Mie · Kumano CoastNo.1210★★Open in map →
Onigajo and Shishiiwa
— Wave-cut sea caves and a lion-shaped rock in southern Mie
A wall of wave-cut caves stacked in tiers above the Kumano-nada sea at the southern end of Mie, and, a short way down the coast, a rock shaped like a lion roaring at the Pacific. Both are World Heritage.
- FromNagoya Station
- ~5 minLimited express + local bus
- Get off atKumano-shi Station (JR Kisei Main Line)
- From there
- Onigajo and Shishiiwa
The sweet spot
Onigajo carries a World Heritage listing and appears in every piece of Mie tourism material, so it is not a hidden find. What thins the crowd is distance. The southern end of the Kii Peninsula is a long ride from Nagoya or Osaka, and most trips into Mie turn back at Ise. The people who reach Kumano are the people who chose Kumano.
Where it is
17 more notes in Mie · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Onigajo Center and the east entrancethe gateway building above the shore, with parking, a shop and a view along the Kumano-nada coast
- Senjojikia wide flat rock terrace just inside the east entrance, the most photographed part of the cliff
- Saru-modori and Shiofukinamed ledges and blowholes partway along the walkway, where the path narrows against the swell
- Oni-no-Miharashidaithe lookout at the hilltop castle site, reached by the cherry-planted path from the east entrance
- Shishiiwaa rock 25 metres high and 210 metres around, shaped like a lion, where Shichirimihama begins
How to actually get there
- Nagoya Station → Kumano-shi Station (JR Kisei Main Line, limited express).
- Kumano-shi Station → Onigajo Higashiguchi (bus signed for Omata-Okubo, about 5 minutes).
- Walk the shoreline path from the east entrance toward the west entrance, then climb the cherry-planted path to the castle lookout.
- Head back toward Kumano-shi Station and continue to the seafront for Shishiiwa.
- Nagoya Station to Kumano-shi, then the local bus
- The Kisei Main Line runs south from Nagoya Station down the coast of the Kii Peninsula; the limited express is the through service and needs a limited express ticket on top of the fare. From Kumano-shi Station take the bus signed for Omata-Okubo and ride about five minutes to the Onigajo Higashiguchi stop. Check the departure board at the station before you set out.
- Back to Kumano-shi Station
- The same bus route returns to Kumano-shi Station, and the road back along Route 42 is walkable if the timing does not suit. Trains north toward Nagoya and south toward Shingu thin out through the evening, so fix your return train before you start walking. The ticket office at Kumano-shi Station keeps set hours and closes well before the last trains.
About the place
Onigajo is a wall of tuff on the Kumano-nada coast at the southern end of Mie. Waves hollowed caves into the rock and a series of earthquakes lifted them, so the openings now sit in tiers above the water. A shoreline walkway of about one kilometre runs between the east and west entrances, past named formations such as Senjojiki, Saru-modori and Shiofuki. This is where the ria coastline that begins up near Shima finally stops; south of the cliff the shore flattens into the shingle of Shichirimihama. Shishiiwa stands at that hinge, and cliff and rock are protected together under one national listing.
How to enjoy it
The centre's own notice says the cliff itself can be visited around the clock, so the hour is yours to pick. Early is the better choice here: the coast faces east, low sun reaches into the caves, and the city's guide singles out sunrise and full moon as the times to photograph Shishiiwa. Walk the shoreline first, then take the cherry-planted path up to the castle lookout while the light is still soft.
Background & history
The cliff was designated a national natural monument in 1935. Shishiiwa was added in 1958, and the two were then listed together as a scenic site and natural monument under a single name. On the hill above the cliff lie the earthworks of a castle held in the warring-states era, joined by a ridge path to Matsumoto Pass on the Kumano Kodo. In July 2004 the whole stretch was inscribed as part of Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. Shishiiwa has long been counted as the guardian lion of Ooma Shrine upstream, which is why that shrine keeps no stone lions of its own.
Before you go
- Cash
- Mie's prefectural tourism site lists Shishiiwa as free to visit with no closed days. At Onigajo the centre has announced that its first car park is now fee-charging while the second stays free, so arriving by bus sidesteps the question. IC cards work at Kumano-shi Station; carry cash for the bus and the shop.
- Good to know
- The shoreline walkway is cut into the cliff and runs close to the water. The centre closes sections after high seas and typhoons, and has shut the stretch between Oku-no-Kido and the west entrance on those occasions, so read its notices before travelling. Sections are also closed while fireworks are set up on the shore.
- Another way
- By car the Kumano-Owase Road brings you to the east entrance in a minute or so from the Kumano-Ohaku interchange. From the Kansai side, Kisei Main Line trains run up the coast from Shingu in Wakayama to Kumano-shi.
- After you get off
- From the Onigajo Higashiguchi bus stop on Route 42, follow the signs down toward the shore; the Onigajo Center and the east entrance to the walkway are below the road. Shishiiwa lies the other way, on the seafront south of Kumano-shi Station.
Nearby notes
Nekosuki / CC BY-SA 4.0History · Wakayama★★★
Kumano Hayatama Taisha
21.5 km · straight line
Alpsdake / CC BY-SA 4.0History · Mie★★
Kumano Kodo Iseji Magose Pass
23.7 km · straight line
Distances are straight lines on the map, not travel times.