Pilgrimage Road along Shichiri-mihama Beach
About 12.2 Km, 4 hrs. from JR Kumano-shi Station to JR Atawa Station
Hama-kaido also known as the pilgrimage road stretches from downtown Kumano City along Shichiri-mihama Beach to Shingu. The trail branches off toward the Hongu-do Path stretching west near Hana-no-iwaya Shrine which enshrines Izanami-no-mikoto.
You can hike along Route 42 or take a more scenic path along the beautiful white pebbles beach.
This route along the coastline was safe to walk because there was no steep pass to cross.
However in ancient times, quite a few pilgrims were said to have been killed by high waves at the ferry crossing at the mouths of the Shiwara-gawa and Ichigi-gawa Rivers.