Crossrhodes Kumano Journeys

25/01/2025

SIM cards, supermarkets and smaller suitcases. Oh, my!
This is a great list to check before visiting Japan and suggestions to consider on your way to the Kumano area.
Note that usually bigger cities are better places to shop than small rural communities (tip #9), but ( #10) knowing where the supermarkets, prepping for the weather ( #8), learning a little Japanese for restaurants ( #4) are some of my favorites.

Hey, locals, any other suggestions?

Are you annoying everyone around you? Blocking the train with a big suitcase? Quit It! Here are 10 common mistakes tourists make in Japan.

22/01/2025

Another great primer for visitors.
The entranceway, or “genkan” 玄関 in Japanese, is an important portal and knowing about proper etiquette can be useful and save some embarrassment.

The genkan entryway marks the boundary between a Japanese home and the outside world, and removing footwear before going in has its own form of etiquette.

13/01/2025

Discovering the beauty, exploring the landscape, absorbing the color, and worshipping the sea and sky along the Kiiji route on the western coast of the Kii Peninsula of the Kumano Kodo.
Covered 15 km between Kainan and Kii-Miyahara.

23/12/2024

Coming to Japan? Prepare to meet the ubiquitous “Tanuki.”

03/12/2024

Although the Kumano Kodo is traditionally a walking pilgrimage with over a 1,000 years of history, visiting to the key points by rental car is possible to help you understand more deeply the area and its history.

Explore the Kumano region of Wakayama Prefecture by car. 🎥⬇️
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/3025120?cid=wohk-fb-org_vod_/302512_dps-202411-001

Hit the Road
WAKAYAMA

27/11/2024

Images from recent visit to the ethereal Doro Hotel in the Kii Peninsula.
Popular now on instagram as a nostalgic cafe but future promise as a river experience and local heritage excursion.

04/11/2024

Useful travel-in-Japan apps in this article. (I use Japan Transit Planner and Google Maps, but always good to have a few free transit info options in your arsenal.

Need to get somewhere by train? Want to know information about stations, delays and more? We’ve got you covered with the best train apps in Japan.

https://blog.gaijinpot.com/10-best-train-apps-in-japan/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=dlvr.it

01/11/2024

Come on, what’s your sign?
A rose by any other name … would still have a family crest?

Japanese family crests known as kamon were first used by the aristocracy over a thousand years ago, but over time they were adopted by samurai, merchants, and many others. Today, there are thought to be between 20,000 and 25,000 in use.

06/10/2024

Knowing about boundaries and portals is very important in Japan.

The genkan entryway marks the boundary between a Japanese home and the outside world, and removing footwear before going in has its own form of etiquette.

29/09/2024

Wow! Congrats Sado! Welcome to the club!
The Kumano Kodo is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a UNESCO
World Heritage cultural asset.
Can anyone guess what number Japanese heritage site they are?

Former gold mines, which operated for four centuries on the island of Sado, are the latest addition to Japan’s UNESCO World Heritage sites.

26/09/2024

Recognizing ambassadors who support the Dual Pilgimages in Spain and Japan.

07/09/2024

It’s typhoon season, folks. And while one is not currently in the vicinity, this is an extremely helpful article about understanding what they are, how to prepare for one if living in Japan, as well as what to do if one comes while in Japan as a tourist.

Japan is home to several types of natural disasters, including earthquakes, typhoon and flooding. The typhoon season lasts from May...

https://blog.gaijinpot.com/what-to-do-during-a-typhoon-in-japan/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=dlvr.it

03/09/2024

Changes for those entering Japan in the years ahead.

Japan will introduce JESTA, a new tourist entry system, adding pre-screening requirements for visitors from many visa-exempt countries.

https://blog.gaijinpot.com/japans-new-entry-system-for-tourists-jesta-what-you-need-to-know/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=dlvr.it

11/08/2024

The chips are in!
Making of these cards by JR East Japan was suspended due to the limited availability of materials to make the chips for the cards.
Sales to resume soon.

If you’re traveling in Japan, one of the most useful things you can get yourself is a Suica card. Originally introduced as a prepaid card for using East Japan Railway Company/JR East trains, Suica has grown to be Japan’s most prevalent electronics payment method, accepted at a huge variety of ve...

11/08/2024

We have put some emergency provisions together just in case, but life goes on here on the Kii Peninsula as normal (except the beaches are closed and express trains aren’t running — but I have a car, and the local buses are spot on).

Following its first issuance of a megaquake advisory called the Nankai Trough Earthquake Extra Information, the Japan Meteorological Agency has been monitoring seismic activities in the assumed focal region of the quake attentively.