Whether you’ve arrived a few days early to enjoy the cherry blossom, or you’re coming straight from the airport, you’ll find your way to our centrally-located accomodation and settle in. We’ll come together for dinner in the evening and an introduction to the week to come.

After an early breakfast, we ride the iconic Shinkansen high-speed train to Nagoya, and then switch to a local train to Ise , the start of the Ise-ji pilgrimage.

Spend the afternoon wandering the charming old town, grabbing any last-minute essentials, and visiting the Ise Jingu Naiku, the most sacred Shinto shrine in Japan.

We’ll make our way to Futami, our resting place for the evening. We’ll dine at our ryokan on the beachfront and set intentions for the pilgrimage.

A spellbinding sunrise starts the day at the stunning wedded rocks of Futami Okitama. From there we take the train to the old fort town of Tochihara and start our walk. The day will be a gentle one, allowing us to find our feet.

Along the way, we pause for reflection in a forested dell before taking a traditional ferry over the Miya River.

We end the day crossing our first small toge, or mountain pass, and come to rest at Takihara, in cosy campground cabins.

Today, another gentle day as we walk along the valley carved by the rushing Ouchiyama River.

Our day starts with a Shinto purification ritual at Tkihara-no-Miya, a sacred shrine nestled deep within the trees.

As we pass through sleepy villages, you’ll develop a sense for hour rural Japan is facing the future, and how temples — such as the one at Dairen — anchors these places in history.

We’ll stop in at Kobenomiyanomo shrine, situated by a beautiful, forested waterfall.

Our resting place for tonight will be at a campground in Ouchiyama.

We start the day with a moderate climb up the Tsuzurato Pass, which derives its name from the zig-zagging stone path that lifts us through the forest.

After drinking in the beautiful view at the peak, we descend into Kii-Nagashima, a large fishing town and home to one of our favourite cafes along the whole route.

A fairly gentle afternoon offers the opportunity to stop in at the beautiful Nagashima-jingu shrine, dedicated to safety at sea and productive fishing, and Bukko-ji, a Buddhist temple.

A quick hop over the Ikkoku Pass then lands us in Furusato Onsen, a well-known spa town and the perfect place to rest and recover for the days to come. There’ll be the opportunity to visit a traditional communal bathhouse, and we’ll be staying at a typical ryokan in the evening.

We get started just after sunrise: today will be a challenging day, with three passes to climb. But first we welcome the morning as we wind along the coastline, drinking in the spectacular views over islands and fishing boats making their way back to harbour.

In fairly quick succession, we climb the Miura Pass, and then the Hajikami Pass, a warmup for what's to come after a relaxed lunch in Aiga.

Suitably recharged, we then scale the majestic Magose Pass, one of the most popular on the Ise-ji. Massive cobblestones guide the way up to a resting spot, from which you can take an optional side trip to the spectacular peak of Mount Tengurusan, with its views over the natural harbour of Owase, our resting place for the night.

Mount Yakiyama is the highest peak we'll walk on the Kumano Kodo, and reaching the summit will push at your edges. We'll then drop down into the sleepy, beachside town of Mikisato for a well-earned break.

We’ll then scale the Miki Pass, followed by the Hago Pass, and the descent into Kata, where we'll check into the most stunning of our accommodations along the route: the Owase Seaside View. The view from the hot spring baths, and the sublime kaiseki dinner, prepared with local seafood, will make the day’s efforts all worthwhile.

After the efforts of Days 4 and 5, today takes a far gentler turn. Although we'll be climbing another two passes, at the peak of Okamizaka toge, we reach the meeting place of the deities of Ise and Kumano. We say farewell to the former, say hello to the latter, and enter into the final stretch of our pilgrimage towards Kumano City.

We come to rest in Atashika, where golden sand and water lapping at the shore provide the perfect opportunity to reflect on what has been, and be refreshed for what's to come — our last day on the Ise-ji.

From Atashika, we wind along the mountainside, sea shimmering below us as we pass through the tiny village of Hadasu. Sections of the path here date back over 850 years and are some of the oldest on the route.

A quick coffee stop in Odomari gives us the fuel to press on to Kumano City and beyond to Hana no Iwaya, the oldest shrine in Japan. It's here, standing before its sacred rock face — a spiritual conduit between this world and the next—, that we honour the work we've done, and start gently turning ourselves towards what's to come.

We'll spend our last night together in Kumano City, situated close to the beach for a final glimpse of the sunrise in the morning. From here, you might make your way to the popular shrines of Shingu, return to Tokyo, or wander into the hills or along the ocean for some time spent in quiet reflection. The way forward is yours.