SHIOGORI TRANSPORTE
KUMANO KODO LUGGAGE TRANSFER ｜ Walk light, from the sea to the mountainsLeave your bag at the reception desk in the morning.
Find it waiting at your next inn.
Coming soon
SHIOGORI TRANSPORTE is preparing to launch. Prices and conditions shown here are planned and may change. Items marked “to be announced” will be updated soon.
日本語 ｜ English
SHIOGORI TRANSPORTE ｜ Home ・ Luggage Transfer ・ Nakahechi Route ・ Before You Walk ・ Terms
ABOUT
The pilgrimage begins at the sea. Your luggage waits at the inn.
For over a thousand years, pilgrims bound for Kumano stopped at the Tanabe coast to perform Shiogori (潮垢離), purification with seawater, before entering the sacred mountains. They walked light, with little more than a staff and a hat.
SHIOGORI TRANSPORTE is a Kumano Kodo luggage transfer service run by AND LOCAL, the Tanabe non-profit behind the Shiogori project at Ogigahama Beach. Leave your bag at your accommodation in the morning, and we will deliver it to your next inn the same day. All you carry is a daypack, and the path.
SERVICES
Services
01
Luggage Transfer
Inn to inn, every day. Between partner inns: backpack ¥1,500, suitcase ¥2,500 per stage.
02
Nakahechi Route
Takijiri to Hongu and Nachi: distances, times, difficulty and sample plans.
03
Before You Walk
Daypack, weather, cash, buses and etiquette: advice from local staff.
04
FAQ & Terms
What we can carry, cancellations and compensation. Please read before booking.
THE ROUTE
The Nakahechi, stage by stage
The Nakahechi, known as the “Imperial Route”, was inscribed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range” in 2004.
STAGE 01
Takijiri-oji → Takahara
approx. 4 km ・ 2–3 hrs
Through the Tainai-kuguri cave and past Chichi-iwa rock to Takahara, the “village in the mist”. A gentle first day.
STAGE 02
Takijiri-oji → Chikatsuyu-oji
approx. 13.3 km ・ 6–8 hrs
About 1,010 m of climbing via Takahara to Chikatsuyu village. The classic first day on the Nakahechi.
STAGE 03
Chikatsuyu-oji → Kumano Hongu Taisha
approx. 24.5 km ・ 9–12 hrs
About 1,100 m up and 1,380 m down. Many walkers split it at Nonaka or Hosshinmon-oji. No restaurants on the way.
STAGE 04
Kumano Hongu Taisha → Koguchi
approx. 13 km ・ approx. 5.5 hrs
Kogumotori-goe to Koguchi, the base for the Ogumotori-goe.
STAGE 05
Koguchi → Kumano Nachi Taisha
approx. 14.5 km ・ 7–8 hrs
Ogumotori-goe, the toughest section of the Nakahechi, ending at Nachi.
START AT THE SEA
Begin your pilgrimage at Ogigahama Beach
A short walk from JR Kii-Tanabe Station, Ogigahama is the beach where pilgrims once performed Shiogori. You don’t need to swim. Stand at the water’s edge, breathe in the sea breeze, touch the waves. Leave the fatigue of your journey on the shore, then head for the mountains.
AND LOCAL looks after this beach through beach clean-ups and seaweed-bed restoration. Using SHIOGORI TRANSPORTE helps support that work.
MORE FROM AND LOCAL
Stay another day in Tanabe
BOOKING & CONTACT
Booking & Contact
Until launch, please send booking requests and questions by email.
Questions? Email AND LOCAL.
info@andlocal.jp