Near Chikatsuyu Oji Shrine on the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route stands the Naganose Family, whose lineage dates back to the Nanboku-chō period. In the old family garden there is a weeping cherry tree that the 19th head of the family, Rokuro Kasamori Nonagase, brought from Gion in Kyoto and planted in April 1747. It rained this morning, but I photographed the tree, which is now about 60–70 percent in bloom. If you walk the Kumano Kodo Nakahechi Course, be sure to see this magnificent weeping cherry. I think it will probably be in full bloom around this weekend.

I want to end the year at my favorite spot on the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route, the rainy Hosshinmon Oji Shrine. If you have the chance someday, please visit. Why not walk the Kumano Kodo and let your mind roam back to ancient times? You will encounter dreamlike scenery and meet people who live in the area.

I photographed the World Cultural Heritage Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Route, capturing the Nakahechi course dyed in autumn colors at Toganoki Chaya and Hosshinmon. Bright autumn leaves on sunny days are of course beautiful, but I also love the calm, mellow scenery on rainy days.

I went to the Kumano Kodo Kougen area to photograph an early winter landscape, and a lonely cat came up to rub against me and wouldn’t leave my side. After a while it climbed onto the fence and struck a pose as if to say, “Use me as your model.” I took a shot with the misty landscape in the background.

The rice terraces in the Kumano Kodo and Highlands area are also called terraced rice fields in the sky. It's been 10 days since the last shoot. Even in this area (Wakayama), it has become less common to see rice racks (rice hangings) where harvested rice is dried in the sun. Thanks to the fact that large machines do not enter (?) You can see this scenery at the It must be difficult for farmers, but it is a landscape that I would like to see preserved forever.

Rice harvesting has begun in the terraced rice fields in the Highlands area of Kumano Kodo and Kiri no Sato. It is good to walk leisurely, but if you are thinking of walking the Kumano Kodo Nakahechi Course in autumn, please rest your legs for a while and enjoy this view.

It is a terraced rice field in Kumano City, Mie Prefecture, Maruyama Senmaida. The sunset view of the terraced rice fields filled with water before planting is wonderful.

It is a Takijiri Oji shrine located on the Kumano Kodo and Nakabe Road Course. From here, it takes one to two days to walk to the Main Shrine Taisha Shrine. Let's walk with the thought of the ancient people.

Prince Shinmon on the Kumano Kodo and Nakabe Road Courses, it was late autumn.

Toganokichaya on the Kumano Kodo and Nakabeji Course, a resting place that warmly welcomes travelers walking along the ancient road. I like thatched roofs.

It is a sunset view of Hyakungura in Kumano Kodo and Kokumotori-Etsu. The sun is going down quietly.

The clusters of sasa lily flowers that bloom along the Kumano Kodo in Nakabe Road, Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture are because the owner of this mountain is taking care of them. Those who walk the Kumano Kodo and Nakabeji Course will enjoy the cute flowers and gentle scent.

It is one of the three major fire festivals in Japan and is designated as an important Intangible folk cultural property of Japan. It is spectacular to see 12 large torches weighing about 50 kg each parading along the approach. This year's ceremony will be held on July 14.

There is a tree grasping a large rock near Takijiri Oji and Oji Shrine on the Kumano Kodo Nakabe Road mountain trail. A large number of pilgrims start from Prince Takijiri and walk to the Hongu Taisha Shrine.

On a rainy day, I found a flower in the Kumano Kodo Highlands area. I see a lot of white flowers, but I wonder if there are few purple flowers~.

I took a picture over the Okumotori of "Kumano Kodo". Kumano Kodo has a history of more than 1,100 years, and this year marks the 20th anniversary of its registration as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountains".

The honeybee azaleas that bloom on the terraces of Nagaizaka on the Kumano Kodo, a World Cultural Heritage Site, vary from year to year, but there are times when you can see a tunnel of flowers.

I think that the drooping cherry blossoms of Prince Fushikai are a healing landscape for those who walk along the Kumano Kodo.

It is the large Torii shrine gate gate and cherry blossoms of Kumano Kodo Osaihara. It was not taken from the front of the Torii shrine gate, but from the back. If you change the composition, you will encounter a different scenery.

I hope that the children who gather under the cherry blossoms of the Nonagase family in Nakahechi, Wakayama Prefecture, will have a bright future where everyone can have a dream, with peace without war.

Koi streamers swimming with the large Torii shrine gate gate in spring

I like the drooping cherry blossoms of the Nonagase family near Kumano Kodo and the moist scenery of the rain, so I can't help but pass by. Plus, it's a great cherry blossom to enjoy alone.

It is a fire festival "Lantern Festival" held on the night of February 6th at Kamakura Shrine in Shingu City. It is spectacular to see more than 1,000 children running down the steep stone steps with torches.

It is Kamakura Shrine in Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture. At the end of the 538 steep stone steps, a large rock, Gotobiki Rock, is enshrined as a deity. From here, you can overlook the cityscape of Shingu. On February 6th, the famous "Lantern Festival" is held, in which people dressed in white and carrying torches run down steep stone steps.

At Osaihara, the former site of Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine, where the largest Torii shrine gate gate in Japan is located, I took a photo of the illuminated large Torii shrine gate with multiple exposures.

Nachi Falls in Nachi Katsuura Town, Wakayama Prefecture, has frozen slightly. Katsuura is a warm region that was originally located, so the phenomenon of waterfalls freezing is rare.

When the cherry blossoms in Kumano Kodo Osaihara bloom, the tourist season begins in earnest.

It is a edgeworthia chrysantha flower that blooms along the Kumano Kodo and Ōuntori-etsu. It is a place where pilgrims who walk along the long ancient road can rest.

It is Daimonzaka of Kumano Kodo in Wakayama Prefecture. Rain-soaked cobblestones are good. Am I the only one who thinks that rain looks good on Kumano Kodo?

It is a jizo that is enshrined near the ruins of the inn of Camphor Tree Kubo, which used to be on the Kumano Kodo and Ōuntori-etsu. I think it was enshrined as a memorial service for those who died on the way to the pilgrimage.