Kamikura Jinja, the shrine of the sacred Gotobiki-iwa rock

photo by helohelon · CC BY-SA 3.0

photo by Saigen Jiro · CC0

538 steps lead up to the Gotobiki-iwa: here, the myth says, the gods of Kumano came down.

Above the city of Shingu, 538 steep and uneven stone steps, donated according to tradition by Minamoto no Yoritomo, climb to Kamikura-yama, a different hill from that of the main shrine, Kumano Hayatama Taisha, of which this is a secondary shrine (摂社, a satellite shrine attached to a larger one). At the top, an enormous boulder called Gotobiki-iwa marks the point where, according to the myth, the Kumano deities first came down to earth. Every 6 February about two thousand men in white run down the same steps with lit torches, in the Otaimatsu rite.

Secondary shrine of Kumano Hayatama Taisha, a component of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range’ since 2004. Tradition names it as the first place where the Kumano deities came down, before worship moved down to the valley, to the present Hayatama Taisha.

ℹ️ Free entry, no official opening hours: it is best to climb before sunset, because the steps become dangerous in the dark. The climb is not recommended for anyone with walking difficulties or wearing heeled shoes; if you do not feel up to it, you can stop at the torii at the bottom. Climb 15–20 minutes, full visit about 30–60.

🚉 Shingu · 18 min walk

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · wakayama-kanko.or.jp · wakayama-kanko.or.jp · ja.wikipedia.org

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