Koyasan & Kumano Access Bus
Tour Description
“Koyasan-Kumano Access Bus” connects UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Koya with Kumano through Koya-ryujin Skyline, a mountain road that offers you panoramic scenery to Mount Koya., the center of Shingon Buddhism.You can hike Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage routes, enjoying the nature, numerous shrines and temples along the way. Plus, the routes are dotted with onsen towns such as Kumano Onsen resorts and Ryujin Onsen. Come and enjoy the rewarding experience of this region by bus conveniently!

Wakayama Prefecture

The Kii mountains tower over central Wakayama Prefecture wrapped in a veil of green. To the north and south are two sacred areas registered as World Heritages:  Koyasan and  Kumano Sanzan.It is rarity to have not one, but two such prominent sites with so much to tell about Japan in the same prefecture, Wakayama. Only here, you will encounter the allure of spiritual world that for more than a thousand years has drawn mankind in a search of faith. Blessed with a wondrous natural environment of seas, mountains and rives, and filled with mystery, in Wakayama Prefecture, you can get away from everyday life and set your sprit free



Route

Koyasan Sta.=> Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine/Tanabe.  

Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine/ Tanabe=> Koyasan Sta.

Season
1 April -  10 July, 1 September - 30 November, 2023
Days
Every day
Tour Types
Daily Tour
Tour Includes
Bus fare
Operating Bus Company
Ryujin Jidousha Co., Ltd.
Tourist Infomation
Koyasan

Koyasn is a mountaintop basin some 6km east-west and 2km north-south, where 816 the mount Kukai- posthumously known as Konodaishi- founded his first seminary for training in the esoteric sect of Shingon Buddism. The area is surrounded by mountains 1,000 m in height. During the heyday of the Edo Period, there stood over 2,000 temples, halls and cloisters. Today, it continues to observe the teachings of Buddha as the center of Shingon Buddism.


There is also 24 km path leading from the mausoleum of Kobodaishi at Okuno-in Temple to Jiso-in Temple at the foot of Mt. Koya. Known as “ Choishi-michi”, it is marked every approximate 109m- or-cho- by a stone marker, or “ Choishi” in Japanese, on which is etched the number of cho. There are 216 markers in all. Even today, many people on pilgrimage follow as there are many key points of religious interest along the way, including Jison-in, which was built by Kobodaishi; Niukansho Shrine and Nitsuhime Shrine, the tutelary deity of Mt. Koya.
Ryujin Onsen
These ancient hot springs are over 1,300 years old and said to have been discovered by Kobodaishi. Having been protected and patronized for their therapeulic effects by local lords over the centuries, the springs also go by the name of “ Tonosama no Yu”, literally “ Springs of the lord”. They are also known for the effect they have on beautifying the skin because of the rich amounts of radium. 


Kumano
Since the long ago, Kumano, at the southern end of the Kii mountains, has been known as the land of gods. Faith in Kumano Sanzan- the three grand shrines of Kumano Hongu, Kumano Nachi and Kumano Hayatama led emperors and nobility of the Heian Period to these unexplored regions in search of heaven on earth. This practice spread to commoners by the Edo Period. The pilgrimage to Kumano departs from Kyoto and follows a path through Fujishiro, Kainan, to Tanabe, where road divides. 
From here, there are two routes: the Nakahechi that goes eastward into the mountains and the Ohechi that follows the coast southward. On the belief that “ penance is the road to salvation”, the Nakahechi is the main route as it winds its way through steep treacherous mountains.Numerous shrines called “ Oji” along the Kumano pilgrimage routes can still be found today. These shrines were built specifically to provide rest and lodging for travelers on pilgrimage to Kumano. When reaching one, the travelers would take rest and pray facing the direction of Kumano. Today, the path followed on the pilgrimage to Kumano is preserved as the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Routes.
Onsen in Hongu area- Yunomine Onsen, Kawayu Onsen and Watarase Onsen

Not far from Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine is a host of great hot springs. This includes Yunomine Onsen, which is said to be the oldest hot springs in Japan having been frequented for 1,800 years; Kawayu Onsen, where hot water springs from anywhere yo dig on the riverside; and Wataze Onsen, where you will find a spa and hot spring pool in the narrow gaps between the mountains.
Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine
Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine is the heart of Kumano Sanzan, where the faithful head on pilgrimage to Kumano. It is the head shrine of more than 3,000 affiliated shrines across Japan. Until 1889, the main hall stood in Oyunohara on a sandbar where the Otonashi River and Iwata River converged, but part of the shrine was washed away by flooding, so it was moved to its present location. Climbing to the top of the stone steps that preserve the look of times past, you discover the awe-inspiring banner of the three-legged Yatagarasu crow that serves as the avatar of Kumano. 
Price
Koyasan Sta 
Yunomine  Onsen/Watarase  Onsen/Kawayu Onsen
/Hongu Taishamae
Adult
JPY 5,000
Child(Age 6-12)
JPY 2,500
Koyasan Sta. 

Kirari Ryujin/Ryujin Onsen
Adult
JPY 2,900
Child(Age 6-12)
JPY 1,450
Kirari Ryujin/Ryujin Onsen 
Yunomine Onsen/Watarase Onsen/Kawayu Onsen/Hongu Taishamae
Adult
JPY 2,500
Child(Age 6-12)
JPY 1,250
Koyasan Sta.

Kurisugawa
Adult
JPY 3,800
Child(Age 6-12)
JPY 1,900

Itinerary  Koyasan > Hongu Taishamae

Dep 9:45 AM
Koyasan Station
   ↓
Dep 9:55 AM

Senjuinbashi-higashi
   ↓
Dep 10:01 AM

Okunoinmae
   ↓
10:50-11:05 AM

Gomadanzan transfer
   ↓
11:40-12:20 PM

Kirari Ryujin 
   ↓
Arr 12:23 PM

Ryujin Onsen
   ↓
Arr 13:10 PM

Kurisugawa
   ↓
 Arr 13:23 PM

Gyubadojiguchi
   ↓
Arr 13:33 PM

Chikatsuyu Oji
   ↓
Arr 14:05 PM

Yunomine Onsen
   ↓
Arr 14:11 PM

Watarase Onsen
   ↓
Arr 14:12 PM

Kawayu Onsen
   ↓
Arr 14:22 PM
Hongu Taishamae
  Hongu Taishamae > Koyasan
Dep 8:05 AM
Hongu Taishamae
   ↓
Dep 8:15 AM
Kawayu Onsen
   ↓
Dep 8:17 AM

Watarase Onsen
   ↓
Dep 8:29 AM

Yunomine Onsen
   ↓
Dep 8:59 AM

Chikatsuyu Oji
   ↓
9:00-9:10 AM

Nakahechi Bijutsukan transfer
   ↓
Arr 9:14 AM

Gyuba-doji Guchi
   ↓
Arr 9:25 PM

Kurisugawa
   ↓
Arr 10:11 AM

Ryujin Onsen
   ↓
Arr 10:15 AM

Kirari Ryujin
   ↓
10:50-11:05 AM

Gomadanzan transfer
   ↓
Arr 11:49 AM

Okunoinmae
   ↓
Arr 11:55 PM

Senjuinbashi-higashi
   ↓
Arr 12:10 PM
Koyasan Station
Cancellation fee
If you cancel your reservation before the cancellation deadline, you will be entitled to a refund, subject to a cancellation fee.
Please cancel your reservation via “ Manage my Booking” Page of Japan Bus Online website at https://japanbusonline.com/BookInquiry before the specified deadline. 

Important Notice
・Lunch and admission fee for tourist facilities are not included in the tour price.
・Tickets are one way(single) leg.
・Passengers departing from Koyasan, please change buses at Gomadanzan, and passengers departing from Kumano Hongu Taisha, please change buses both at Nakahechi Bijutsukan (Museum) and Gomadanzan.
・Additional costs apply when taking a local bus service between Kii-tanabe and Kurisugawa(JPY 1,050), and Kirari Ryujin and Kii-Tanabe(JPY 1,700) 
・Due to the limited availability of seats, early reservation is recommended to secure your seats.
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