A Spiritual Voyage to the Kii Peninsula

Away from the hectic cities lit up by neon signs, Japan remains a more silent country, a land of forests, rituals and tales. Visitors to the Kii peninsula can expect to find holy mountains and a peaceful atmosphere.

Here, Shintoism and Buddhism have co-existed for centuries, and without contradiction for the most part. Shintoism focuses on life, while Buddhism deals with the afterlife. The region is considered as the true spiritual heart of Japan. It’s in this place of legends and divinities that Ise Jingu can be found; this is the largest Shintoist shrine in the country, famous for having housed the sacred mirror of the Emperor of Japan. It is restored every twenty years to maintain its purity.

Mount Koya, a Buddhist centre of learning, can also be found in the magnificent Ryujin Quasi-National Park, a magical place founded by a monk named Kukai in 816. Not forgetting the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route, with a stretch nestled in the heart of the green mountains of Wakayama prefecture, which has been in existence for over a thousand years.