Tamaki Shrine

Tamaki Shrine stands just below the summit of Mount Tamaki (1,076 m), at the southern end of the Omine range, a long way from anywhere. Totsukawa, the village it belongs to, is said to be Japan's largest village by area and has no railway. By car it is about two and a half hours from the Gojo interchange down Route 168, and the final climb is a narrow, winding mountain road. From the free parking lot (about 80 cars), a 15-minute forest path leads to the main hall. The shrine sits on the Omine Okugake route within the Kii Mountain Range World Heritage site and is called the inner sanctuary of the three Kumano shrines. The cedars are the reason to come: the Jindai-sugi is estimated at 3,000 years old, and the grove is a prefectural natural monument. On some mornings the valleys below fill with a sea of clouds. On the drive south, the Tanize Suspension Bridge (about 297 m long, 54 m above the river) is a good leg stretch if heights do not bother you.