Tanabe 田辺

Tanabe is the second largest city in Wakayama and the gateway to the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route —the arduous trek through the Kii-Mountains made by pilgrims on a search for spiritual enlightenment. The area is also home to a dense hub of bars and restaurants.

Kii-Tanabe Station is a 30-minute bus ride up from the popular beach area of Shirahama.

Sitting between Wakayama Station and Shirahama Station on the scenic Kinokuni Line, the Kuroshio Limited Express from Shin-Osaka will transport you to the area in just over two and a half hours.

Pilgrims arriving in Tanabe to walk the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route can bear south to join the Ohechi-Route. This part of the pilgrimage route leads to the grand shrines of Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine and Kumano Hayatama Taisha Shrine . Those wishing to head to Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine can take the Nakahechi-Route that leads from Tanabe deep into the mountains.

The backstreets of Kii-Tanabe may seem a million miles away from the bright lights and bustle of Tokyo and Osaka, but they offer evening entertainment to rival the big cities. The area in front of the station is jam-packed full of small restaurants and bars serving up drinks with cheap and fresh local food.

Some of the shops are geared towards tourists with English menus available.

Even though the Kumano Sanzan—the three grand shrines of Kumano—stand in the spiritual limelight, there are some more modest shrines in the region that are still worth visiting.

A five-minute stroll from Kii-Tanabe Station is the Tokei-jinja Shrine. A small but beautiful structure, the shrine is a new addition to UNESCO's list of sacred sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.