan it out!)
Then basically I walked to Tsugizakura-oji and Toganoki-jaya Teahouse which are along the Kumano Kodo. This was a paved section of the Kumano Kodo.
Then I took a bus from Nonaka to Hongu.
And then once in Hongu, I did another section of the Kumano Kodo, hiking a “real” (dirt) trail through a forest from Hongu to Yunomine Onsen.
👆 I took a bus in the Kumano Kodo area from Nonaka to Hongu.
I stayed at the backpacker’s guesthouse of J-Hoppers Yunomine.
This is a few minutes walk from the Yunomine Onsen bus stop, and it’s also a few minutes walk from access to the Kumano Kodo trail that goes right through Yunomine Onsen, that you can walk to from Hongu… or the opposite direction!
J-Hoppers also has a private onsen (mineral hot springs) available for your use 24/7!
There are dorm beds (aka this is a hostel) and there are private rooms available. It’s around 3800 yen for a dorm bed (less than $35), 10,000 yen for a private room for 2 people (less than US$100), 13,800 yen for a private room for 3 people (less than $130).
On the day of check-out from the Yunomine Onsen guesthouse, I went to Shingu and Nachi Falls. After that, I took a train to Ise.
A note on Japanese yen to USD conversion: For a quick and easy conversion in my head, I had always done 100 yen = US$1. But, the reality of late 2022 is that 100 yen is much less than $1. When I did this trip to Hongu in October 2022, it had hit 150 yen = US$1. 😱 So the approximate USD is actually much less than the above listed approximate USD figures! Of course, the amount you will pay will depend on what the exchange rate is when you go, but this can start to give you an idea. For easy conversion, you can simply type into google “8500 yen to usd” for example. When I checked just now on this October 2022 day, it said 8500 yen was less than US$60.
Hongu itinerary: 2 hours in Hongu
Of course, your day can vary based on how much time you decide to spend in different places.
I didn’t spend all that much time in Hongu, but I was moving around quite slowly for the most part.
If I was moving at a normal pace without any stops, then what I did could probably be done in an hour, although I was in the Hongu town area for 2 hours. (I’m not counting the time after I started hiking the Kumano Kodo through the forest.)
But, to give you an idea, this was how a couple of hours in Hongu was for me!
- 11:50am: Arrive at Hongu Taisha-mae bus stop (main bus stop of Hongu)
- Hongu tourist information center near bus stop (get Hongu tourist map and bus timetable! bathroom too)
- Oyunohara overlook (unofficial, walk the paved path behind the tourist information center!)
- Oyunohara (look for signs)
- 12:45pm: Kumano Hongu Taisha (honestly I was not feeling like walking all that much since I had been walking in Nonaka and had more walking ahead of me, so did not do much of a walk around Kumano Hongu Taisha… so you’ll want to add in more time!)
- 12:50pm: Walk the streets of Hongu in search of food (there is a small convenience store and small food shops around)
- Continue walking the streets of Hongu to get to Dainichi-goe of Kumano Kodo trail
- 1:30pm: Start the dirt trail of Kumano Kodo in the direction of Yunomine Onsen! (the best part of this section aka dainichi-goe is on the Hongu side, so you can hike for 30 minutes or something and turn around if you don’t want to go all the way to Yunomine Onsen)
- 3:50pm: Arrive in the town of Yunomine Onsen! (I was walking very slowly. It’s possible for you to do this more quickly.)
Kumano Hongu Taisha is basically directly across the street from the main Hongu bus stop.
So it doesn’t need to take you nearly an hour to get from the bus stop to Kumano Hongu Taisha! The bus stop, information center, and Oyunohara are in the same general area, and I was just taking my time!
You can get off the bus, and walk straight to the path of Kumano Hongu Taisha in a minute!
Walking from the main Hongu bus stop to the start of the dainichi-goe portion of Kumano Kodo, I also did make some short stops for food. Maybe it is around a 10 minute walk if you walked straight to it. You can use google maps to guide your way. (map) There is also a bus stop directly in front of the start of the dainichi-goe trail.
Stop by the Hongu tourism information center that is near the Hongu bus terminal to get a Hongu map! (And local bus schedules if you need it!)
Walking in Hongu to Dainichi-goe of Kumano Kodo
So after I got off the bus at the main Hongu bus stop, I went to the Hongu tourist information center.
If you keep walking without going in the tourist information center, then that’s the way to get to a nice view of Oyunohara too.
Then, I wen towards Oyunohara on the “ground” level.
There was a map of Hongu too.
👆 In Hongu, there are signs for Oyunohara and Kumano Hongu Taisha.
Then, I walked across the street towards Kumano Hongu Taisha.
I didn’t get very far because I did not feel like climbing up all those stairs. 😜
So I turned around.
And then I started heading for the part of Hongu I was most excited about – Dainichi-goe of Kumano Kodo!
This starts the walk through the main road that runs through Hongu.
I used google maps to find the Kumano Kodo trailhead for Dainichi-goe.
There are coin lockers in Hongu for luggage storage.
There is a small convenience store which has a few food items. (And drinks.)
There are restaurants and small shops where you can get food in Hongu too.
I went into a bread shop. They sell bread (yes 🤪) and sandwiches.
I then kept walking and found a bench (I think it might have been for a bus stop) and sat to eat.
I also walked past a local fruit stand that was selling little oranges. This was payment on the honor system.
👆 Fresh local fruit in Hongu. A bag of small oranges for 300 yen (less than US$3).
Finally, making a turn onto smaller side streets, meaning it’s getting closer to find the Kumano Kodo trailhead for Dainichi-goe!
👆 This corner straight ahead is how to get to Dainichi-goe!
You will start off climbing stairs to hike Dainichi-goe of Kumano Kodo from Hongu!
👆 How to get to Yunomine Onsen by hiking Kumano Kodo! Yunomine Onsen is 2.2km (1.4 miles) away!
👆 熊野古道大日越 = kumano kodo dainichi goe
And off you go to start REALLY hiking the Kumano Kodo from Hongu to Yunomine Onsen!
👆 If you don’t want to hike all the way to Yunomine Onsen, then you can get to this spot by hiking for around 30 minutes. (And then you can hike back.)
If you do hike to the town of Yunomine Onsen, you will hike right past Tsuboyu right before you come to the main road that goes through Yunomine Onsen!
Tsuboyu is said to be the only UNESCO world heritage site that’s a hot spring that you can bathe in!
It’s a private onsen hot springs bath that’s located right along Kumano Kodo!
You’ll buy a ticket for Tsuboyu at the main public bath spot. It’s first-come first-serve, with each person (or couple) being requested to limit their time to 30 minutes. There is only one Tsuboyu hot spring!
I went to Hongu in October 2022. Your experience may vary!
HAPPY TRIP TO HONGU!
NEXT UP: YUNOMINE ONSEN! (private onsen hot springs!)
NEXT UP: SHINGU!
NEXT UP: NACHI FALLS!
NEXT UP: ISE!