Editorial photo #13858755 Human Interest

UNESCO Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Revitalizes Rural Wakayama

YUNOMINE ONSEN, JAPAN - JUNE 18: A trekker presses a decorative ink stamp into an official pilgrim passport inside a wooden trail shelter in the mountain village of Yunomine Onsen, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, on June 18, 2026. This unique UNESCO World Heritage-listed trail network uses interactive stamp stations to track trail completion and verify credentials for the "Dual Pilgrim" program shared with Spain's Camino de Santiago, successfully encouraging longer tourist stays that drive vital international adventure tourism spending directly into rural family-owned ryokans and local valley economies. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto)

Photo details

Photo ID: #13858755
Date taken: 18 April 2026
Location: —
Photographer: Artur Widak/NurPhoto
Category: Human Interest

Related keywords

Adventure Backpacker Booklet Camino Commerce Credential Dual Economy Fiscal Hand Hotspring Income Japan Kodo Kumano Multi-day Nakahechi Onsen Pad Page Passport Program Rally Route Ryokan Santiago Shelter Stamp Station Sustainable Tourism Tourist Traveler UNESCO Wakayama Yunomine alliance book box community development expenditure foreign heritage hiking hospitality ink international local partnership pilgrimage red regional revenue seal spending trail trekking verification Artur Widak NurPhoto