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UNESCO Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Revitalizes Rural Wakayama

HONGU, JAPAN - JUNE 18: Tavelers use smartphones to capture content along the stone approach path leading through flooded rice fields toward the monumental Oyunohara Torii gate in Hongu, Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, on June 18, 2026. This landmark site, marking the original location of Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine, serves as a primary focal point for the region's burgeoning adventure tourism sector, leveraging its iconic cultural landscape to draw an influx of high-spending global visitors whose direct expenditures provide crucial financial support for rural family-owned ryokans and hospitality providers across the Kii Peninsula. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto)

Photo ID	#13858746
Date Taken	18 April 2026
Location	N/A
Photographer	Artur Widak/NurPhoto
Category	Human Interest
Copyright	© 2026 NurPhoto - Artur Widak/NurPhoto

Full Length Full Body Adventure Agriculture Backpacker Commerce Economy Fiscal Flooded Gate Hongu Income Japan Kii Kumano Monument Nakahechi Oyunohara Paddy Path Paving Peninsula Phone Route Ryokan Sustainable Tanabe Torii Tourism Traveler UNESCO Walkway content development expenditure field foreign giant green heritage hiking hospitality infrastructure international revenue rice rural smartphone spending stone trekking village June 18 2026 Oyunohara Torii gate Wakayama Prefecture Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine adventure tourism cultural landscape global visitors rural family-owned ryokans hospitality providers Kii Peninsula Artur Widak NurPhoto