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| National
Parks and Quasi-National Parks in Kansai |
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Yoshino-Kumano National
Park
WAKAYAMA / MIE / NARA |
| Attractive views of scenic mountains, rivers, valleys, and
the sea |
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| Odaigahara's Hakkotsuju, or skeleton trees,
a belt of dead coniferous trees. |
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Situated in the south-central part of the Kii Peninsula, this
national park stretches over parts of Wakayama, Mie, and Nara Prefectures. The
park covers a wide, mountainous area including Mt. Yoshino, the
Odaigahara plateau, the Omine mountain range, the Kitayama and Kumano
rivers, which empty into the Kumano Nada Sea, and the coasts along the southeast
part of the peninsula. This diverse topography therefore features a variety of
natural landscapes, with mountains, rivers, valleys, and the sea. |
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| Mt. Yoshino is famous for its picturesque spring cherry blossoms. The mountain's
cherry trees, known as senbon-zakura ("the thousand cherry trees"),
are protected as sacred by a preservation program, and from early April into the
latter half of the month, the valleys of the mountain are blanketed under millions
of wild cherry blossoms. The mountain is equally beautiful in late spring, with
fresh green colors, and in autumn, with red and yellow hues. Visitors are thus
able to enjoy Mt. Yoshino's splendid natural beauty in all seasons. |
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| To the south of Mt. Yoshino runs the Omine mountain range. Popularly called
the roof of the Kinki region, it has numerous mountains exceeding 1,200m in height,
with deep, beautiful valleys dressed in thick rain forests. Situated on the east
side of the Omine mountain range, over the border between Nara and Mie Prefectures,
rises the 1,695m Mt. Odaigahara (also known as Mt. Hinodegatake), the tallest
mountain in the Daiko range. This high-precipitation region, where annual precipitation
exceeds 4,800mm, features a diverse range of plant species at each elevation.
These include chinquapins, evergreen oaks, Japanese beeches, and parasol pines,
which are known as living fossils, as well as the azaleas and Asama gentians found
in valleys. This humid climate also leads to the growth of unusual "moss
forests" at the base of Japanese spruce and hemlock trees. The forests, with
abundant varieties of trees and plant life, are also home to bears, serows, and
other large wild animals. In the clear mountain streams live Odaigahara salamanders. |
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| Kumano old path, running through Kumanogawa
Town. |
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| Dorokyo Valley |
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| Shichirimihama Beach, a rare white sand beach
along the Kumano Nada Sea coast. |
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| Rugged rocky riverbanks contrast beautifully with the deep valley of the Kitayama
River, which travels south from the Odaigahara plateau. Dorokyo
Valley on the upper stream is a national special historic site. Farther
down the mountain, the Kitayama joins the Totsu River to become the Shingu River
and later the Kumano River, and at Shingu it flows into the
Kumano Nada Sea. |
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| To the south of the Omine range is Mt. Nachi, of religious inspiration
to many since ancient times. This sacred area contains several shrines and temples,
including the Hiro Shrine, to which the sacred 133 meter-high Nachi-no-taki
Falls are consecrated; the Kumano-Nachi Shrine, one of the three great
mountain shrines of Kumano; and the Seigantoji Temple, the first of the thirty-three
Saigoku temples dedicated to Kannon, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. The entire
area, where about 3,500 species of plants grow, is known as the Nachi virgin forest
and is designated a precious natural monument. |
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| Nachi-no-taki Falls |
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