Drive Up and Down the Mountains

From Katsuura, where we had a fabulous tuna lunch at a shokudo near to the first market, it’s a quick 20 minutes car ride up the mountain into Kumano Nachi Taisha, one of the three holy shrines in the Kumano region and part of the UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s an enjoyable drive with the many twists and turns through the narrow roads lined with beautiful cherry blossoms, with the small town right underneath the temple offered the perfect spot to park, rest and shop before we made a small hike up to the temples.