Route 42 is a national highway that connects Wakayama City in Wakayama Prefecture with Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture. When it passes through the Kumano region in the south of the Kii Peninsula, it becomes a spectacular driving and cycling road that winds along the rias coast.
This website introduces the people, climate, and food of the Kumano region along Route 42.
Kumano, on the current map, refers to the areas of Tanabe City, Shirahama Town, Nishimuro County, Higashimuro County, Shingu City in Wakayama Prefecture, and Kumano City, Owase City, Minamimuro County, and Kitamuro County in Mie Prefecture and south part of Nara prefecture. The road connecting the capital of Kyoto to the three Kumano mountains, a World Heritage Site, has been visited by many people since ancient times, from emperors to commoners. The coastal area is influenced by the Kuroshio Current and has unusual vegetation close to the subtropical zone, as well as many geologically precious rocks, making it a region where you can experience primitive nature and a faithful culture.
How to get to the Kumano Region
If you are coming from big cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, etc.
Please note that it takes time to travel.
By train
From Nagoya
Approx. 3-and-a-half hours from JR Nagoya Station to JR Shingu Station, and approx.
4 hours to JR Kii-Katsuura, by “Wide View Nanki limited express” on the JR Kisei Main Line.
From Osaka
Approx. 2.5 hours from JR Shin-Osaka Station to JR Shirahama Station, and approx.
4 hours to Shingu Station, by “Kuroshio” on the JR Kisei Main Line (Kinokuni Line).
>> Links
By car
From Osaka
From Osaka, take the Hanwa Expressway, then the Kisei Expressway, and finally, drive south on Route 42 from the Susaminami Interchange.
From Nagoya
From Nagoya, take the Higashi-Meihan Expressway, then the Ise Expressway and Kisei Expressway, and finally, drive south on Route 42 from the Kumano-Odomari Interchange.
By bus
From Tokyo
Nanki Katsuura Line
Take the express bus from Omiya Station West Exit via Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo or Yokohama Station to Katsuura Onsen.
White Beach Shuttle on the Nanki-Shirahama Line
Take the express bus from Omiya Station West Exit via Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo or Yokohama Station to Nanki-Shirahama Airport.
*For more detailed information on these bus services, please see the Mie Kotsu website or Seibu bus website.
>> Links
From Nagoya
Take the express bus from Meitetsu Bus Center to JR Shingu Station (approx. 4 hours).
- For more detailed information on this bus service, please see the Mie Kotsu website.
- For more detailed information on transit buses or tour buses in Nachi Katsuura Town, please see the Kumano Gobo Nankai Bus website.
By plane
Take a flight from Tokyo Haneda Airport to Nanki-Shirahama Airport (60 minutes), then take the train from Shirahama Station to Kii-Katsuura Station using the JR line (1-and-a-half hours).
Take the JR line from Kansai International Airport or Chubu Centrair International Airport to Kii Katsuura Station.
>> Links
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Auther
Hemmendinger AYABorn in Osaka in 1979. After working for a publishing company, she became independent as a freelance writer and editor in 2012. Fascinated by the charms of the Kumano region, she launched the ROUTE42 project to connect the beautiful sites dotted along Route 42. She is currently involved in corporate PR and branding in Wakayama Prefecture, and writes extensively for magazines, books and webzines in the fields of tradition, local industry and art and design.
https://www.edit-vacances.com -
Photographer
Maruyama YOSHIKIBorn in Wakayama Prefecture in 1982 and currently lives there. He is the leader of Kinan Film, which conveys the charm of Nanki reagion through photography. He is the main photographer for “Wakayama Bishoujo Zukan”, a community-based media that has produced a national actress. He develops activities to visualize the attractiveness of the region through photography, including shooting at “Premier Wakayama”, an excellent prefectural product of Wakayama Prefecture.
https://yoshiki-m.jp -
Calligrapher
Hirami HANAKOBorn in Kushimoto-cho, Higashimuro-gun, Wakayama. She has been interested in calligraphy since he was a child. After finding a job, she moved to Tokyo to attend the Japan Calligraphy College. After graduating, she made a U-turn and has been organizing events where people can enjoy calligraphy on a daily basis, such as the first day of writing and the Shakyo Cafe. He is also involved in the production of the logo letters for Bijou Ayu, a brand of ayu (sweetfish) that runs upstream in Kozagawa-cho, Wakayama Prefecture, as well as signs for the Kozagawa-cho Tourist Association.