Hongu-do Road Stretching through a Forest
About 5.5 Km, 2 hrs. and 10 mins. from Yokogaki-toge-noboriguchi bus stop to Takachira bus stop
Kumano Kodo once forked at Arima, a town famous for its Hana-no-iwaya Shrine. The shrine is actually a huge rock dedicated to Izanami-no-mikoto, a god and creator of the Japanese Islands. One fork is Hama-kaido known as the pilgrimage road which stretches south along the seashore to Shingu Taisha Shrine and 33 Kannon Temples in western Japan.
The other is the Hongudo Road which stretches through a forest, crossing the Kumano-gawa River to Hongu-taisha Shrine. In this route, Yokogaki-toge Pass leads from Konogi to Sakamoto just before Fuden-toge Pass.
Passing Mizutsubo-jizo, a stone statue of the guardian deity, there’s a rest stop at the top of Yokogaki-toge Pass.